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95-606: Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova , is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe , on the northeastern corner of the Balkans . The country spans a total of 33,483 km (12,928 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 2.42 million as of January 2024. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria lies across

190-634: A Partnership Mission in Moldova through its Common Security and Defence Policy on 24 April 2023. The mission seeks to support the government of Moldova in countering hybrid threats the country faces as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . A memorandum dated 29 March 2023 stated that the mission aims at "enhancing the resilience of Moldova's security sector in the area of crisis management as well as enhancing resilience to hybrid threats, including cybersecurity, and countering foreign information manipulation and interference". The initial mandate of

285-608: A vassal state of the Ottoman Empire from 1538, until the 19th century. In 1812, following one of several Russian–Turkish wars , the eastern half of the principality, Bessarabia , was annexed by the Russian Empire , marking the beginning of Russian influence in the region. In 1918, Bessarabia briefly became independent as the Moldavian Democratic Republic and, following the decision of

380-767: A "partly free" country with a score of 62/100 in 2023. They summarized their finds as follows: "Moldova has a competitive electoral environment, and freedoms of assembly , speech , and religion are mostly protected. Nonetheless, pervasive corruption , links between major political figures and powerful economic interests, and critical deficiencies in the justice sector and the rule of law all continue to hamper democratic governance." According to Transparency International , Moldova's Corruption Perceptions Index improved to 39 points in 2022 from 34 in 2020. Reporters Without Borders improved Moldova's Press Freedom Index ranking from 89th in 2020 to 40th in 2022, while cautioning that "Moldova's media are diverse but extremely polarised, like

475-638: A border with a coastal country but any path to a coast would still lead across at least two borders. The Free City of Frankfurt which was independent between 1815 and 1866 was doubly landlocked as it bordered the Electorate of Hesse , the Grand Duchy of Hesse , Hesse-Homburg , and Nassau . In the German Confederation there were several other landlocked states that only bordered landlocked states and landlocked exclaves of coastal states:

570-547: A clear separation of powers . The president serves as the head of state , is elected every four years, and can be re-elected once. The prime minister serves as the head of government , appointed by the president with parliament 's support. The head of government in turn assembles a cabinet , subject to parliamentary approval. Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral Parliament of Moldova which has 101 seats and whose members are elected by popular vote on party lists every four years. The president's official residence

665-561: A closer alliance with NATO and strongly condemned Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine . Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe by GDP per official capita after Ukraine and much of its GDP is dominated by the service sector . It has one of the lowest Human Development Indexes in Europe, ranking 76th in the world (2022). Moldova ranks 68th in the world on the Global Innovation Index as of 2024. Moldova

760-544: A component of its support for Moldova in its European integration efforts. The first joint meeting of the Governments of Romania and Moldova, held in March 2012, concluded with several bilateral agreements in various fields. The European orientation "has been the policy of Moldova in recent years and this is the policy that must continue," Nicolae Timofti told lawmakers before his election in 2012 . On 29 November 2013, at

855-580: A conflict that left the Transnistrian region as a de facto independent state. Moldova continues to navigate a complex relationship between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions. In recent years, it has pursued closer ties with the European Union , submitting a formal membership application in 2022. In the November 2020 presidential election , the pro-European opposition candidate Maia Sandu

950-576: A country's development status. They conclude that 11%, 21% and 34% of all countries can be interpreted as currently misclassified in the development bins due to the three sources of data error, respectively. Wolff, Chong and Auffhammer suggest that the United Nations should discontinue the practice of classifying countries into development bins because the cut-off values seem arbitrary, and the classifications can provide incentives for strategic behavior in reporting official statistics, as well as having

1045-537: A country's development. It cuts a nation off from important sea resources such as fishing , and impedes or prevents direct access to maritime trade , a crucial component of economic and social advance. As such, coastal regions, or inland regions that have access to the World Ocean, tended to be wealthier and more heavily populated than inland regions that have no access to the World Ocean. Paul Collier in his book The Bottom Billion argues that being landlocked in

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1140-660: A majority of voters support the proposal in a referendum. Furthermore, no revision can be made to limit the fundamental rights of people enumerated in the Constitution. The 1994 constitution also establishes an independent Constitutional Court , composed of six judges (two appointed by the President, two by Parliament, and two by the Supreme Council of Magistrature ), serving six-year terms, during which they are irremovable and not subordinate to any power. The court

