The natural growth in the municipality of Chisinau in 2020-2021 was negative. The number of deaths was higher than the number of newborns. However, the size of the population remained almost the same as in 2014, shows the study “Demographic Profile of the municipality of Chisinau” that was carried out by the Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup”, IPN reports.
“Expert Grup” programs director Ecaterina Rusu said the study shows that owing to the employment opportunities, the municipality of Chisinau attracts persons from all the other settlements of the country. However, the number of people here has declined due to external migration.
“In Chisinau, the demographic situation is better than in other towns as this is the main economic center of the country. The external migration of people is a negative factor. Annually, about 10,000 people leave the municipality of Chisinau and this negatively affects the population. The low fertility rate combined with the growing population aging rate is another negative factor. Accordingly, policies are needed to combat this effect as the demographic percentage of the municipality of Chisinau would decrease in the long run,” stated Ecaterina Rusu.
According to the study, the internal migration in the municipality of Chisinau in 2021 saw a positive growth of over 12,000 persons and over 60% of these were able to work. At the same time, the early education system is overburdened. On average, there are 102 children for 100 available places. Consequently, the parents cannot benefit from this service and need to stay at home to look after children instead of working.
“We discovered a new tendency. Many persons are not satisfied with their work status. Many would like to have a flexible work program adjusted to their needs. At the same time, a large part of the population gets to work too tired. The average period of time needed to get to work is 66 minutes. Also, the persons stay at the workplace for too long and cannot do the domestic chores,” said Ecaterina Rusu.
The study authors noted that the population of the municipality of Chisinau benefits from greater access to high-quality medical services than the other localities. Traditionally, this has an impact on life expectancy, which is here higher than the national average.
“The population decline can be an opportunity for reducing congestion costs, diminishing pressure on the public utility system. The intelligent management of the city implies the generation of economic growth, creation of well-paid jobs, social inclusion and realization of the human potential of all the generations,” said the authors.
The study “Demographic Profile of the municipality of Chisinau” was conducted as part of UNFPA’s Demographic Resilience Program for Europe and Central Asia, which was launched by the United Nations Population Fund in 2021.
