Birth numbers in Moldova drop again
The number of births in Moldova continued to decline in 2025, with nearly 2,000 fewer deliveries registered compared to the previous year, according to data from the Health Ministry.
Medical institutions across the country say the number of patients has fallen so sharply that maintaining maternity wards is becoming increasingly difficult.
One of the first warning signs this year was the closure of the maternity department in Vulcănești. The district hospital stopped accepting women in labor in January, with pregnant patients now redirected to Cahul.
Hospital director Ana Brînza said the decision was driven by simple arithmetic.
“There is no point maintaining a maternity ward for just one birth per week. The staff lose their qualifications,” the obstetric specialist explained.
Regional hospitals seek to shut maternity units
In Drochia, only 58 births were recorded in 2025, nearly 100 fewer than a year earlier.
Other districts reported similarly low numbers:
- Vulcănești – 63 births
- Cimișlia – 120 births
- Rîșcani – 159 births
Administrations of these hospitals have already asked the Health Ministry for permission to officially close their maternity departments.
Iurie Dondiuc, head of the ministry’s профильной commission on obstetrics and gynecology, acknowledged the growing problem.
“It is difficult to provide quality services when the number of births is low,” he said.
Falling fertility and emigration blamed
Specialists link the decline in births to two main factors.
The first is falling fertility. Moldova’s birth rate currently averages around 1.2 children per woman, compared to 2.4–2.5 in previous decades.
The second factor is the continued emigration of young women abroad.
Experts cited by health officials expect the demographic decline to continue for another five to six years, with possible stabilization no earlier than 2030.
Births increasingly concentrated in Chișinău
At the same time, most births are now concentrated in the capital.
The Institute of Mother and Child in Chișinău recorded more than 4,200 births last year. It remains the country’s only specialized institution handling complicated pregnancies and cases referred from across the republic.
According to the Public Services Agency Moldova, just over 30,100 births were officially registered in Moldova in 2025, approximately 3,200 fewer than the previous year.
As in previous years, slightly more boys were born than girls.
The continuing decline is adding to broader concerns over Moldova’s demographic outlook, shrinking workforce, and the long-term sustainability of regional healthcare infrastructure.
