Over the last two decades, Moldova hasachieved major development results: with average annualgrowth of 4.6 percent since 2000, poverty has decreaseddramatically, and the growth has also benefitted morecitizens: Inequality, as measured by the Gini Index, hasdeclined from 36.4 in 2000 to 26.3 in 2016. Macroeconomicstability has been maintained despite the 2014 bankingcrisis, and monetary and the exchange rate policies have ledto a declining inflation protecting the living standard ofMoldova’s citizens. The country has benefitted from itsunique assets, such as a strategic European location andgrowing global integration. The authorities’ focus oninvestment policy put the country on investors’ map:commitment demonstrated in investment promotion and thelevel of service and attention that was given to investorsled to attracting manufacturing FDI. They on the other handhelped reorient exports towards more technology-intensiveproducts and allowed for a stronger contribution of exportsto growth and employment generation. Moldova has alsosignificantly reformed its business environment, rankingtoday 47th of the 190 countries measured on ease of doingbusiness. There was also effort to improve the quality ofhuman capital. The education system reform led toimprovement of student learning outcomes in Moldova, asmeasured by the Program for International StudentsAssessment (PISA), although there are still major gaps inlearning outcomes that need to be addressed. The preprimaryenrollment rates increased substantially, and labor forceparticipation rate increased to historical highs, albeit at43 percent still comparatively low.
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