Moldova faces rising rural poverty and declining birth rates

New statistics from Moldova’s National Bureau of Statistics show that absolute poverty reached 31.1% in 2025, with extreme poverty at 15.1%. Rural areas are hardest hit, with 40% of the countryside living below the poverty line, compared with 21.1% in urban areas. Poverty rates vary by region, from 31.6% in the north to 46.5% in the south.

Births in the country fell by 6.6% in 2025, with only 22,100 children born – the lowest figure in recent years. The average age of first‑time mothers was 26.7 years overall, but women in villages gave birth earlier (24.4 years) than those in cities (28.5 years). At the start of 2025, 553 000 children aged 0‑17 accounted for 23.2% of Moldova’s population.

These trends highlight growing socioeconomic challenges in Moldova, combining high rural poverty with a shrinking younger generation.