Ionita: Moldova’s GDP Is Only 77.9% of the 1989 Historical Maximum

In 2022, the gross domestic product of Moldova will reach the value of 273.5 billion lei, while the real growth will be only 0.3% compared to 2021. This was stated by economic expert Veaceslav Ionita. According to him, the GDP of Moldova this year will make only 77.9% of the 1989 GDP when it was at its historical maximum, agora.md reports. “In 1989, it was called Net Material Production (NMP), and it was 8.3 billion rubles. At that time, NMP calculated only material goods, but since 1989 the concept of GDP, which also included services, was used for the first time. At that time, GDP including services was 35% higher than NMP formed only by material production,” the expert said. The year Moldova gained its independence, the GDP was already in free fall, and the minimum was reached in 1999, when Moldova’s GDP was only 30.5% compared to 1989, shrinking 3.3 times in 10 years. “This year, Moldova’s GDP is slightly higher than in 1982. In other words, we are at the level of 40 years ago. If we provide an annual growth of 3.8%, which corresponds to the average index for the last 10 years, the level of 1989 will be exceeded in 2029. Thus, it will take 30 years to restore the 10-year GDP decline,” the expert explains. Currently, the GDP on the left bank of the Nistru River is only 32.6%, or three times less than the 1989 level. Thus, it is at the level of 1965. “We should note the fact that of all the republics of the former USSR, Moldova has recorded the longest and largest drop in GDP after the USSR collapsed. In most countries of the former USSR the drop ended in 1995. In Moldova and Ukraine, the drop continued until 1999,” the economist notes. Point