Moldova, officially called the republic of Moldova, is located in Eastern Europe. It shares borders with Romania and Ukraine. It was once part of the Soviet Union but declared independence in 1991 when the USSR was dissolved. The capital city of Moldova is Chi?in?u and it has a population of 3,560,400 people. The official language spoken in Moldova is Moldovan (Romanian) and its total land area is 13,067 sq mi (33,846 km2). It is ruled by a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government and is a member of the United Nations.
The country of Moldova is named after The Moldova River in Romania which was once part of the region of Moldova.
Moldova was occupied by Romania and Germany from 1941 to 1944.
Moldova was part of the USSR from 1924 to 1991. Part of Moldova, Transnistria, is still under Russian military control and has struggled for its independence. It is not officially recognized as a territory by the Moldavian government.
The current currency in Moldova is the leu. When it was part of the USSR the currency used was the ruble.
80% of the population of Moldova lives below the poverty line.
Moldova has nine counties within its borders; Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Edinet, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Tighina and Ungheni.
For more than 100 years the Romanian city Lasi was the capital of Moldova.
93.3% of the Moldovan population is Eastern Orthodox Christian.
Moldova is one of the world’s largest exporters of wine.
Per capita Moldova consumes the highest amount of alcohol in the world with an astonishing 18.2 liters consumed per adult per year.
Over 147,000 hectares (360,000 acres) is dedicated to vineyards in the country of Moldova.
Moldova is Europe’s poorest country with a GPD of US $ 2,100 which is about 4.5 times lower than the international standard.
The national sport of Moldova is Trânta which is a type of wrestling, but the most popular sport within the country is football (soccer). The national team has never qualified for the finals of the European Championships or World Cup.
Moldova has a temperate climate with warm summers and cool winters. The average temperature during summer months is 20 °C (68 °F)and in the coldest month of winter (January) the average temperature is -2.5 °C (27.5 °F).
Moldova receives most of its annual rainfall in the early months of summer and during the month of October. Thunderstorms and heavy showers of rain are fairly common.