Part 563

Labor force: total: 2.03 million (January 1994) by occupation: agriculture 39.5%, industry 12.0%, other 48.5% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 1.4% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (January 1996)

Budget: revenues: $570 million expenditures: $645 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries: food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 3.222 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 1.4 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 324 kWh (1996 est.)

Agriculture - products: vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; meat, milk

Exports: total value: $775 million (1996) commodities: foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery partners : Russia, Kazakstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany

Imports: total value: $1.048 billion (1996) commodities: oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and other consumer durables partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany

Debt - external: $950.7 million (of which $240 million to Russia) (1996 est.)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA note: commitments, $1,335 million ($500 million disbursements), 1992-95

Currency: the Moldovan leu (MLD) (plural lei) was introduced in late 1993

Exchange rates: lei (MLD) per US$1 (end of period) - 4.6870 (January 1997), 4.6743 (1996), 4.4990 (1995), 4.2700 (1994), 3.6400 (1993), 0.4145 (1992); period average - 4.6121 (August 1996), 4.4958 (1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Moldova:Communications

Telephones: 600,000 (1996 est.)

Telephone system: telecommunication system not well developed; 215,000 unsatisfied requests for telephone service (1991 est.); in early 1997, Chisinau was considering privatizing its state-owned telephone company domestic: NA international: international connections to other former Soviet republics by landline and microwave radio relay through Ukraine and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; satellite earth stations - 1 Eutelsat and 1 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 5, shortwave NA (1994)

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2 (one national and one private) (1995)

Televisions: NA

@Moldova:Transportation

Railways: total: 1,328 km broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992)

Highways: total: 12,259 km paved: 10,690 km unpaved: 1,569 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: 424 km (1994)

Pipelines: natural gas 310 km (1992)