Remittances from Moldovans abroad account for a quarter of Moldova's GDP, one of the highest percentages in the world.

The fertile Chernozem soil supports wheat, corn, barley, tobacco, sugar beet, and soybeans.

The Russian rouble devaluation of 1998 had a deleterious effect on Moldova's economy, but economic growth has been steady since 2000.

A program begun in March 1993 has privatized 80% of all housing units and nearly 2,000 small, medium, and large enterprises, which led to a rise in homelessness and unemployment.

Though inflation spiked again after Russia’s 1998 currency devaluation, Moldova made great strides in bringing it under control: 18.4% in 2000, 6.3% in 2001, and 4.4% in 2002.

After the National Bank of Moldova increased considerably its purchases on the foreign exchange market, the leu stabilized in November–December 2004 at 12.00-12.50 to the US dollar.

Sporadic and ineffective enforcement of the law, economic and political uncertainty, and government harassment and interference continue to discourage inflows of foreign direct investment.

In 2022 the EU trade increased to $6.9b[32] As a whole, Moldova is doing well, despite a series of consecutive shocks, which included the doubling of the price of imported natural gas and 2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines, and a severe drought in 2007.

Investment is picking up, and is beginning to replace remittances as the main source of growth—an encouraging sign that the earlier model of consumption-driven growth is changing.

Improved growth prospects have come with strong appreciation pressures from foreign exchange inflows, and a widening trade deficit.

A resumption of wine exports to Russia in October was a major positive development, although volumes are likely to recover slowly.

The National Bank of Moldova increased reserve requirements from 10 to 15 percent, and raised policy interest rates by 2.5 percentage points.

Nevertheless, the possibility of second-round effects from the drought, liquidity pressures from growing remittances and FDI, and the continued strong growth in credit and broad money suggest that upside risks to inflation are not yet fully contained.

In spite of some favorable background, Moldova remains Europe's poorest nation, resisting pursuing the types of reforms that have vastly improved the economies of some of its Eastern European neighbors.

The Communist Party retained political control after winning the March 2005 parliamentary elections and re-elected its leader, Vladimir Voronin, as president in collaboration with the opposition.

Although the government maintains a pro-Western stance, it has had trouble pursuing structural reforms and has made little progress on the International Monetary Fund's program to attract external financial resources.

The impasse in the pro-Russian Transnistria enclave, plagued by corruption and the smuggling of arms and contraband, continues despite international attempts at mediation.

A 2004 World Bank report notes a "range of informal barriers to both imports and exports in Moldova, such as cumbersome and restrictive trade procedures, corruption, burdensome and inappropriate regulations and high transport costs."

[43] The Moldovan government does not maintain many formal barriers to foreign investment, and the Moldovan embassy reports that foreign investors are free to "place their investments throughout the Republic of Moldova, in any area of business activity, as long as it does not go against the interests of the national security, anti-monopoly legislation, environment protection norms, public health and public order."

[45] Foreign direct investment is slowly rising, $587m in 2022, $410m in 2021 and $150m in 2020, with each year supplemented with $4.7-4.9 billion of loans, with manufacturing, financial intermediation, and trade being the main sectors.

Major reforms to the legal framework of the Moldovan financial sector have taken place as the country progresses to implementing the EU`s legislation.

Many observers believe that arrears in salary payments also make it difficult for judges to remain independent from outside influences and free from corruption."

"Bureaucratic procedures are not always transparent and red tape often makes processing unnecessarily long," reports the U.S. Department of Commerce.

With USAID experts, a draft civil code has been developed which follows the current European practice of incorporating commercial law provisions."