Language in Moldova

Article 13 of Moldova’s Constitution establishes Romanian as the state language. Law LP52/2023 replaced the statutory wording “Moldovan language” with “Romanian language”; the older 1989 language law was later treated as obsolete, and earlier replacement legislation was repealed. Current language rights therefore come from several sources, including the Constitution, the law on the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, education and media legislation, electoral rules and the autonomy law. The state protects Russian and other languages spoken in Moldova, but these languages are not national official languages equal to Romanian in every sector. The 2024 population and housing census allowed free language self-declaration. Of respondents who answered the mother-tongue question, 48.1% declared Moldovan, 31.8% Romanian, 11.6% Russian, 3.6% Gagauz, 3.0% Ukrainian, 1.2% Bulgarian and 0.3% Romani. For the language usually spoken, the figures were 45.0% Moldovan, 33.7% Romanian, 15.9% Russian, 2.2% Gagauz, 2.1% Ukrainian, 0.8% Bulgarian and 0.3% Romani. These figures describe personal declarations and everyday use; they do not change Romanian’s constitutional status. Russian is also a widely used urban, workplace and everyday bridge language, and 68.2% reported knowledge of it compared with 87.5% for Moldovan or Romanian and 13.4% for English. Regional patterns affect practical access. Urban areas had 37.7% Romanian mother-tongue declarations, while rural areas had 60.5% Moldovan declarations. Russian was the usual spoken language for 26.9% of urban residents and 45.0% in Bălți. In UTA Găgăuzia, an autonomous territorial unit, Gagauz was usually spoken by 48.8% and Russian by 47.3%. In Taraclia, Bulgarian was usually spoken by 48.9%. Census figures cover the regular resident population recorded by the census and should not be treated as a classification of dialects. People belonging to national minorities may use their language orally and in writing, receive information and publish material, and maintain cultural and educational activities. When contacting public authorities, they may address officials in Romanian or Russian and request a reply in the chosen language. In areas with a substantial minority population, an additional local minority language may be used, but actual service depends on the authority, staff, translation capacity and location. Public notices, place and institution names, safety information and health information are generally provided in Romanian, with additional local languages where the rules and local capacity support them. UTA Găgăuzia has a special status under Law LP344/1994. Its local framework uses Romanian, Gagauz and Russian, although some local legal texts still contain the older term “Moldovan”. Gagauz has legal protection, but its practical availability is still being expanded. The national 2026–2027 action plan covers kindergartens through higher education, teaching materials, teacher training, summer programmes, free digital resources, adult courses from A1 to C2, research and multilingual subject teaching. A 2024–2025 pilot covered 64 classes and 1,060 pupils, but these measures do not yet create fully equal Gagauz-language services in every institution. Education normally uses Romanian as the teaching language. The education system also provides Russian- and Romanian-language pathways and can offer Ukrainian, Gagauz, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Yiddish and other subjects or programmes within institutional capacity. Romanian is compulsory in minority-language education. The 2026–2028 national Romanian access programme is state-funded and free for participants, including adults, minority communities, public employees, returnees, refugees, displaced people and other interested learners. It offers A1, A2 and B1 courses in person and online, with certificates linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Textbooks are available through affordable lending arrangements. Media access is multilingual but not evenly distributed. Under the Audiovisual Media Services Code LP174/2018, local programmes generally contain at least 80% Romanian content, while areas where a minority forms at least 25% of the population have a different Romanian-language threshold. Other-language programmes normally include Romanian translation, subject to exceptions for local programmes, language-learning content and music clips. Films are commonly dubbed or subtitled in Romanian, and broadcasters must meet Romanian music quotas, including music from Moldova. Teleradio-Moldova and GRT, the regional public provider in Gagauzia, illustrate the different distribution of Romanian, Gagauz, Russian and Bulgarian programming. Cultural participation includes minority-language literature, research, local media, community organisations and the subject “Istoria, cultura și tradițiile”. Russian has a large cultural and media infrastructure, while Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Romani activity is more often community- or education-based. In elections, ballots are generally in Romanian. Election bodies may provide additional languages on request, and the Central Electoral Commission can use Russian, Gagauz, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Romani in information materials. This does not create an automatic right to every language at every polling station. Parliament, the Constitutional Court, the Government, the Bureau of Interethnic Relations, the Ministry of Education and Research, local authorities, autonomous institutions, the Audiovisual Council, election bodies and the National Bureau of Statistics each cover different parts of the system. Language access therefore depends on both the formal rule and the region, institution, available staff and translation arrangements.