The Republic of Moldova is an Eastern Europe country, surrounded by Romania and Ukraine. It declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, with the same boundaries as the former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. The city of Kishinev is the capital.
Moldova is divided into 32 districts, three municipalities and two autonomous regions. The final status of Transnistria is disputed, since the central government does not control that region.
The largest part of Moldovan territory lies between the Dniester and the Prut river. Prut borders the country to the West, and than joins the Danube, just before it flows into the Black Sea. Moldova is landlocked country, covering 33.851 square kilometres. Most of the territory is hilly, with elevations up to maximum 430 meters.
As of 2009, European Parliament has declared Moldova as the poorest country in Europe, in terms of GDP. Due to that fact, estimated six hundred thousand people emigrated and work abroad, mostly illegally. Officially, 3.5 million people live in Moldova. The Danube flows through Moldova for only 480 meters.