a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head,
star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow

Economy Moldova

Economy - overview: Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good
farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy
depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine,
and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and
natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp
production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As
part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a convertible
currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state
enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls,
and freed interest rates. Yet these efforts could not offset the impact
of political and economic difficulties, both internal and regional. In
1998, the economic troubles of Russia, by far Moldova's leading trade
partner, were a major cause of the 8.6% drop in GDP. In 1999, GDP fell
again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past seven years; exports were
down, and energy supplies continued to be erratic. Following the return
to positive GDP growth in 2000 (1.9%), Moldova experienced strong 6.1%
rise in GDP in 2001, driven by a marked improvement in industry and a 20%
improvement in agriculture.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.3 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.1% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,550 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 28% industry: 21% services:
51% (2000)

Population below poverty line: 80% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.7% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 40.6 (1997)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (2001 est.)

Labor force: 1.7 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46%
(1998)

Unemployment rate: 1.9% (includes only officially registered unemployed;
large numbers of underemployed workers; 25% of working age Moldovans
are employed abroad) (November 2000)

Budget: revenues: $536 million expenditures: $594 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

Industries: food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment,
refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable
oil, shoes,