The 2024 Moldovan census data and my commentary on "Moldovan" vs. "Romanian" linguistic identities, etc.
A summary of the 2024 Moldovan census results may be found in English at https://statistica.gov.md/en/preliminary-results-of-the-2024-population-and-housing-census-10077_61626.html . Their summary in Wikipedia in English may be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Moldovan_census . I have also copied and pasted the Wikipedia article from that address below my signature. "Of the total population that declared its ethnicity, in the 2024 census, people who declared themselves Moldovan and Romanian constituted 77.2% and 7.9%, respectively. Among the ethnic minorities, 4.9% declared themselves Ukrainian, 4.2% Gagauz, 3.2% Russian, 1.6% Bulgarian, 0.4% Roma/Gypsy and 0.5% other ethnicities.[3]" The Romanian ethnic identity had increased proportionately more than the Moldovan one, but both increased.
"Of the total population that declared its mother tongue (limba matern?; distinct from the usually spoken language) in the census, 49.2% declared "Moldovan" and 31.3% declared Romanian, with both adding up to 80.5%. The share of the population that declared Romanian as its mother tongue increased by 8.1% compared to the 2014 census (23.2%), and the share that declared "Moldovan" decreased by 7.8% (56.9% in the 2014 census)." There has been a major change from the "Moldovan language" to the "Romanian language" in terms of mother tongue. "In contrast, regarding the usually spoken language (limb? vorbit? de obicei; distinct from the mother tongue), 46.0% declared it to be "Moldovan" and 33.2% declared it to be Romanian, with both adding up to 79.2%. The two had together an increase of 0.5% compared to the 2014 census, and there was a significant increase in the share of self-declared speakers of Romanian as their usually spoken language, of 9.5%, as well as a decrease in the share of the self-declared speakers of "Moldovan" as their usually spoken language, of 9%, compared to the 2014 census. " The change from the "Moldovan language" to the "Romanian language" was even more pronounced for colloquial language. It is also clear that a significant number of the "Moldovan native language" population call its colloquial language "Romanian".
What is interesting, and not at all surprising, is that the Romanian linguistic identity predominates in the cities, and especially the capital of the country, Chisinau. "Regarding the usually spoken language, the proportion in the urban areas was 31.2% for "Moldovan" and 38.1% for Romanian (adding up to 76.7%), 26.9% for Russian, 1.1% for Ukrainian, 0.9% for Gagauz and Bulgarian, 0.4% for Romani/Gypsy and 0.3% for other languages. In Chi?in?u, the proportion was 26.1% for "Moldovan" and 49.1% for Romanian (adding up to 75.2%), 23.2% for Russian, 0.9% for Ukrainian, 0.1% for Gagauz and Bulgarian, 0% for Romani/Gypsy and 0.4% for other languages.[3]" While this is self-explanatory enough, this change largely explains why the official language is called "Romanian" rather than "Moldovan". I also think that in 2034, more people will call their colloquial language "Romanian" rather than "Moldovan". Given the fact that similar patterns apply in Ukraine, surveys from the city of Chernivtsi/Cernauti indicate a greater decrease in the proportion of the population identifying its language as "Moldovan" than "Romanian". While some of these people are Ukrainianizing linguistically, some are also changing their colloquial linguistic identity from "Moldovan" to "Romanian". It is also clear that if Ukraine would have had a colloquial language census question, a significant number of "Moldovan mother tongue" people would have called their colloquial language "Romanian". Almost half of my southern Bessarabian relatives in Ukraine, and most of those with school-age children, call their colloquial language "Romanian" rather than "Moldovan". This reality paved the way for the transformation of the "Moldovan schools" in the southern Bessarabian part of the Odessa oblast to "Romanian schools" in 2023.
