erosion from poor farming methods

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Geography - note:
landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and
minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone

People Moldova

Population:
4,446,455 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.6% (male 466,485; female 449,645)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 1,478,220; female 1,595,695)
65 years and over: 10.3% (male 169,026; female 287,384) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 32.1 years
male: 29.9 years
female: 34.3 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.18% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
14.81 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
12.76 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 41 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 37.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 43.96 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.03 years
male: 60.88 years
female: 69.39 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.78 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5,500 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 300 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Moldovan(s)
adjective: Moldovan

Ethnic groups:
Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Jewish 1.5%,
Bulgarian 2%, Gagauz and other 5.2% (1989 est.)
note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region

Religions:
Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000)

Languages:
Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language),
Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.1%
male: 99.6%
female: 98.7% (2003 est.)

Government Moldova

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
conventi