Moldova's population drops by 13% in a decade, new census reveals
Moldova's population has shrunk by approximately 13% over the past decade, according to the final results of its 2024 census.
The data reveals significant losses among working-age people, particularly those aged 20–29 and 35–60. Meanwhile, the share of people aged 60–69 has grown by 4.6 percentage points. The average age of the population is now 40.6, up from 37.5 in 2014. This trend is more pronounced in rural areas, which saw an increase of 4.4 years.
In terms of economic structure, the share of the working-age population has fallen by nine percentage points, while the share of the post-working-age population has grown by 7.5 percentage points. This confirms Moldova's demographic aging and the future pressures on its labour market and social security system.
The gender ratio has shifted to men's disadvantage. While there were 92 men for every 100 women in 2014, that ratio dropped to 89 men in 2024. This difference emerges after the age of 20 and is explained by the lower life expectancy for men, which is about nine years shorter than for women.
The census also analysed the population's citizenship structure. In 2024, 98.9% of residents hold Moldovan citizenship, but the percentage of those who also hold foreign citizenship has grown considerably, reaching 16.2% compared to 5.6% in 2014. The most frequent foreign citizenships held are those of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Romania, India, and Turkey. Also, 4.4% of the population (about 106,000 people) were born in other countries. Most come from former Soviet states, such as Ukraine and Russia, but younger generations were born in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, reflecting recent waves of migration.
The census includes a separate section on forced displacement, a new phenomenon for the country. As of 2024, more than 15,000 people—mostly Ukrainian citizens—were living in the country as refugees. These individuals represent 57% of all foreign citizens and are mostly women and working-age people, settled primarily in urban areas.
The census also confirmed high internal mobility. Nearly 10% of the population (233,000 people) changed their residence between districts or municipalities. The largest increases were recorded in Chișinău, Bălți, Anenii Noi, and Ialoveni, while districts such as Briceni, Fălești, Hâncești, Telenești, Cantemir, and Călărași recorded losses.
The population's marital status structure shows that 55.8% of people over 15 are married, 23.6% have never married, 10.4% are divorced, and 10.2% are widowed. Gender differences are clear: unmarried men outnumber unmarried women by 9.2 percentage points, and there are four times as many widowed women as widowed men. In terms of fertility, the census shows that the share of women without children has fallen by 4.2 percentage points compared to 2014, while the share of women with two children has grown by 5.4 percentage points, and the share of those with three children by two percentage points.
Translation by Iure Tataru