1235-530: A number of grounds, including focusing exclusively on national performance and ranking, lack of attention to development from a global perspective, measurement error of the underlying statistics, and on the UNDP's changes in formula which can lead to severe misclassification of "low", "medium", "high" or "very high" human development countries. There have also been various criticism towards the lack of consideration regarding sustainability (which later got addressed by

1330-625: A number of more specialised police institutions including the Police Department of Chisinau Municipality and the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation. The Moldovan Border Police are responsible for border security. It was a military branch until 2012 when it was put under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to The Law on Police Use of Force Worldwide, "Moldova does not regulate and restrict

1425-813: A participant in NATO 's Partnership for Peace programme. The Francophonie was joined in 1996 with the country joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 and the International Criminal Court in 2002. In 2005, Moldova and the European Union established an action plan that sought to improve cooperation between Moldova and the union. At the end of 2005, the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM)

1520-474: A political centre at the time of the foundation of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359. The origin of the name of the river remains unclear. According to a legend recounted by Moldavian chroniclers Dimitrie Cantemir and Grigore Ureche , Prince Dragoș named the river after hunting aurochs : following the chase, the prince's exhausted hound Molda (Seva) drowned in the river. The dog's name, given to

1615-443: A poor geographical neighbourhood is one of four major development "traps" by which a country can be held back. In general, he found that when a neighbouring country experiences better growth, it tends to spill over into favorable development for the country itself. For landlocked countries, the effect is particularly strong, as they are limited in their trading activity with the rest of the world. He states, "If you are coastal, you serve

1710-662: A role in shaping foreign policy. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Government has frequently used its connections with the Russian Orthodox Church to block and stymie the integration of former Soviet states like Moldova into the West. In February 2023 Russia cancelled a 2012 decree underpinning Moldova's sovereignty. In May 2023 the government announced its intentions to withdraw from

1805-507: A separate administration and are administratively part of either cities (41 of them) or communes (659). This makes for a total of 1,682 localities in Moldova, two of which are uninhabited. The largest city in Moldova is Chișinău with a population of approx. 695,400 people. The second largest city is Tiraspol at 129,500, part of the unrecognised breakaway region of Transnistria , followed by Bălți (146,900) and Bender (91,000). The Moldovan police force ( General Police Inspectorate ) reports to

1900-549: A summit in Vilnius , Moldova signed an association agreement with the European Union dedicated to the European Union's ' Eastern Partnership ' with ex-Soviet countries. The ex-Romanian President Traian Băsescu stated that Romania will make all efforts for Moldova to join the EU as soon as possible. Likewise, Traian Băsescu declared that the unification of Moldova and Romania is the next national project for Romania, as more than 75% of

1995-548: A value of US$ 700,000, to the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion of the Moldovan National Army to "increase the capability of Moldovan peacekeeping contingents." Moldova signed a military agreement with Romania to strengthen regional security in 2015. The agreement is part of Moldova's strategy to reform its military and cooperate with its neighbours. Since 2022, the army has begun a process of modernization, and has been provided with more than €87 million in support for

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2090-601: A vote of its assembly. The decision was disputed by Soviet Russia , which in 1924 established, within the Ukrainian SSR , a so-called Moldavian autonomous republic on partially Moldovan-inhabited territories to the east of Bessarabia. In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union , leading to the creation of

2185-754: Is "doubly landlocked" or "double-landlocked" when it is surrounded entirely by landlocked countries (i.e. requiring the crossing of at least two national borders to reach a coastline). There are two such countries: After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire , the Kingdom of Württemberg became a doubly landlocked state, bordering Bavaria , Baden , Switzerland , the Grand Duchy of Hesse ( Wimpfen exclave), Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , and Hohenzollern-Hechingen . The latter two were themselves landlocked between each other, Württemberg, and Baden. In 1866 they became an exclave of Prussia , giving Württemberg

2280-816: Is a member state of the United Nations, the Council of Europe , the World Trade Organization , the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development , the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation , and the Association Trio . The name Moldova is derived from the Moldova River ( German : Moldau ); the valley of this river served as

2375-652: Is also providing assistance to Moldova in implementing the necessary reforms for full accession by 2030. The European Union's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has confirmed that the pathway to accession does not depend upon a resolution of the Transnistria conflict . On 27 June, Moldova signed a comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association . On 28 June 2023,