One also notices that Moldova's census bureau, the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova, puts "Moldovan language" between quotation marks, as it should. "According to the declarations of usually resident population enumerated, speakers of (usually) the "Moldovan language" constitute 46.0% of the population, and of the Romanian language - 33.2%, totaling an increase of 0.5 percentage points, compared to the 2014 census." The "politically correct" notion that one should take the Moldovan linguistic identity at face value, and accommodate it officially, is not exactly appropriate, and is used only in secessionist Transnistria,
All the best,
Ionas Aurelian Rus
2024 Moldovan census
The 2024 Moldovan census was a census in Moldova that was held from 8 April to 7 July 2024.[1] Transnistria, a breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova, refused to guarantee access and offer security guarantees to the Moldovan authorities to held the census in Corjova and other localities in Dub?sari District.[2]
Results
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According to the preliminary results of the 2024 census, out of 2,401.2 thousand people, 46.4% (or 1,113.7 thousand people) lived in urban areas and 53.6% (1,287.5 thousand people) lived in rural areas. The female population continued to be predominant in 2024, constituting 1,269.8 thousand people or 52.9% of the total population (compared to 52.0% in the 2014 census), while the male population constituted 1,131.4 people or 47.1% of the country's population (compared to 48.0% in 2014). At the 2024 census, 99.1% of the total population declared that they had Moldovan citizenship, of which 15.6% people declared that they also held the citizenship of other states, compared to the 2014 census in which 99.5% of the population declared that they held Moldovan citizenship, including 5.6% that also held that of other states. Of the total population that declared its ethnicity, in the 2024 census, people who declared themselves Moldovan and Romanian constituted 77.2% and 7.9%, respectively. Among the ethnic minorities, 4.9% declared themselves Ukrainian, 4.2% Gagauz, 3.2% Russian, 1.6% Bulgarian, 0.4% Roma/Gypsy and 0.5% other ethnicities.[3]
Of the total population that declared its mother tongue (limba matern?; distinct from the usually spoken language) in the census, 49.2% declared "Moldovan" and 31.3% declared Romanian, with both adding up to 80.5%. The share of the population that declared Romanian as its mother tongue increased by 8.1% compared to the 2014 census (23.2%), and the share that declared "Moldovan" decreased by 7.8% (56.9% in the 2014 census). Among other languages declared as mother tongues, Russian stood out with 11.1% of the population, followed by Gagauz with 3.8%, Ukrainian with 2.9%, Bulgarian with 1.2%, Romani/Gypsy with 0.3% and other languages with 0.2%.[3]
In contrast, regarding the usually spoken language (limb? vorbit? de obicei; distinct from the mother tongue), 46.0% declared it to be "Moldovan" and 33.2% declared it to be Romanian, with both adding up to 79.2%. The two had together an increase of 0.5% compared to the 2014 census, and there was a significant increase in the share of self-declared speakers of Romanian as their usually spoken language, of 9.5%, as well as a decrease in the share of the self-declared speakers of "Moldovan" as their usually spoken language, of 9%, compared to the 2014 census. In the 2024 census, the percentage of speakers of Russian as their usually spoken language was 15.3%, a 0.7% increase since 2014, with other minority languages' share being lower: 2.3% for Gagauz, 2% for Ukrainian, 0.8% for Bulgarian, 0.3% for Romani and 0.2% for other languages. Compared to 2014, there was a decrease in the share of Ukrainian, Gagauz and Bulgarian of 0.8%, 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.[3]
Of the total urban population that declared its ethnicity in 2024, people who declared themselves Moldovan and Romanian constituted 70.5% and 9.7% respectively. Among the ethnic minorities, 6.1% declared themselves Ukrainian, 5.9% Russian, 4.1% Gagauz, 2.1% Bulgarian, 0.6% Roma/Gypsy and 1% other ethnicities. In Chi?in?u, the proportion was 72.9% Moldovans, 13.1% Romanians, 5.9% Russians, 5.1% Ukrainians, 0.8% Gagauz, 0.9% Bulgarians, 0.1% Roma/Gypsies and 1.2% other ethnicities. In the country's urban areas, the proportion for the mother tongue was 34.2% for "Moldovan" and 37.3% for Romanian (adding up to 71.5%), 20.0% for Russian, 3.4% for Gagauz, 2.6% for Ukrainian, 1.5% for Bulgarian, 0.5% for Romani/Gypsy and 0.4% for other languages. In the capital Chi?in?u, the proportion was 28.8% for "Moldovan" and 47.9% for Romanian (adding up to 76.7%), 19.5% for Russian, 2.2% for Ukrainian, 0.4% for Gagauz, 0.4% for Bulgarian, 0.1% for Romani/Gypsy and 0.6% for other languages. Regarding the usually spoken language, the proportion in the urban areas was 31.2% for "Moldovan" and 38.1% for Romanian (adding up to 76.7%), 26.9% for Russian, 1.1% for Ukrainian, 0.9% for Gagauz and Bulgarian, 0.4% for Romani/Gypsy and 0.3% for other languages. In Chi?in?u, the proportion was 26.1% for "Moldovan" and 49.1% for Romanian (adding up to 75.2%), 23.2% for Russian, 0.9% for Ukrainian, 0.1% for Gagauz and Bulgarian, 0% for Romani/Gypsy and 0.4% for other languages.[3]
Most people declared themselves Eastern Orthodox by religion (95.0%). Among the most representated confessional minorities were the following: Baptists (1.1%), Jehovah's Witnesses (0.7%), Pentecostals (0.5%) and Adventists (0.3%). The following were declared as well: 0.6% atheists and 0.8% with no religion.[3]
References
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