Only one in ten citizens who have left the Republic of Moldova returns to the country, and the contribution of remittances diminishes as the time spent abroad lengthens. This statement was made by demographer Valeriu Sainsus—a PhD holder and associate professor at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova—during the public debate “Moldovan Society Between Demographic Crisis, Emigration and Immigration”, organized by the IPN news agency. At the same time, depopulation and internal migration are exacerbating economic disparities between regions, as an increasing number of people concentrate in the Chisinau municipality.

According to the sociologist, the departure of the population from the country is accompanied by a redistribution of people within the Republic of Moldova. The regions in the north and south of the country are losing population, while Chisinau is attracting more and more workforce.

“In the context of depopulation, we have an unequal concentration of the population. This also determines economic inequality. In the districts of the north and south areas, incomes are 30-40% lower. We must say that we are facing a massive influx of people coming to Chisinau to work. Their number would be between 20 and 30 thousand. This indicates that qualitative changes have occurred in Chisinau”, explained university lecturer Valeriu Sainsus.

Sainsus mentioned that emigration had different effects on the Republic of Moldova depending on the period analyzed. In the short and medium term, the money sent by citizens abroad supported the economy and the population’s income, but in the long term, the departure of a significant part of the active population has catastrophic consequences on the demographic structure.

“Emigration must be viewed from two perspectives. In the short and medium term, the Republic of Moldova has benefited from it. We must not forget about the remittances that previously were 40% of the budget. Even now, we are a country that receives quite valuable remittances. But analyzing the situation in the long term, obviously, we have lost. The degree of integration of emigrants after a period of over 7 years is very high. The likelihood of them returning to the country is very small”, explained university lecturer Valeriu Sainsus.

According to the expert, fewer and fewer Moldovans who have gone abroad choose to return home, and the proportion of remittances decreases proportionally with their stay in the destination countries.

“Only one in ten citizens who have left the country return to the Republic of Moldova. Also, remittances are decreasing. Money is only sent in the first 5-7 years. Subsequently, the value of remittances fades and we are currently at this stage”, Valeriu Sainsus further stated.

The public debate “Moldovan society between demographic crisis, emigration and immigration” is the 358th edition of the series “Developing political culture in public debates”. The IPN Agency carries out this series of debates with the support of the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.