2470-412: Is considered central — someone choosing to be hungry (e.g. when fasting for religious reasons ) is considered different from someone who is hungry because they cannot afford to buy food, or because the country is going through a famine . The index does not take into account several factors, such as the net wealth per capita or the relative quality of goods in a country. This situation tends to lower

2565-495: Is invested with the power of judicial review over all acts of parliament , over presidential decrees , and over international treaties signed by the country. The head of state is the President of Moldova, who between 2001 and 2015 was elected by the Moldovan Parliament, requiring the support of three-fifths of the deputies (at least 61 votes). This system was designed to decrease executive authority in favour of

2660-596: Is the Presidential Palace, Chișinău . After the prime minister and government resigned in 2020 and the president and parliament failed to form a new government, early parliamentary elections were held in July 2021. According to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers, the 2021 parliamentary elections were well-administered and competitive, and fundamental freedoms were largely respected. The Party of Action and Solidarity won 63 seats in

2755-666: Is the year when the report was published. The HDI has extended its geographical coverage: David Hastings, of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , published a report geographically extending the HDI to 230+ economies, whereas the UNDP HDI for 2009 enumerates 182 economies and coverage for the 2010 HDI dropped to 169 countries. The Human Development Index has been criticized on

2850-590: Is usually not considered a continent but a geographical region by the English-speaking countries ) also has no landlocked countries. All landlocked countries, except Bolivia and Paraguay , are located on the continental mainland of Afro-Eurasia . Human Development Index This is an accepted version of this page The Human Development Index ( HDI ) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy , education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering

2945-771: The Baltic Sea , Black Sea , and Pacific Ocean . On the other hand, some landlocked countries can have access to the ocean along wide navigable rivers. For instance, Paraguay (and Bolivia to a lesser extent) have access to the ocean through the Paraguay and Paraná rivers. Several countries have coastlines on landlocked bodies of water, such as the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea . Since these seas are in effect lakes without access to wider seaborne trade, countries such as Kazakhstan are still considered landlocked. Although

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3040-542: The Dniester river on the country's eastern border with Ukraine. Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with its capital in Chișinău , the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Most of Moldovan territory was a part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia

3135-665: The European Parliament approved a grant of €90 million to Moldova. The money was to supplement US$ 570 million in International Monetary Fund loans, World Bank and other bilateral support already granted to Moldova. In April 2010, Romania offered Moldova development aid worth of €100 million while the number of scholarships for Moldovan students doubled to 5,000. According to a lending agreement signed in February 2010, Poland provided US$ 15 million as

3230-545: The Grand Duchy of Hesse , Hesse-Homburg , Nassau (all until 1866), Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , Saxe-Hildburghausen (both until 1826), and Reuss, elder line (until 1871). All of these bordered Prussia but not the main territory with sea access. There were no doubly landlocked countries from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the end of World War I . Liechtenstein bordered the Austro-Hungarian Empire , which had an Adriatic coastline, and Uzbekistan

3325-530: The Left Bank of the Dniester ). The final status of Transnistria is disputed , as the central government does not control that territory. 10 other cities, including Comrat and Tiraspol , the administrative seats of the two autonomous territories, also have municipality status . Moldova has 66 cities (towns), including 13 with municipality status, and 916 communes. Another 700 villages are too small to have

3420-585: The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) and is the primary law enforcement body, responsible for internal security, public order, traffic, and criminal investigations. Several agencies responsible for border management, emergency situations, migration and asylum also report to the ministry. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. The Moldovan Police are divided into state and municipal organisations. State police provide law enforcement throughout Moldova while municipal police operate at

3515-554: The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR). On 27 August 1991, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was underway, the Moldavian SSR declared independence and took the name Moldova. However, the strip of Moldovan territory on the east bank of the Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990. The constitution of Moldova

3610-583: The Neolithic and Bronze Ages . In antiquity , Moldova's location made it a crossroads for invasions by the Scythians , Goths , Huns , and other tribes, followed by periods of Roman and Byzantine control. The medieval Principality of Moldavia emerged in the 1350s , and was the medieval precursor of modern Moldova and Romania . It reached prominence under rulers like Stephen the Great before becoming

