Factors of transformations in demographic process in Moldova

In recent years a general economic crisis that the Republic of Moldova is going through has caused a sharp deterioration of the demographic situation. One can speak of a deep demographic crisis that has hit Moldova in the last 10 years. It was gathering momentum in the past three decades and was caused by natural and migratory factors and by worsening of the quality of life of the Moldovan population.

The birth rates in Moldova had been steadily declining for over a long period of time and in recent years they have been dropping dramatically. It should be borne in mind though that the recent considerable reduction in population number in Moldova is a result not only of the general crisis that has affected all spheres of life in this country but also, to a certain extent, of the changes in the age-long, established age and sex structures. The birth rates have dropped appallingly. Most of the families have only one child or postpone having children indefinitely. The number of officially registered abortions is about two times greater than the number of births. The number of abortions among minors is on the increase. A considerable number of children are born outside the wedlock. In 1998, for example, this number constituted 9.7%.

A continuing decline in the birth rates, a growing number of families without children have contributed to the demographic conditions leading to depopulation. One-child families make up 29.4% of the total number of families. An average family index in Moldova is about 3.4.

The destructive processes and negative phenomena in the current demographic situation in Moldova give good grounds for believing that we are having a truly unique, extraordinary situation in the history of Moldova: for the first time in a period of peace one observes the rise and development of phenomena which earlier were observed only within relatively short periods of world and civil wars. The current demographic situation can be described as a demographic disaster because the depopulation processes are concurrent with the deterioration of the quality of the population.

Both the absolute and relative indices of the death rates are increasing. There has been an unprecedented jump in the level of the death rates (13.3 in the year 1998). This considerable rise in the level of the death rates has been caused by their increase among all the age groups of men and women. The indices of the death rates have been rising in all the classes of the causes of death, including death brought about by non-natural causes. From 1996 to 2000 accidents, poisonings, injuries and suicides ranked second among the causes of death among men and fourth among women. This increase has been particularly noticeable in the urban areas. Life expectancy of both men and women is falling in urban as well as in rural areas. For instance, from 1991 to 2000 the average life expectancy dropped by 4.1 years among men and by 2.1 years among women.

The movement of people from rural to urban areas has been continuing. It has caused radical changes in the character of the population distribution within the boundaries of Moldova. Now one can observe patterns of high concentration within urban and rural areas. At the same time in many parts of Moldova one can observe the appearance and further widening of rural areas with low population densities. The areas, which are not cultivated any longer, have also grown in size. A growing outflow of young people from the countryside to the town by 2000 had swelled to 60,000 annually (many of them emigrating from Moldova altogether).

A considerable number of migrants leaves Moldova to settle elsewhere or to seek employment beyond its borders. Annually, about 40 thousand people from the rural areas of Moldova leave the country for good; most of these emigrants are able-bodied people in the prime of their life. The number of migrants who leave Moldova temporarily in search of work is much greater. Unfortunately, there is no official statistical data available and the migration figures can be established only tentatively through migration experts' assessments.

A grave concern is caused by the fact that the decrease in population number is accompanied in the republic by the deterioration of the quality of life in general, health in particular. Negative changes in health are observed in all the age brackets, including those who are in the prime of their lives. Accidents, which result in death and crippling of workers, occur with an increasing frequency; the spread of active tuberculosis is acquiring epidemic proportions. Outbreaks of other dangerous contagious diseases have been registered in several parts of the country. Social ills, among them alcoholism and drug addiction, are on the increase. All these factors put together cause a drop in the capacity for work, in labor potential and in social motivation to perform better.

Market-oriented reforms in the social and economic relations in Moldova require new concepts in dealing with individuals and communities. New social, demographic and economic policies should be worked out. A central place in plans of economic development should be given to providing a better quality of life for the population, which is, in its turn, a decisive prerequisite of a steady economic growth. People must have not only the right to a decent standard of living but an ability to achieve it, to live in harmony with society and with nature.

By Vlada Popushoi

(Statistical data granted by the Department of Statistics)