Factbook
History of Moldova — Timeline
Key dates in the history of Moldova, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1812A large portion of present-day Moldovan territory became a province of the Russian Empire in 1812 and then unified with Romania in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I.
1991Although Moldova has been independent from the Soviet Union since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River in the breakaway region of Transnistria.
1991Independence: 27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union).
2001Years of Communist Party rule in Moldova from 2001 to 2009 ultimately ended with election-related violent protests and a rerun of parliamentary elections in 2009.
2010A series of pro-Europe ruling coalitions governed Moldova from 2010 to 2019, but pro-Russia candidate Igor DODON won the presidency in 2016, and his Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova won a plurality in the legislative election in 2019.
2014Languages: Moldovan/Romanian 80.2% (official) (56.7% Moldovan; 23.5% Romanian), Russian 9.7%, Gagauz 4.2% (a Turkish language), Ukrainian 3.9%, Bulgarian 1.5%, Romani 0.3%, other 0.2% (2014) Religions: Orthodox 90.1%, other Christian 2.6%, other 0.1%, agnostic <0.1%, atheist 0.2%, unspecified 6.9% (2014 est.) Urban population: 43.4% of total population (2023).
2020Pro-EU reformist candidate Maia SANDU defeated DODON in his reelection bid in 2020, and SANDU's Party of Action and Solidarity won a parliamentary majority in an early legislative election in 2021.
2021Prime Minister Natalia GAVRILITA and her cabinet took office in 2021.
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 88% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 1.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 3.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 6.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 35.686 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023In early 2023, Moldova's parliament confirmed a new cabinet led by Prime Minister Dorin RECEAN, which retained the majority of the former ministers.
2023Industries: sugar processing, vegetable oil, food processing, agricultural machinery; foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines; hosiery, shoes, textiles Agriculture: wheat, maize, sunflower seeds, grapes, apples, sugar beets, barley, milk, rapeseed, potatoes (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 488,000 CHISINAU (capital) (2023) upper middle-income Eastern European economy; sustained growth reversed by COVID-19; significant remittances; Russian energy and regional dependence; agricultural exporter; declining workforce due to emigration and low fertility Inflation: 4.7% (2024 est.).
2024Military spending: 0.6% of GDP (2024 est.).