3705-406: The Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union , gained its independence with the dissolution of the latter in 1991 and became the second doubly landlocked country. However, Uzbekistan's doubly landlocked status depends on whether the Caspian Sea is considered a lake or a sea. In the latter case, Uzbekistan is not doubly landlocked, since its neighbors Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have access to

3800-740: The Sound Dues , a toll needed to be paid to reach Western European waters. Sweden bypassed it by conquering Scania in 1658. Landlocked countries may be bordered by a single country having direct access to the high seas , two or more such countries, or be surrounded by other landlocked countries, making a country doubly landlocked. Three countries are landlocked by a single country ( enclaved countries): Seven landlocked countries are surrounded by only two mutually bordering neighbours (semi-enclaved countries): To this group could be added three landlocked territories, two of them de facto states with limited or no international recognition : A country

3895-762: The UN Firearms Protocol , Stability Pact Regional Implementation Plan , the UN Programme of Action (PoA), and the OSCE Documents on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition. Since declaring independence in 1991, Moldova has participated in UN peacekeeping missions in Liberia , Côte d'Ivoire , Sudan , and Georgia . On 12 November 2014, the US donated to Moldovan Armed Forces 39 Humvees and 10 trailers, with

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3990-553: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s Human Development Report Office. The 2010 Human Development Report introduced an inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI). While the simple HDI remains useful, it stated that "the IHDI is the actual level of human development (accounting for this inequality ), while the HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential' human development (or

4085-552: The Venice Commission across all areas and ensure effective and continuous implementation of human rights legislation." The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights ' 2016 recommendations on hate crimes were "largely reflected in amendments to the Criminal Code adopted by the Moldovan Parliament and published on 3 June 2022", but the report notes that Moldovan law enforcement officers often fail to record

4180-414: The education system ), and per capita income indicators, which is used to rank countries into four tiers of human development . A country scores a higher level of HDI when the lifespan is higher, the education level is higher, and the gross national income GNI (PPP) per capita is higher. It was developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul-Haq and was further used to measure a country's development by

4275-481: The lowest and highest values the variable x {\displaystyle x} can attain, respectively. The Human Development Index (HDI) then represents the uniformly weighted sum with 1 ⁄ 3 contributed by each of the following factor indices: The Human Development Report 2023/24 by the United Nations Development Programme was released on 13 March 2024; the report calculates HDI values based on data collected in 2022. Ranked from 1 to 69 in

4370-488: The planetary pressures-adjusted HDI ), social inequality (which got addressed by the inequality-adjusted HDI ), unemployment or democracy . Economists Hendrik Wolff, Howard Chong and Maximilian Auffhammer discuss the HDI from the perspective of data error in the underlying health, education and income statistics used to construct the HDI. They have identified three sources of data error which are: (i) data updating, (ii) formula revisions and (iii) thresholds to classify

4465-490: The 101-seat parliament, enough to form a single-party majority. The 1994 Constitution of Moldova sets the framework for the government of the country. A parliamentary majority of at least two-thirds is required to amend the Constitution of Moldova , which cannot be revised in times of war or national emergency. Amendments to the Constitution affecting the state's sovereignty, independence, or unity can only be made after

4560-1222: The 2010 Human Development Report calculated the HDI combining three dimensions: In its 2010 Human Development Report, the UNDP began using a new method of calculating the HDI. The following three indices are used: 1. Life Expectancy Index (LEI) = LE − 20 85 − 20 = LE − 20 65 {\displaystyle ={\frac {{\textrm {LE}}-20}{85-20}}={\frac {{\textrm {LE}}-20}{65}}} 2. Education Index (EI) = MYSI + EYSI 2 {\displaystyle ={\frac {{\textrm {MYSI}}+{\textrm {EYSI}}}{2}}} 3. Income Index (II) = ln ⁡ ( GNIpc ) − ln ⁡ ( 100 ) ln ⁡ ( 75 , 000 ) − ln ⁡ ( 100 ) = ln ⁡ ( GNIpc ) − ln ⁡ ( 100 ) ln ⁡ ( 750 ) {\displaystyle ={\frac {\ln({\textrm {GNIpc}})-\ln(100)}{\ln(75,000)-\ln(100)}}={\frac {\ln({\textrm {GNIpc}})-\ln(100)}{\ln(750)}}} Finally,

