eak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in
its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over
blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined
yellow

*Moldova, Economy

Overview:
Moldova, the next-to-smallest of the former Soviet republics in area, is the
most densely inhabited. Moldova has a little more than 1% of the population,
labor force, capital stock, and output of the former Soviet Union. Living
standards have been below average for the European USSR. The country enjoys
a favorable climate, and economic development has been primarily based on
agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Industry
accounts for 20% of the labor force, whereas agriculture employs more than
one-third. Moldova has no major mineral resources and has depended on other
former Soviet republics for coal, oil, gas, steel, most electronic
equipment, machine tools, and major consumer durables such as automobiles.
Its industrial and agricultural products, in turn, have been exported to the
other republics. Moldova has freed prices on most goods and has legalized
private ownership of property. Moldova's near-term economic prospects are
dimmed, however, by the difficulties of moving toward a market economy, the
political problems of redefining ties to the other former Soviet republics
and Romania, and the ongoing separatist movements in the Dniester and Gagauz
regions. In 1992, national output fell substantially for the second
consecutive year - down 22% in the industrial sector and 20% in agriculture.
The decline is mainly attributable to the drop in energy supplies.
National product:
GDP $NA
National product real growth rate:
-26% (1992)
National product per capita:
$NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27% per month (first quarter 1993)
Unemployment rate:
0.7% (includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of
underemployed workers)
Budget:
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
100 million to outside the successor states of the former USSR (1992)
commodities:
foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery, chemicals
(1991)
partners:
Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania
Imports:
100 million from outside the successor states of the former USSR (1992)
commodities:
oil, gas, coal, steel machine