The 2004 Republic of Moldova Census was carried October 5–October 12, 2004. The separatist Transnistria failed to come into an agreement with the Chişinău government and carried out its census during November 11–November 18; the results of the Transnistrian census are questioned. October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: none Anthem: Anthem of Transnistria Capital Tiraspol Largest city Tiraspol Official languages Moldovan, Russian and Ukrainian Government President Parliamentary Republic Igor Smirnov Recognition Independence Recognition From Moldova none September 2, 1990 none Area  â€¢ Water (%) 3,567 km²  N/A% Population 555,500 (2004 est). ... ChiÅŸinău coat-of-arms ChiÅŸinău (IPA /ki. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years), with 43 remaining. ...

The Republic of Moldova's previous census was performed in 1989, when the territory was part of the Soviet Union. A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

The census was delayed several times and had difficulties because of political problems, ethnic tensions and a lack of resources.

Census problems

According to a May 19, 2005 article carried by the Moldova Azi news agency^[1], a group of international census experts described the Moldovan census as "generally conducted in a professional manner", while remarking that that "a few topics… were potentially more problematic". Among the problematic topics: May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

1. The census includes at least some Moldovans who had been living abroad over one year at the time of the census.
2. The entries referring to the nationality and spoken language created confusion among the respondents. Therefore, the precision of numbers about nationality/ethnicity and language was questioned. Some enumerators apparently encouraged respondents to declare that they were "Moldovan" rather than "Romanian", and even within a single family there may have been confusion about these terms.

With respect to these matters, especially the latter, the expert group recommended that the Moldovan National Bureau of Statistics carry out an evaluation study, offered their assistance in doing so, and indicated their intention of further studying the matter themselves. In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ...

Vitalie Valcov (the then director of the Department of Statistics and Sociology) stated that Transnistria did not comply with the international recommendations for carrying out a census and, thus, the data collected in Transnistria—where almost 17% of Moldova’s population live—may not be taken considered in common with the other data, since it was gathered out without international monitoring.

Notes

^  Experts Offering to Consult the National Statistics Bureau in Evaluation of the Census Data, Moldova Azi, May 19, 2005, story attributed to AP Flux. Retrieved October 11, 2005.

External link

• 2004 census, preliminary results (ZIP file, in Romanian)