In 2024, approximately 32,100 people left the Republic of Moldova, according to provisional data published by the National Bureau of Statistics. As a result, the population with usual residence dropped by around 42,000 people, reaching 2.381 million on January 1, 2025—a 1.7% decline compared to the previous year, bani.md reports.
Rural areas remain the most affected, experiencing a sharper demographic decline of 2%, compared to 1.4% in urban zones. The population with usual residence includes only individuals who predominantly live in the country, excluding those who have left for the long term.
The primary driver of the decline is negative net migration—a trend that has persisted for over two decades. Additionally, Moldova recorded a negative natural increase in 2024, with nearly 10,000 more deaths than births.
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Depopulation is increasingly reshaping Moldova’s age structure. The country’s population is aging rapidly, while official statistics show a declining share of younger generations. The population pyramid reveals a significant gap in the 25–29 age group, the cohort most affected by emigration. At the same time, the median age rose to 41.6 years—an increase of 0.5 years in just one year—and the aging index reached 25.9 elderly persons per 100 inhabitants.
On average, nearly 90 people left Moldova each day in 2024, a rate that not only jeopardizes the country’s demographic future but also strains its social services, education system, and long-term economic resilience.