Expert-Grup and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Moldova Launch the “Socio-Economic Encyclopaedia of Moldova”: 35 Years of Independence Analysed Through 35 Events

Measured at purchasing power parity, the economy grew from 15 billion international dollars in 1992 to over 46 billion in 2025. Public debt fell from 159% of GDP to about 36%, and unemployment from 14% to 3.5%. At the same time, the population shrank from about 3.65 million (excluding the Transnistrian region) to 2.4 million, and convergence with European living standards remains insufficient: Moldova is at roughly one third of the EU average purchasing power, against about 78% for Romania. The authors draw 7 lessons for the future, on diversification, institutional quality, energy security and the exhaustion of the consumption- and remittance-based model.

Lupușor said the book was written without nostalgia: failures outnumbered successes and many crises were self-inflicted, yet the direction towards sovereignty, economic independence and European integration was right. Ana Mihailov, director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Moldova, said the lessons should inform a public debate on a development model that combines European integration with reduced inequality and social protection. An interactive timeline and the full publication are available online.