4655-763: The 45 landlocked countries, including those in Africa , Asia , and South America , have been classified as Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) by the United Nations . Nine of the twelve countries with the lowest Human Development Index rankings are landlocked. International initiatives are aimed at reducing inequalities resulting from issues such as these, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 , which aims to reduce inequality substantially by 2030. In 1990, there were only 30 landlocked countries in

4750-583: The Caspian Sea is connected to the Black Sea via the man-made Volga–Don Canal , large oceangoing ships are unable to traverse it. Some countries or important parts of countries have coastlines or river ports reachable by oceangoing ships, but only through a strait or river part of the territory of another country. The other country can put restriction on passage. Between 1429 and 1857 Poland , Sweden , Russia and more Baltic countries were suffering from

4845-597: The Caspian Sea. Notes: The landlocked countries and de facto states can be grouped in contiguous groups as follows: Notes: There are the following 12 "single" landlocked countries (each of them borders no other landlocked country or de facto state): According to the United Nations geoscheme (excluding the de facto states ), Africa has the most landlocked countries, at 16, followed by Europe (14), Asia (12), and South America (2). However, if Armenia , Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , and South Ossetia (de facto state) are counted as parts of Europe, then Europe has

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4940-742: The Commonwealth of Independent States and the immediate suspension of its participation. In July 2023 Moldova passed a law on denunciation of the agreement on Moldova's membership in the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly . On 25 July 2023, the Moldovan government summoned the Russian ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Vasnetsov, after media reports of alleged spying devices on the rooftop of their embassy in Chişinău. On 26 July 2023,

5035-413: The EU, a narrow 50.17% voted "yes," with Maia Sandu alleging "unprecedented" outside interference. Sandu received 42% in the simultaneous presidential election, while her rival, Alexandr Stoianoglo, garnered 26%, leading to a run-off on 3 November 2024. The referendum was seen as a test of Moldova's commitment to EU integration, amid claims of vote manipulation by criminal groups. The European Union created

5130-601: The European Union announced a €1.6 billion support and investment programme for Moldova, as well as confirming reductions in the price of mobile data and voice roaming charges in Moldova by European and Moldovan telecoms operators, as well as Moldova joining the EU's joint gas purchase platform. Formal accession talks began on 13 December 2023. A referendum on joining the EU is planned for autumn 2024, there will be no voting stations in Transnistria, however residents there will be free to travel into other areas of Moldova to vote, should they wish to. In Moldova's referendum on joining

5225-522: The HDI is the geometric mean of the previous three normalized indices: LE: Life expectancy at birth MYS: Mean years of schooling (i.e. years that a person aged 25 or older has spent in formal education) EYS: Expected years of schooling (i.e. total expected years of schooling for children under 18 years of age, incl. young men and women aged 13–17) GNIpc: Gross national income at purchasing power parity per capita The HDI combined three dimensions last used in its 2009 report: This methodology

5320-455: The Moldovan government expelled 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff due to "hostile actions" intended to destabilise the Republic of Moldova, according to Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu. On 30 July, the Russian embassy announced that it would suspend consular appointments "for technical reasons". The Moldovan Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) also ended all partnership agreements with Russia's FSB after sending official notifications to

5415-421: The OSCE and UN fact-finding and observer missions. The foreign minister of Moldova , Andrei Stratan , repeatedly stated that the Russian troops stationed in the breakaway region were there against the will of the Moldovan government and called on them to leave "completely and unconditionally". In 2012, a security zone incident resulted in the death of a civilian, raising tensions with Russia. In September 2010,

5510-426: The Parliament (Sfatul Țării), united with Romania . During the Second World War it was occupied by the Soviet Union which reclaimed it from Romania. It joined the Union in 1940 as the Moldavian SSR . During this period, policies of Russification and economic transformation deeply influenced the region. The dissolution of the USSR in 1991 led to declared independence , followed by the Transnistria War in 1992,

5605-447: The Wolff et al. paper. The Human Development Report Office states that they undertook a systematic revision of the methods used for the calculation of the HDI, and that the new methodology directly addresses the critique by Wolff et al. in that it generates a system for continuously updating the human-development categories whenever formula or data revisions take place. In 2013, Salvatore Monni and Alessandro Spaventa emphasized that in

