Moldova Economy 1997

Economy - overview Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no majormineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import allof its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energyshortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of theSoviet Union in 1991. The Moldovan Government has recently been making progresson an ambitious economic reform agenda, and the IMF has called Moldova a modelfor the region. As part of its reform efforts, Moldova introduced a stableconvertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential creditsto state enterprises and backed their steady privatization, removed exportcontrols, and freed interest rates. With the election of President LUCINSCHIin December 1996, it is unclear how rapidly the reforms will be pushed.

GDP purchasing power parity - $10.8 billion (1996 estimate extrapolatedfrom World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP - real growth rate 1.5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,400 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 48%
industry: 28%
services: 24% (1994)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 15% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 2.03 million (January 1994)
by occupation: agriculture 39.5%, industry 12.0%, other 48.5% (1994)

Unemployment rate 1.4% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbersof underemployed workers) (January 1996)

Budget
revenues: $570 million
expenditures: $645 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigeratorsand freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles

Industrial production growth rate 3% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity 3.222 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production 1.4 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita 324 kWh (1996 est.)

Agriculture - products vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco;meat, milk

Exports
total value: $775 million (1996)
commodities: foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery
partners : Russia, Kazakstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany

Imports
total value: $1.048 billion (1996)
commodities: oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and otherconsumer durables
partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany

Debt - external $950.7 million (of which $240 million to Russia) (1996 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA
note: commitments, $1,335 million ($500 million disbursements), 1992-95

Currency the Moldovan leu (MLD) (plural lei) was introduced in late 1993

Exchange rates lei (MLD) per US$1 (end of period) - 4.6870 (January 1997), 4.6743 (1996),4.4990 (1995), 4.2700 (1994), 3.6400 (1993), 0.4145 (1992); period average- 4.6121 (August 1996), 4.4958 (1995)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Moldova on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Moldova Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Moldova Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.