On 27 August 1991, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was under way, the Moldavian SSR

declared independence and took the name Moldova. The Constitution of Moldova was adopted
in 1994. The strip of the Moldovan territory on the east bank of the Dniester river has been under
the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.

Due to a decrease in industrial and agricultural output following the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, the service sector has grown to dominate Moldova's economy and is over 60% of the
nation's GDP. Its economy is the poorest in Europe in per capita terms[15][16] and has the lowest
Human Development Index in the continent. Moldova is also the least visited country in Europe
by tourists with only 11,000 annually recorded visitors from abroad.[17]

Moldova is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as
head of government. It is a member state of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the
World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) and aspires to join the European Union.[18][19]