5700-458: The authorities in Moscow. Moldova has set 2030 as the target date for EU Accession. Moldova signed the Association Agreement with the European Union in Brussels on 27 June 2014. The signing came after the accord was drafted in Vilnius in November 2013. Moldova signed the membership application to join the EU on 3 March 2022. On 23 June 2022, Moldova was officially granted candidate status by EU leaders. The United Nations Development Programme

5795-483: The bias motivations behind hate crimes, and additionally recommended "developing its victim support system to ensure effective access to justice, assistance, and protection services for hate crime victims". In 2021, 8 hate crimes were recorded, 7 of which reached a successful conviction, with one going to prosecution but without a conviction. Moldova is divided into 32 districts ( raioane , singular raion ), three municipalities and two autonomous regions ( Gagauzia and

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5890-536: The breakaway Transdniestria region, prosecution and imprisonment for peaceful dissent continued." On 18 June 2023, some 500 LGBT activists and supporters held a Pride parade in the capital city of Chișinău which for the first time needed no heavy police cordons to protect them from protesters largely linked to the Orthodox church. According to Human Rights Report of the United States Department of State , released in 2022, "While authorities investigated reports of human rights abuses and corruption committed by officials,

5985-606: The country itself, which is marked by political instability and excessive influence by oligarchs." According to Amnesty International 's 2022/23 report, "No visible progress was made in reducing instances of torture and other ill-treatment in detention. Impunity continued for past human rights violations by law enforcement agencies. New "temporary" restrictions on public assemblies were introduced. The rights of LGBTI people were not fully realized, leading to cases of harassment, discrimination and violence. Some refugee reception centres turned away religious and ethnic minority refugees. In

6080-456: The country signed the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Convention to become a member and was also admitted in July 1995 to the Council of Europe . Moldova became a member state of the United Nations the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Cooperation Council , the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 1992. 1994 saw Moldova became

6175-560: The country's sovereignty, independence and integrity. The Moldovan armed forces consists of the Ground Forces and Air Force . Moldova maintains a standing army of just 6,500 soldiers, and spends just 0.4 percent of its GDP on defence, far behind its regional neighbours. Moldova accepted all relevant arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union. On 30 October 1992, Moldova ratified the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe , which establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment and provides for

6270-403: The current responsible Undersecretary-General is Anwarul Karim Chowdhury . Some countries have a long coastline, but much of it may not be readily usable for trade and commerce. For instance, in its early history, Russia 's only ports were on the Arctic Ocean and frozen shut for much of the year. The wish to gain control of a warm-water port was a major motivator of Russian expansion towards

6365-442: The destruction of weapons in excess of those limits. The country acceded to the provisions of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in October 1994 in Washington, D.C. It does not have nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological weapons. Moldova joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 's Partnership for Peace on 16 March 1994. Moldova is committed to a number of international and regional control of arms regulations such as

6460-416: The focus of development economics from national income accounting to people-centered policies ". He believed that a simple composite measure of human development was needed to convince the public, academics and politicians that they can, and should, evaluate development not only by economic advances but also improvements in human well-being . Published on 4 November 2010 (and updated on 10 June 2011),

6555-409: The former landlocked country of Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on 1 January 1993. On 30 September 2022, the Luhansk People's Republic (de facto state) was annexed by Russia and ceased to exist as a landlocked de facto state. On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a new offensive against the Republic of Artsakh (de facto state) and achieved a decisive victory. The Government of Artsakh

6650-497: The legislature. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court ruled on 4 March 2016 that this constitutional change adopted in 2000 regarding the presidential election was unconstitutional, thus reverting the election method of the president to a two-round system direct election . After achieving independence from the Soviet Union, Moldova's foreign policy was designed with a view to establishing relations with other European countries, neutrality, and European Union integration. In May 1995

6745-424: The local administrative level. National and municipal police forces often collaborate closely for law enforcement purposes. The Special Forces Brigade "Fulger" is a specialized combat-ready police force primarily responsible for tackling organized crime, serious violent crime, and hostage situations. They are subordinate to the General Police Inspectorate and therefore under strict civilian control. There are also

6840-520: The maximum level of HDI) that could be achieved if there was no inequality." The index is based on the human development approach, developed by Mahbub ul-Haq, anchored in Amartya Sen 's work on human capabilities, and often framed in terms of whether people are able to "be" and "do" desirable things in life. Examples include — being: well-fed, sheltered, and healthy; doing: work, education, voting, participating in community life. The freedom of choice

