Moldova: Population, total

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Moldova's population, total fell 1.7% on 2024 (from 2.4 million to 2.36 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.7% and a typical year strayed about 0.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.2% in 1961 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.8% in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 49,377 a year. A straight line explains 99% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 2.24 million for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 86,623, against 121,782 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, Moldova had the 146th highest value of the 217 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Moldova in the 2025 ranking

• Gabon — 142nd of 217: 2.59 million
• Botswana — 143rd of 217: 2.56 million
• Lesotho — 144th of 217: 2.36 million
• Albania — 146th of 217: 2.35 million
• Guinea-Bissau — 147th of 217: 2.25 million
• Slovenia — 148th of 217: 2.13 million

What this measures

Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Limitations: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 66 values

Population, total in nearby economies

• Albania — 2.35 million (2025)
• Andorra — 82,904 (2025)
• Armenia — 3.09 million (2025)
• Austria — 9.21 million (2025)
• Azerbaijan — 10.25 million (2025)
• Belarus — 9.09 million (2025)
• Belgium — 11.94 million (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 3.14 million (2025)
• Bulgaria — 6.43 million (2025)
• Channel Islands — 168,466 (2025)
• Croatia — 3.88 million (2025)
• Cyprus — 1.37 million (2025)

More health data for Moldova

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 4.82% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 6.01% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 224,035 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 17.57% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 237,078 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 21.84% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 461,113 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 19.53% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 6.14% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Moldova's population, total?

2.36 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 14.7% from 2.06 million in 1960 (0.21% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2.98 million in 1991 and the lowest 2.06 million in 1960.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.POP.TOTL, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Sta… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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