Moldova's previous census was performed in 1989, when the territory of the country was part of the former Soviet Union.
The census was delayed several times and had difficulties because of political problems, ethnic tensions, and a lack of financial resources.
In the context of former the Soviet Union, nationality is often used as translation of the Russian terms (национальность / natsional'nost) used for ethnic groups, and local affiliations within the post-Soviet countries.
[2] Vitalie Valcov, the then director of the Department of Statistics and Sociology, stated that Transnistria did not comply with the international recommendations for carrying out a census and, thus, the data collected in Transnistria — where almost 17% of Moldova's population live — may not be taken together with the data from the rest of Moldova, since it was gathered without international monitoring.
Therefore, all census figures released by the Department of Statistics and Sociology do not include territories that are under the control of the breakaway Transnistrian authorities.