2004 Moldovan Census
Encyclopedia
The 2004 Republic of Moldova Census was carried between October 5 and October 12, 2004. The breakaway Transnistria
failed to come into an agreement with the central government in Chişinău
, and carried out its own census during between November 11 and November 18, 2004. The results of census in Transnistria
were put to question.
Moldova
's previous census
was performed in 1989, when the territory of the country was part of the former Soviet Union
.
The census was delayed several times and had difficulties because of political problems, ethnic tensions, and a lack of financial resources.
can also be defined as a grouping based on language and cultural self-determination rather than on relations with a sovereign state. In the context of former the Soviet Union
, nationality is often used as translation of the Russian
terms (национальность / natsional'nost) used for ethnic group
s, and local affiliations within the post-Soviet countries.
news agency, the expert group of the International Census Observation Mission to the Republic of Moldova described the Moldovan census as "generally conducted in a professional manner", but consider that "there were a few topics in the census that were potentially more problematic". These were:
The expert group recommended that the Moldovan National Bureau of Statistics carry out an evaluation study, offered its assistance in doing so, and indicated its intention of further studying the matter itselves.
Vitalie Valcov, the then director of the Department of Statistics and Sociology, stated that Transnistria
did not comply with the international recommendations for carrying out a census and, thus, the data collected in Transnistria — where almost 17% of Moldova’s population live — may not be taken together with the data from the rest of Moldova, since it was gathered without international monitoring. Therefore, all census figures released by the Department of Statistics and Sociology do not include territories that are under the control of the breakaway Transnistrian authorities.
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
failed to come into an agreement with the central government in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
, and carried out its own census during between November 11 and November 18, 2004. The results of census in Transnistria
2004 Census in Transnistria
The 2004 Census in Transnistria was organized in Transnistria at roughly the same time that Moldova held its own census, which Transnistria refused to participate in out of principle and deference to its September 2, 1990 Declaration of Independence....
were put to question.
Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
's previous census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
was performed in 1989, when the territory of the country was part of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
The census was delayed several times and had difficulties because of political problems, ethnic tensions, and a lack of financial resources.
Terminology
The questionnaires used the term "Nationality", but the sense of this term must be understood as a synonym of ethnicity, as nationNation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
can also be defined as a grouping based on language and cultural self-determination rather than on relations with a sovereign state. In the context of former the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, nationality is often used as translation of the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
terms (национальность / natsional'nost) used for ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
s, and local affiliations within the post-Soviet countries.
Criticism
According to a May 19, 2005 article carried by the Moldova AziMoldova Azi
Moldova Azi is a regional online newspaper of the Moldova. Today Moldova is a project of the Independent Journalism Center from Chişinău....
news agency, the expert group of the International Census Observation Mission to the Republic of Moldova described the Moldovan census as "generally conducted in a professional manner", but consider that "there were a few topics in the census that were potentially more problematic". These were:
- The expert group considered that the released total figure may actually be somewhat higher than the real population size of the country, because it includes at least some Moldovans who had been living abroad over one year at the time of the census, and who had been enumerated in the census. According to the international standards for censuses, these individuals should not have been included in the count of the total population size of the country. However, the experts also remarked that some undercount of the population can also be expected in any census operations, and that this might reduce the effect of the above-mentioned overcount.
- The expert group concluded that the items in the questionnaire dealing with nationality and language proved to be the most sensitive, particularly with reference to the recording of responses to these questions as being "MoldovanMoldovansMoldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
" or "RomanianRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
". While a large proportion of the population had spontaneously provided an answer to the question, seven of the ten teams of observers had reported cases where enumerators encouraged respondents to declare that they were Moldovan rather than Romanian. Moreover, the reports from the field also showed that even within the same family there often seemed to be some confusion about these terms. Since problems of this type had been reported by the teams of observers in many different parts of the country, and in fairly large number, the expert group concluded that special care would be required by the National Statistics Bureau to enable it to assess the quality of the data on nationality/ethnicity.
The expert group recommended that the Moldovan National Bureau of Statistics carry out an evaluation study, offered its assistance in doing so, and indicated its intention of further studying the matter itselves.
Vitalie Valcov, the then director of the Department of Statistics and Sociology, stated that Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
did not comply with the international recommendations for carrying out a census and, thus, the data collected in Transnistria — where almost 17% of Moldova’s population live — may not be taken together with the data from the rest of Moldova, since it was gathered without international monitoring. Therefore, all census figures released by the Department of Statistics and Sociology do not include territories that are under the control of the breakaway Transnistrian authorities.