The population of the Republic of Moldova in a continuous demographic decline. How many Transnistrians hold Moldovan passports
The Public Services Agency (ASP) in Chisinau stated on Monday, according to its official figures, that 338,000 citizens on the left bank of the Dniester hold Moldovan citizenship, of which 313,000 have Moldovan passports and 281,000,000 Moldovan citizens.
According to statistics from the last decade, the highest annual number of applications for biometric passports by residents living in the Transnistrian region was recorded in 2018, respectively 37,500, and identity cards – in 2019, respectively 20,300. In 2020, as a result of Tiraspol’s restrictions on free movement due to the pandemic, the number of applications decreased significantly to 17,300 passports and 9,600 ballots.
Following the simplification of the procedure for acquiring the recognition of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova for persons born in the country and up to 18 years of age (legislative amendments in force since April 19, 2018), the procedure takes place from the date of expressing written consent and . civil status documents certifying the birth on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
On April 19, 2018 – November 30, 2021, 24,055 people were recognized as citizens of the Republic of Moldova, of which about 68% are residents of the left bank of the Dniester and the municipality of Tighina.
Demographic and population aging issues
According to the World Bank, the Republic of Moldova had a number of 2,618,000 residents. It is declining compared to 2010, when the Republic of Moldova registers 2,816,000 inhabitants.
right official figures provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the population with normal residence in the Republic of Moldova numbers 2,597,107 people of both sexes in 2021 (excluding the population on the left bank of the Dniester). Official data on the population of the Transnistrian separatist region does not exist, but the region is facing even more serious demographic problems due to the massive economic exodus due to poverty and an aging population.
According to the records Of the General Inspectorate of Police, the number of citizens of the Republic of Moldova who went abroad was on January 1, 2020 742,458 Moldovan citizens, so that the population inside the Republic of Moldova remained at 1,854,649 million inhabitants.
NBS also indicates that in the Republic of Moldova, at the beginning of 2021, lived 584,000 people over the age of 60, which is 22.5% of the total population with habitual residence. Of the total number of elderly people, 349,500 people were women (59.9%), every third person was between 60 and 64 years old, and 61,200 people (or 10.5%) were people over the age of 80.
Also, the share of people over 60 years of age is constantly growing in the Republic of Moldova. In the last five years, the share of the elderly in the 70-74 age group has increased the most – by 6.0% (from 13% at the beginning of 2017 to 19% at the beginning of 2021).
On the other hand, statistics show that the number of the population with normal residence in the Republic of Moldova of about 2.6 million people, on January 1, 2021, only 680,300 or 26.2% were young people aged 14-34.
In the last thirty years since independence from the USSR in 1991, the Republic of Moldova has seen a demographic decline of about 380,000 people compared to 2,976,000 citizens, as far as it is concerned in 1991, according to official World Bank data.
Photo: Old house from Roșcani village, Anenii Noi district of the Republic of Moldova. Source / G4Media, Mădălin Necșuțu