Southeastern Europe.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

33,800 sq km (13,050 sq miles).

4.3 million (UN estimate 2005).

127.2 per sq km.

Chisinau (Kishinev). Population: 662,200 (official estimate 2004).

Moldova is a small landlocked state in southeastern Europe – one of the most highly populated republics of the former USSR. To the north, east and south Moldova, is bound by Ukraine; to the west by Romania. The River Prut constitutes the border with Romania. The country has rich pastures and wooded slopes, ideal for wine-growing.

Under the 1994 constitution, the president, who is head of state, is directly elected and holds executive power along with the Council of Ministers who are appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Legislative power is vested in the 101-member Parlamentul which is elected for a four-year term by proportional representation.

Republic since 1991. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Head of State: President Vladimir Voronin since 2001. Head of Government: Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev since 2001. Recent history: The Communist party came to power in 2001 and were winners again in the most recent parliamentary elections in March 2005. The Moldovan parliament then returned President Voronin for a second term in April 2005, at which point he said he would focus on European integration, resolving the ongoing conflict with Transnistria and raising the standard of living.

The Constitution of 1994 described the official language as ‘Moldovan’ although it is considered to be virtually identical to Romanian. In 1940, after Soviet annexation, the Cyrillic script was introduced and was referred to as Moldavian up until 1989 when the Latin alphabet was reintroduced. Russian is still the most widely spoken language. The ethnic and linguistic make-up of Moldova is as follows: Moldovans 64.5 per cent, Ukrainians 13.8 per cent, Russians 13 per cent, Gagauz 3.5 per cent, Bulgarians 1.5 per cent, others 3.7 per cent.

Mostly Eastern Orthodox Christian and other Christian denominations. A small amount of the population are Jewish.

Dress should be casual but conservative. For official engagements, men should wear a jacket and tie. The country is famous for its tradition of folk arts and there are many lively musical groups (Tarafs), which play a variety of rare folk instruments including the tsambal (not unlike a dulcimer), cimpoi (bagpipe), fluier and nai.

220 volts AC, 50Hz.