EU Remains Moldova's Main Trading Partner

In 2020, the share of exports from Moldova to the EU countries amounted to 67% of total exports. Statistical data show that more than 80% of products related to such categories as confectionery, fats and oils, products from vegetables and fruits, which are exported by the Republic of Moldova, are intended for the European Union market,  vocea.md reported. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in January-March 2021, exports of goods to the countries of the European Union amounted to 439.3 million US dollars, which is 1.8% less compared to the corresponding period of 2020 (61.6% of the total volume of exports, which is 4.7 percentage points less than from January to March 2020). The decline in exports and imports is also associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the economy hard due to the temporary closure of borders in some countries. EU investment dominates the economy At the same time, direct investments from the European Union dominate the Moldovan economy; as of early 2020, their share accounted for about 71% of the total volume of investments. At the end of last year, direct investments from the European Union in the Republic of Moldova exceeded three billion US dollars. The main sectors of the Moldovan economy that received direct investments from the EU were: financial activities, trade, processing industry, etc. If we draw a parallel with the EU countries, we can note the difference in numbers for a number of indicators. Thus, demographic statistics show that life expectancy at birth in 2019 for citizens of the Republic of Moldova was 70.9 years, compared to 81.3 years in EU countries. As for the average age of the population of Moldova, as of January 1, 2020, it was 39.3 years, while in the EU countries - 43.7 years. The average age of mothers at the first birth also differs: 25.2 years in our country, 29.4 years in the countries of the European Union. If we talk about the labor market, the employment rate of people aged 15 to 64 is 45.7% for citizens of the Republic of Moldova, compared to 67.6% for EU citizens. There is a significant increase in the level of employment of the population in agriculture: 20.8 in our country and 4.0 in the EU countries of the total employed population in the Republic of Moldova and the European Union. There are much more women employed in agriculture: 15.9 in the Republic of Moldova and 2.9 in the countries of the European Union. With regard to the gap in employment between women and men aged 15-64, this figure is 6.4 percentage points in Moldova, compared with 10.4 in the EU countries. There is a difference in the unemployment rate - 3.8% versus 7.1% in the EU. Difference in salary If we talk about the difference in wages of women and men, then here we are equal - 14.1 vs. 14.1. But our salaries are very different from salaries in the European Union. In Moldova, the minimum wage is 2935 lei per month (about 140 euros), while in some EU countries the minimum wage is 700 euros (about 15 thousand lei). There is also a difference in the representation of women in parliament: 24.8% in the Republic of Moldova and 32.7% in the countries of the European Union. The gap is also recorded in the health section. Thus, the mortality rate in the Republic of Moldova is 13.7 per thousand inhabitants, compared with 10.4 per thousand inhabitants in the EU countries. As for the number of fatalities in road accidents per 100 thousand inhabitants, in 2019 it was 10.3 versus 5.1 in the EU countries. The situation with water supply and sanitation is no better. According to the same statistics, the population that does not have a sanitary unit and water in the house is 42.2% in the Republic of Moldova, compared to 2% in the EU countries.