Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local long form: Republica Moldova
local short form: Moldova
former: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic
etymology: named after the Moldova River in neighboring eastern Romania

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Chisinau in Romanian (Kishinev in Russian)
note: pronounced KEE-shee-now (KIH-shi-nyov)
geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 28 51 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:
32 raions (raioane, singular - raion), 3 municipalities (municipii, singular - municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala)
raions: Anenii Noi, Basarabeasca, Briceni, Cahul, Cantemir, Calarasi, Causeni, Cimislia, Criuleni, Donduseni, Drochia, Dubasari, Edinet, Falesti, Floresti, Glodeni, Hincesti, Ialoveni, Leova, Nisporeni, Ocnita, Orhei, Rezina, Riscani, Singerei, Soldanesti, Soroca, Stefan-Voda, Straseni, Taraclia, Telenesti, Ungheni
municipalities: Balti, Bender, Chisinau
autonomous territorial unit: Gagauzia
territorial unit: Stinga Nistrului (Transnistria)

Independence:
27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 August (1991)

Constitution:
previous 1978; latest adopted 29 July 1994, effective 27 August 1994; amended 2006, 2010 (2015)

Legal system:
civil law system with Germanic law influences; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Moldova
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Nicolae TIMOFTI (since 23 March 2012)
head of government: Prime Minister Pavel FILIP (since 20 January 2016); Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe BALAN (since 20 January 2016)
cabinet: Cabinet proposed by the prime minister-designate, nominated by the president, approved through a vote of confidence in Parliament
elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by Parliament by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 16 March 2012 (next to be held in March 2016); prime minister designated by the president upon consultation with Parliament; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence for his/her proposed work program from the Parliament
election results: Nicolae TIMOFTI (independent) elected president; Parliament vote - 62 of 101; Pavel FILIP (Democratic party) designated prime minister; Parliament vote - 57 of 101

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Parliament or Parlament (101 seats; members directly elected in a single, nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 30 November 2014 (next to be held in November 2018)
election results: percent of vote by party - PSRM 20.5%, PLDM 20.2%, PCRM 17.5%, PD 15.8%, PL 9.7%, other 16.3%; seats by party - PSRM 25, PLDM 23, PCRM 21, PD 19, PL 13

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice (consists of a chief judges, 3 deputy-chief judges, 45 judges, and 7 assistant judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president and 6 judges); note - the Constitutional Court is autonomous to the other branches of government; the Court interprets the Constitution and reviews the constitutionality of parliamentary laws and decisions, decrees of the president, and acts of the government
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Justice judges appointed by Parliament upon the recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy; all judges serve 4-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed 2 each by Parliament, the Moldovan president, and the Higher Council of Magistracy; court president elected by other court judges for a 3-year term; other judges appointed for 6-year terms
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Court of Business Audit; municipal courts

Political parties and leaders:
represented in Parliament: Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN] Democratic Party or PD [Marian LUPU] Liberal Democratic Party or PLDM [Valeriu STRELET, acting] Liberal Party or PL [Mihai GHIMPU] Party of Socialists or PSRM [Igor DODON]
not represented in Parliament: Anti-Fascist Movement or Antifa [Grigore PETRENCO] Anti-Mafia Movement [Sergiu MOCANU] Christian Democratic People's Party or PPCD [Victor CIOBANU] Conservative Party or PC [Natalia NIRCA] Dignity and Truth Party [Andrei NASTASE] Ecological Party of Moldova "Green Alliance" or PEMAVE [Vladimir BRAGA] European People’s Party of Moldova (EPPM) [Iurie LEANCA] Humanist Party of Moldova or PUM [Valeriu PASAT] Labor Party or PM [Gheorghe SIMA] Liberal Reformers Party or PLR [Ion HADARCA] National Liberal Party or PNL [Vitalia PAVLICENKO] Our Party [Renato USATII] Patriots of Moldova Party or PPM [Mihail GARBUZ] Republican Party of Moldova or PRM [Andrei STRATAN] Revival Party [Vadim MISIN] Roma Social Political Movement of the Republic of Moldova or MRRM [Ion BUCUR] Social Democratic Party or PSD [Victor SELIN] Social Political Movement "Equality" or MR [Valeriy KLIMENCO] United Moldova Party or PMUEM [Vladimir TURCAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, CIS, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Veaceslav PITUSCAN (since 26 August 2015)
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James D. PETTIT (since 29 January 2015)
embassy: 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [373] (22) 40-8300
FAX: [373] (22) 23-3044

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak 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 aurochs head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow; based on the color scheme of the flag of Romania - with which Moldova shares a history and culture - but Moldova's blue band is lighter; the reverse of the flag does not display any coat of arms
note: one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Paraguay and Saudi Arabia

National symbol(s):
aurochs (a type of wild cattle); national colors: blue, yellow, red

National anthem:
name: "Limba noastra" (Our Language)
lyrics/music: Alexei MATEEVICI/Alexandru CRISTEA
note: adopted 1994