Editing Moldova (section)

=== Overview ===
{{Pie chart
| value1 = 77.2
| color1 = DarkBlue
| value2 = 7.9
| color2 = Blue
| value3 = 4.9
| color3 = Red
| value4 = 4.2
| color4 = Yellow
| value5 = 3.2
| color5 = Orange
| value6 = 1.6
| color6 = Green
| value7 = 0.4
| color7 = Brown
| value8 = 0.5
| color8 = Magenta
| label1 = [[Moldovans]]
| label2 = [[Romanians]]
| label3 = [[Ukrainians]]
| label4 = [[Gagauzians]]
| label5 = [[Russians]]
| label6 = [[Bulgarians]]
| label7 = [[Romani people|Romani]]
| label8 = Others
| caption = Population of Moldova according to ethnic group
| footer = Source: [[2024 Moldovan census]].
}}Moldova has an estimated population of approx. 2,423,300 {{as of|2024|1|1|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://statistica.gov.md/en/statistic_indicator_details/25 |title=Population |publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova |access-date=13 August 2024}}</ref> Moldova is relatively urbanised, with 43.4% of Moldovans living in urban areas {{as of|2022|lc=y}} and an urbanisation rate of 0.09%.<ref>{{Citation |title=Moldova |date=31 July 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/moldova/ |work=[[The World Factbook]] |access-date=3 August 2023 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |language=en |archive-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105015457/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/moldova/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=3 August 2023 |website=World Bank Open Data |archive-date=26 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526025607/https://data.worldbank.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> About one-third of the Moldovan population live in the capital city [[Chișinău]]'s [[Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova|metropolitan area]]. {{as of|2022|lc=n}}, the country's population density is 82.8 inhabitants per 1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, and average life expectancy was 71.5 years (67.2 for males, and 75.7 for females).<ref name="National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova">{{Cite web |date= |title=Moldova in Figures, Statistical Summary: 2023 Edition |url=https://statistica.gov.md/files/files/publicatii_electronice/Moldova_in_cifre/2023/Moldova_cifre_eng_2023.pdf |access-date=3 August 2023 |publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova]] |archive-date=3 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803180408/https://statistica.gov.md/files/files/publicatii_electronice/Moldova_in_cifre/2023/Moldova_cifre_eng_2023.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> There are 100 women per 90 men in Moldova, and employed women have significantly higher levels of education, though women continued to earn 13.6% less than men on average.<ref name="National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova" /> The number of elderly people (60 years and over) per 100 inhabitants in Moldova has increased year-on-year.<ref name="National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova" /> The national language is [[Romanian language|Romanian]], a [[Romance languages|Romance language]], though approximately 15% of the Moldovan population also speak Russian {{as of|2014|lc=y}}.

The country has been suffering from long-term population decline due to high levels of [[Emigration from Moldova|emigration]] (in 2022, 43,000 more people left the country than came) as well as low fertility rates. According to [[Balkan Insight]], the population has fallen by almost 33% since 1990, and by 2035 the total population may be half what it was in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Judah |first=Tim |date=16 January 2020 |title=Moldova Faces 'Existential' Population Crisis |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/01/16/moldova-faces-existential-population-crisis/ |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=[[Balkan Insight]] |language=en-US |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162502/https://balkaninsight.com/2020/01/16/moldova-faces-existential-population-crisis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 2018, the number of deaths has exceeded the levels of live-births, though the gap has been reduced since 2021. {{as of|2022|lc=n}}, the average number of children per women of childbearing age was 1.69, well below the [[replacement rate]] of 2.1, as compared to 1.78 in 2019. The total number of deaths fell by 20.5% in 2022 compared to 2019. Unemployment has remained low at about 3% in 2022.<ref name="National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova" />

According to the [[2024 Moldovan census|2024 national census]], ethnic [[Moldovans]] made up approx. 77% of the country's population, while [[Romanians]] (8%), [[Ukrainians]] (5%), [[Gagauz people|Gagauzians]] (4%), and [[Russians]] (3%) made up the most substantial ethnic minorities. Smaller populations include [[Bulgarians]], [[Romania|Romani]], [[Belarusians]], Jews, and [[Polish people|Poles]].