CHISINAU, April 5 (RIA Novosti) - Moldova's population stood at 3.3956 million at the beginning of 2006, a 0.28% year-on-year increase but a 5.8% drop from 2004, the state statistics bureau said Wednesday.
The data was based on a census taken October 5, 2004, combined with subsequent records of birth, deaths, and migration, the bureau said. The population figure does not include the self-declared autonomy of Transdnestr.
The new figure represents an increase of 9,600 from the January 1, 2005, population of 3.386 million, but a drop of 210,800 from the January 1, 2004, figure of 3.607 million.
Sixty-one percent of Moldova's population lives in rural areas.
