Pridnestrovie's population

Few countries in the world can claim to be as diverse as Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica. For more than a thousand years Pridnestrovie was a border country where civilizations came together. As the frontier of the West, and at times part of Poland, Lithuania, and imperial Russia, Pridnestrovie was the outpost in the fault line war between Islam and Christianity. The result? A rich tapestry of people and cultures. Today, slavs (mainly ethnic Russians and Ukrainians) make up almost 58% of the population. Ethnic Moldavians represent 33%. The rest are a vibrant cultural mix of Poles, Bulgarians, Jews, Gagausians, Germans, and others.

Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica has a population of 555,000 people who live on a country of 4,163 km², nearly twice the size of Luxembourg. In terms of population, Pridnestrovie is almost double the size of Iceland (296,000) or Belize (283,000). Thanks to a statefunded compulsory education system and a high emphasis on learning, the literacy rate is 99.6%.

Pridnestrovie has no ethnic violence or racial conflicts. Unlike other post-Soviet countries, such as Bosnia or Kosovo, all nationalities and ethnic groups in Pridnestrovie coexist peacefully. Why? Some point to the fact that we have always been a country of newcomers, with immigration having been a constant factor for hundreds of years. If this theory is true it would make Pridnestrovie a lot more like the big melting pot of the USA than like any other state in Europe.

Among the 35 nationalities in Pridnestrovie there is no religious strife. We have freedom and religion and some ten different faiths are active in the country. Religions in Pridnestrovie are firmly Christian (Orthodox 91%, Catholic 4%, Baptist 1%, other 2%). Among believers, jews make up 2%. Pridnestrovie has no muslim population.

Ethnic moldavians in Pridnestrovie want their country to stay independent. Doubt it? The democratic way to find out would be to put the matter to a vote. As both the UN and the OSCE has noted, they don't consider themselves Moldovans. Rather, they have a special "Pridnestrovian" identity and — having been born in Pridnestrovie — do not wish to become part of the Republic of Moldova. In 1990, when the republic declared its independence after a nationwide referendum, most of the ethnic moldavians voted in favor.

Pridnestrovie is an industrialized nation, with two thirds of the population living in cities. This is in line with Western European standards. More than a third of the people live in the country's capital, Tiraspol (266,300 inhabitants). More info...

READ MORE: 2004 Census: PMR urban, multilingual, multicultural How is the people? And how do they live? Sports in Pridnestrovie: Going for Gold UN and OSCE: Pridnestrovie is "different" and "distinct" A visit to Pridnestrovie: What life is really like here Higher learning, College-level and beyond

PHOTOS: THE PRIDNESTROVIAN PEOPLE Get to know some of the faces who live in Pridnestrovie. Just click on any photo to enlarge it - The Pridnestrovian people: More photos ...