2024 Moldovan census in the context of Moldovan people

Chișinău (/ˌkɪʃɪˈnaʊ/ KISH-in-OW, US also /ˌkiːʃiːˈnaʊ/ KEE-shee-NOW, Romanian: [kiʃiˈnəw] ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the capital and largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre. It is situated in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc, a tributary of the Dniester. According to the results of the 2024 Moldovan census, the population of the city proper stood at over 567,000 inhabitants, while the population of the Municipality of Chișinău (which includes the city itself and other nearby communities) numbered over 720,000 people. Chișinău is the most economically prosperous locality in Moldova and the country's largest transport hub. Nearly a third of Moldova's population resides in the metropolitan area.

Moldova has a history of winemaking dating back to at least 3,000 BC. As the capital city, Chișinău hosts the yearly national wine festival every October. Though the city's buildings were significantly damaged during the Second World War and earthquakes, a rich architectural heritage remains. In addition, it has numerous buildings designed in the postwar Socialist realism and Brutalist architecture styles.

Moldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians (Romanian: moldoveni, Moldovan Cyrillic: молдовень, pronounced [moldoˈvenʲ]), are an ethnic group native to Moldova, who mostly speak the Romanian language, also referred to locally as Moldovan. Moldovans form significant communities in Romania, Italy, Ukraine and Russia.

There is an ongoing controversy in Moldova over whether Moldovans constitute an ethnic group separate from Romanians or not. 77.18% and 7.9% of the Moldovan population declared Moldovan and Romanian ethnicity respectively in the 2024 Moldovan census, with 49.2% declaring their mother language to be Moldovan and 31.3% declaring it to be Romanian. According to opinion polls, around one third of Moldova's population supports unification with Romania.