The poorest country in Europe

(source: United Nations)

Moldova is a landlocked state located between Romania to the west and the Ukraine to the north, east and south.

It gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and was admitted to the United Nations in 1992. In September 1990, a breakaway government was formed in Transnistria, the strip of Moldova on the east bank of the river Dniester. After a brief war in 1992, it became de facto independent, although no UN member has recognized its independence.