The Republic of Moldova is considered the country of a single city, as 75% of the country's economic activity is concentrated in Chisinau and Balti. Thus, out of the total turnover of 263 billion lei a year, Chisinau municipality is worth 181 billion lei or about 69%, and Balti municipality - 16 billion lei or just over 6%. It is the observation made by the economist IDIS Viitorul, Veaceslav Ioniţă, within the program "15 minutes of economic realism".

Of the total of 365 thousand employees in the national economy, over 60% or 220 thousand are in the municipality of Chisinau and another 28 thousand or almost 8% in the city of Balti.

The economist argues that the average salary in Chisinau is 50% higher than in the rest of the country. Thus, while in Chisinau people receive an average of 6,000 lei, and in Balti 5,200 lei, the average salary in the rest of the country is only 4,000 lei.

In the case of investments of ROL 19.7 billion, ROL 12.7 billion or about 65% are made in Chisinau, and another 1.2 billion ROL or over 6% in Bălţi.

Speaking about spending, Veaceslav Ionita said that in the environment, residents outside Chisinau and Balti spend one month for a person about 1,900 lei. In Balti municipality, this indicator is 16% higher and represents 2,200 lei, while in Chisinau it is almost 60% higher. "While pensioners outside these two municipalities have a pension of 1,200 lei a month, those in Chisinau receive on average a pension of 1,700 lei or 42% big, and those in Balti have a pension of 1,500 lei or 25% higher than the rest of the citizens ".

At the same time, the branch of construction is the most developed in Chisinau and Balti. Thus, over 80% of all dwellings are put into operation in the two municipalities. In 2017, 7,200 dwellings in Moldova were put into operation, an absolute record, and most of them are built in Chisinau and Balti.

In conclusion, Veaceslav Ionita argues that the density of cars in Chisinau is 50 times higher than the rest of the country. "Of the 573,000 cars owned by Moldovans, 199,000 are registered in Chisinau and 28,000 in Balti. And this is when they hold 102.8 and 24.1 km of roads respectively out of a total of 9385.7 km. "

The show is made by IDIS "Viitorul" in partnership with Radio Free Europe.

For further details, please contact the press officer, Victor URSU, at the following address: ursu.victoor@gmail.com or at 069017396.