Population of Moldova

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• Moldova
• The population of the Earth

Population

2024: Population decline of 14% in 10 years to 2.4 million

The National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova at the end of January 2025 published preliminary results of the 2024 census, according to which the number of permanent residents of the country decreased by 13.9% over the decade, reaching an indicator of 2.401 million people, which is 389 thousand people less than in 2014.

A large-scale statistical study was carried out from April 8 to July 7, 2024, followed by an additional stage until August 11, 2024. During the census, about 2.4 million citizens were interviewed and more than 1.6 million residential and non-residential premises were examined, including secondary and empty houses.

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Фото: Unsplash

The census results show a significant increase in the urbanization of the population - the share of urban residents increased from 38.5% to 46.4%.

By ethnic composition, the majority of the population - 77.2% of respondents - identify as Moldovans, 7.9% are Romanians, 4.9% are Ukrainians and 4.2% are Gagauz. The remaining ethnic groups make up less than 4% of the population each.

The linguistic picture shows that 46% of respondents consider Moldavian to be their native language, 33.3% - Romanian, 15.3% - Russian, 2.3% - Gagauz and 2% - Ukrainian.^[1]

2023: 2.5 million people

As of 2023, about 2.5 million people live in Moldova. Over the previous ten years, the population has decreased by 12%, mainly due to migration to the west and to Russia.

41.9% of Moldovan citizens aged 14-34 are outside the country.

2018: Population decline from 1989 by 20% to 3.5 million

Data on Moldova, probably taking into account Transnistria

Birth rate

2023: Fertility decline by 11% to 24,000 children

In Moldova, in 2023, only 24 thousand children were born, which is 11% less than in 2022.

Migration

2024: Number of Ukrainian refugees - less than 200,000

2024

2021: Net outflow over 4 years

Male-to-female ratio

The ratio of men to women in Europe, according to the CIA for 2016

Children out of wedlock

As of 2018

Marriages and divorces

2017: Divorce rate - 48.2%

Процент разводов в countries of Europe in 2016-2018

Age

2024

The demographic structure indicates a steady trend of aging of the population: the proportion of citizens over 65 in 2024 reached 18.2%. At the same time, there is a significant decrease in the share of youth aged 15-24 years - from 14.7% to 10.6%. Children under 14 make up 19.2% of the population, slightly higher than the 2014 figure of 17.9%. The economically active population aged 25-64 years decreased from 56.1% to 52%, amounting to 1.24 million people.

2023

As of 2023, about 26% of the population are young people aged 14 to 34 years.

Proportion of residents under 14 years of age in Europe, 2018

Dominant haplogroup

Data for 2019

See also:

• Subclade R1b1a2a1a2b (S28/U152)

National composition

The population of the Republic of Moldova is a collection of ethnic groups living in the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

Moldavians, Rusyns, Gagauz - indigenous peoples.

Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Greeks are old-timers.

Moldavians

Moldavians are a people who appeared as a result of the long-term joint residence of East Romanesque, East Slavic and Tur ethnic groups in a single territory of historical Moldova, after the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Russinians

Rusyns (Rusnaks) are the indigenous inhabitants of Moldova, participants and organizers, together with the oxen, of the medieval Moldavian state. Descendants of the streets, Tiverians, Bolokhovites and white Croats, as well as other groups of the old Russian state. In Soviet times, they were strongly Ukrainized. And in the post-Soviet period they underwent Romanization. Their contribution to the construction of the Moldavian state for 2022 is denied by the Moldovan authorities. However, their isolation, dialect and ethnic self-understanding were preserved.

Gagauz

Moldavian Turks - a combination of Turkic-speaking ethnic groups who inhabited Budzhak in the Middle Ages. Polovtsy, Crimean and Nogai Tatars. Ancestors of modern Gagauz and southern Moldavian subethnic groups. The most famous representative Dmitry Cantemir (Khan Temur) is an associate of Peter I and one of the rulers of Moldova.

Russians

Share of people born in Russia in the population of European countries, 2018

Ukrainians

The country of birth of the largest group of foreigners in each of the countries of Europe. Data for 2018

Jews

The number of Jews in Europe in 1933 and 2015.

Xenophobia

Распространение антисемитизма в countries Eastern Europe, 2017-2018 data

Share of citizens abroad

Proportion of citizens born in and living outside the country, 2015

Share of the population living in the capital

2024

Every third resident of Moldova lives in Chisinau by 2024, which indicates the ongoing process of centralization of the population. This is evidenced by the data of the National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova, which were released in January 2025.

2018

The share of the country's population living in the capital. Data at the end of 2018

Poverty

2020: 31.7% of Moldovans undernourished

Mortality

2023: Life expectancy - 69.5 years

Life expectancy in European countries in 2023

2018

Number of drug deaths per million residents

Number of deaths from drug use between the ages of 15 and 64 per million inhabitants, 2018

Number of road deaths per 100,000 vehicles

The number of deaths on the roads per 100 thousand vehicles. Data for 2018

The annual number of suicides per 100 thousand inhabitants

The annual number of suicides per 100 thousand inhabitants in Europe. Data for Russia for 2013

2016: Number of deaths from opioid use disorders

Number of deaths from opioid use disorders per 100,000 people (2016)

2012: Male-female suicide ratio

How many times more likely are men to commit suicide than women in Europe, 2012

Notes