Moldova

Moldova: strong, sustained growth, 1990–2024

One of Europe's poorest economies after independence in 1991, Moldova relies heavily on agriculture, remittances, and trade with the EU, and has been shaken by a 2014 banking fraud worth about an eighth of GDP and by the 2022 energy shock. Between 1990 and 2024, Moldova's GDP per capita grew from $1,207 to $7,576 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% — strong, sustained growth. Annual GDP growth averaged -0.0% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 9.5 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 29.3% to 7.1% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 33.1% to 62.3% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 65.2 to 71.3 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 38.1% to 74.7%, while the urban population share grew from 40.0% to 43.5%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions fell from 10.64 to 3.42 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 36.9 to 26.8; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 19.1% to 0.1%.