6935-623: The mission is expected to be for two years and it will be made up of up to 40 police and customs officers and judicial officials. Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Germany, Poland , Sweden, the Czech Republic , Portugal , Romania , and Denmark have all voiced support for the mission. On 2 February 2023 Moldova passed a law introducing criminal penalties for separatism , including prison terms. The law continues with penalties for financing and inciting separatism, plotting against Moldova, and collecting and stealing information that could harm

7030-682: The modernization of the defence sector and the strengthening of security through the European Peace Facility . In October 2022, Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatii claimed that 90 percent of the country's military equipment is outdated and of Soviet origin, dating back to the 1960s and 1980s. In April 2023, Valeriu Mija, Secretary of State for Defence Policy and National Army Reform in the Defence Ministry, claimed that Moldova needed $ 275 million to modernize its armed forces, especially in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and

7125-708: The most landlocked countries, at 20 (including all three landlocked de facto states). If these transcontinental or culturally European countries are included in Asia, then both Africa and Europe (including Kosovo and Transnistria ) have the most, at 16. Depending on the status of Kazakhstan and the South Caucasian countries, Asia has between 9 and 13 (including South Ossetia ). South America only has two landlocked countries: Bolivia and Paraguay . Australia and North America have no landlocked countries, while Antarctica has no countries at all. Oceania (which

7220-670: The population speaks Romanian. A document written in 2021 by the Russia's FSB's Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation, titled "Strategic objectives of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova" sets out a 10-year plan to destabilise Moldova. Using energy blackmail, political and elite sources in Moldova that are favourable to Russia and the Orthodox Church. Russia denies any such plan. Religious leaders play

7315-523: The potential to misguide politicians, investors, charity donors and the public who use the HDI at large. In 2010, the UNDP reacted to the criticism by updating the thresholds to classify nations as low, medium, and high human development countries. In a comment to The Economist in early January 2011, the Human Development Report Office responded to an article published in the magazine on 6 January 2011 which discusses

7410-613: The presence of 1,500 Russian soldiers in Transnistria . In June 2023, Poland also sent a transport of military equipment worth €8 million (including drones , laptops, explosive ordnance disposal equipment , and ultrasound equipment) to the Moldovan police to increase the country's internal security. Analysts at the Centre for European Policy Analysis have called for further western weapon donations. Freedom House ranked Moldova as

7505-500: The process was slow and burdensome. During the year, authorities indicted and detained several former high-level officials including former President Igor Dodon, former member of parliament Vladimir Andronachi, Shor Party member of parliament Marina Tauber and former director of Moldovan Railways Anatolie Topala. None of these cases resulted in conviction by a court at year's end. Authorities took some steps to identify, investigate, and prosecute officials for human rights abuses, but progress

7600-450: The ranking of some of the most developed countries , such as the G7 members and others. The origins of the HDI are found in the annual Human Development Reports produced by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These annual reports were devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul-Haq in 1990, and had the explicit purpose "to shift

7695-473: The ratio is 3:1). Historically, traveling between a landlocked country and a country which did not border said country required the traveler to pass border controls twice or more. In recent times the advent of air travel has largely negated this impediment. Countries have acted to overcome being landlocked by acquiring land that reaches the sea: Countries can make agreements on getting free transport of goods through neighbouring countries: Losing access to

7790-797: The river, extended to the principality. For a short time in the 1990s, at the founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States , the name of the current Republic of Moldova was also spelled Moldavia . After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , the country began to use the Romanian name, Moldova . Officially, the name Republic of Moldova is designated by the United Nations. The history of Moldova spans prehistoric cultures , ancient and medieval empires, and periods of foreign rule and modern independence . Evidence of human habitation dates back 800,000–1.2 million years, with significant developments in agriculture , pottery , and settlement during

7885-520: The sea is generally a great loss to a nation, politically, militarily, and economically. The following are examples of countries becoming landlocked. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea now gives a landlocked country a right of access to and from the sea without taxation of traffic through transit states. The United Nations has a programme of action to assist landlocked developing countries, and

