The population of Gagauzia has a number of peculiar features that distinguish it from the population of the Republic of Moldova as a whole [1] . Gagauzia is also one of two territorial units within Moldova with a non-Moldovan ethnic majority, whose share continues to grow, which was confirmed by the 2014 census. According to the 2004 census, 4.8% of the population of Moldova lived in Gagauzia, which occupies 5.5% of the republic’s area [2] .
Content
Vital Movement
Despite the increased urbanization, the birth rate in Gagauzia in 2014 amounted to 11.6 ‰ with a total indicator of 10.8 по in Moldova. Gagauzia is also characterized by a minimum level of child mortality: on its territory this indicator was only 4.8 ‰, in Moldova it amounted to 9.6 ‰ in total. As a result, Gagauzia in 2014 had a positive natural population growth (+0.4), while in Moldova as a whole this indicator in 2014 was negative (-0.2). As a result, Gagauzia is one of two regions of Moldova (along with Chisinau), whose population is gradually increasing (from 155 thousand in 2004 to 162 thousand in 2014), both due to natural and migration growth [3] . However, the 2014 census did not confirm the current statistics: in the ATU Gagauzia only 134,535 people of the current population were registered [4] . In modern borders, the peak of the population of Gagauzia was passed on the eve of the collapse of the USSR according to the 1989 census (163,533).
Urbanization
Gagauzia is a poorly urbanized region of Moldova with a urban population of 36.2% (for Moldova as a whole this figure is 38.2% according to the 2014 census). In both entities, urbanization in the post-Soviet period is declining. Despite the same degree of urbanization, the level of concentration of the population in the capital of Gagauzia, Comrat (16%) is lower than the level of concentration of the inhabitants of Moldova in Chisinau (23%).
National composition
For the census period 2004–2014 the share of the Gagauz within its republic increased from 82.1% to 83.8% of the population [5] .
National composition
According to the censuses of 2004 and 2014:
| People | Number | 2004,% | Number | 2014,% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gagauz | 127 835 | 82.1% | - | 83.8% |
| Bulgarians | 8 013 | 5.1% | - | 4.9% |
| Moldavians | 7 481 | 4.8% | - | 4.7% |
| Russians | 5 941 | 3.8% | - | 3.2% |
| Ukrainians | 4,919 | 3.2% | - | 2.5% |
| Other | 1,457 | 1,0% | - | 0.9% |
Among other ethnic groups, the most numerous are gypsies (0.3%).
Notes
- ↑ Eurasian panorama
- ↑ http://www.statistica.md/public/files/Recensamint/Recensamint_pop_2014/Nota_informativa_Preliminare_Recensamint_2014.pdf
- ↑ The authorities of Gagauzia do not exclude the possibility of conducting their own census in autonomy ”Gagauzinfo.md || Information portal of Gagauzia №1
- ↑ National Bureau of Statistics // News
- ↑ Moldova became less Russian and more Romanian: census results - REGNUM