Population of the Republic of Moldova

Moldova has a population of about 4 440 000. Although it is the most densely populated (132 person per sq km) of the former Soviet Republics it has very few large cities, the most valuable of which is Chisinau, the capital of the Republic. Chisinau is located on Byk River in the central part of the country. Other important cities are Tiraspol, Tighina (also known as Bender) and Balti.

In Moldova live people of different ethnic groups. Ethnic Moldavians constitute about 64,5% of local population. Their number is greater in the center and north of the Republic than in south. Other large ethnic groups are Ukrainians (13,8%) and Russians (13%). They migrated to Moldova in large numbers after World War II and settled mainly in the cities. Nearly all other people belong to such ethnic groups like Gagauz (3.5%), Bulgarians (2%) and Jews (1.5%). Gagauz are Turkic and Christian people who came to Moldova in the late 18th century. Bulgarians also came to the Republic at the end of 18th century. These 2 groups live mainly in rural area on the south of Moldova. Jews are overwhelmingly urban. They started settling in Bessarabia after 1800. However their number has been greatly reduced by World War II.

As there live several ethnic groups in Moldova that’s logical that there also several languages spoken in the country. Official language of Moldova is called Moldovan. It is essentially dialect of Romanian. It is Romance language which derived from Latin. In 1938 Soviet government mandated Cyrillic alphabet to be used for Moldovan language. More than 50 years Moldavians used Cyrillic letters for writing in Moldovan. In 1989 there was reintroduced Latin alphabet. Other language widely spoken in Moldova is Russian. That is explained by long-lasting influence of Soviet Union when people had to learn Russian. Gagauz people speak Gagauz, a Turkic language. Many of them are also fluent in Russian.

Predominant religion of Moldova is Christianity. About 96 percent of the population belongs to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Even Gagauz, unlike other Turkic people, who are traditionally Muslims, are adherents of Orthodox Christianity.

Moldova has an adult literacy rate of 100%. Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15 when people pass through the first cycle of education. Then follows the second cycle, which isn’t compulsory. It lasts 3 years. After that people are able to enter the University.

Moldova has rich folk culture which flourished during Soviet period. An ancient folk ballade ‘Miorita’ holds special significance in Moldovan folk culture. They are also folk traditions such as ceramics and weaving. Nowadays they are almost forgotten in the cities however they continue to be practiced in rural areas.