7980-1151: The use of firearms by law enforcement officials as international law requires. Police use of a firearm can only be lawful where necessary to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury or a grave and proximate threat to life." Landlocked country Generally, being landlocked creates political and economic disadvantages that having access to international waters would avoid. For this reason, nations large and small throughout history have fought to gain access to open waters, even at great expense in wealth, bloodshed, and political capital . The economic disadvantages of being landlocked can be alleviated or aggravated depending on degree of development, surrounding trade routes and freedom of trade , commonality of language, and other considerations. Some landlocked countries in Europe are affluent, such as Andorra , Austria , Liechtenstein , Luxembourg , San Marino , Switzerland , and Vatican City , all of which, excluding Luxembourg (a founding member of NATO ), frequently employ neutrality in global political issues. However, 32 out of

8075-492: The world. However, the dissolutions of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia ; the breakup of Yugoslavia ; the independence referendums of South Ossetia (de facto state), Eritrea , Montenegro , South Sudan , and the Luhansk People's Republic (de facto state); and the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo (de facto state) created 15 new landlocked countries and five landlocked de facto states while

8170-431: The world; if you are landlocked, you serve your neighbors." Others have argued that being landlocked has an advantage as it creates a "natural tariff barrier" that protects the country from cheap imports. In some instances, this has led to more robust local food systems. Landlocked developing countries have significantly higher costs of international cargo transportation compared to coastal developing countries (in Asia

8265-503: The year 2022, the following countries are considered to be of "very high human development": The list below displays the top-ranked country from each year of the Human Development Index. Norway has been ranked the highest sixteen times, Canada eight times, and Switzerland, Japan, and Iceland have each ranked twice. The year represents the time period from which the statistics for the index were derived. In parentheses

8360-530: Was a vassal state ) and became known as Bessarabia . In 1856, southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, which three years later united with Wallachia to form Romania , but Russian rule was restored over the whole of the region in 1878. During the 1917 Russian Revolution , Bessarabia briefly became an autonomous state within the Russian Republic . In February 1918, it declared independence and then integrated into Romania later that year following

8455-573: Was adopted in 1994, and the country became a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government . Under the presidency of Maia Sandu , elected in 2020 on a pro-Western and anti-corruption ticket, Moldova has pursued membership of the European Union , and was granted candidate status in June 2022. Accession talks to the EU began on 13 December 2023. Sandu has also suggested an end to Moldova's constitutional commitment to military neutrality in favour of

8550-489: Was elected as the new president of the republic, becoming the first female elected president of Moldova. In the November 2024 presidential election , President Maia Sandu was re-elected with 55% of the vote in the run-off. The Republic of Moldova is a constitutional republic with a unicameral parliamentary system of government and competitive, multi-party elections . The constitution provides for executive and legislative branches as well as an independent judiciary and

8645-502: Was established at the joint request of the presidents of Moldova and Ukraine. EUBAM assists the Moldovan and Ukrainian governments in approximating their border and customs procedures to EU standards and offers support in both countries' fight against cross-border crime. After the 1990–1992 War of Transnistria , Moldova sought a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Transnistria region by working with Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, calling for international mediation, and co-operating with

8740-465: Was officially dissolved on 1 January 2024. As a result, Artsakh ceased to exist as a landlocked de facto state and the Nagorno-Karabakh region was reintegrated into Azerbaijan. As of 1 April 2024, there were 44 landlocked countries and three landlocked de facto states ( Kosovo , South Ossetia , and Transnistria ) in the world. Historically, being landlocked has been disadvantageous to

8835-609: Was slow." In a meeting with the European Union in October 2022, EU representatives "welcomed positive developments in Moldova such as the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, the adoption of legislation on hate crime , and the ongoing work to reform the Electoral Code. It encouraged Moldovan authorities to address shortcomings identified by OSCE/ODIHR and

8930-645: Was then part of the Russian Empire , which had both ocean and sea access. With the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918 and creation of an independent, landlocked Austria , Liechtenstein became the sole doubly landlocked country until 1938. In the Anschluss that year, Austria was absorbed into Nazi Germany , which possessed a border on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea . After World War II, Austria regained its independence and Liechtenstein once again became doubly landlocked. Uzbekistan, which had been part of

9025-570: Was used by the UNDP until their 2011 report. The formula defining the HDI is promulgated by the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ). In general, to transform a raw variable , say x {\displaystyle x} , into a unit-free index between 0 and 1 (which allows different indices to be added together), the following formula is used: where a {\displaystyle a} and b {\displaystyle b} are

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