Republic of Moldova

“Migration in Moldova: A Country Profile 2008” is part of a series of migration profiles produced by IOM Budapest within the “Black Sea Consultative Process on Migration Management” project, funded from IOM’s 1035 Facility. Moldova is a net emigration country. Moldavians started to emigrate soon after the country proclaimed its independence, but emigration (especially Labour migration) has started to peak in the late 1990s following a severe economic crisis. As a result of the increasing outflows, remittances have become one of the most important sources of income for many Moldovan households, while also financing the country’s trade account deficit. In fact, Moldova is a leading developing country in the world in terms of the share of remittances to the GDP. The profile further reveals that irregular migration of Moldavians is quite extensive and that Moldavian diasporas are at an embryonic level.