Moldova declared itself an independent state in 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

A new constitution was adopted in 1994. A strip of Moldovan territory on the east bank of the
river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government
of Transnistria since 1990.
As a result of a decrease in industrial and agricultural output since the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, the relative size of theservice sector in Moldova's economy has grown to dominate
its GDP and currently stands at over 60%. Moldova remains, however, the poorest country in
Europe.[11][12]