In 2025, the intention of Moldovan citizens to emigrate reached its lowest level in nine years, and in order not to leave the country, citizens would agree to a salary of 21,000 lei
These are the findings of the survey “Migration Intentions of Moldovan Citizens” conducted by CBS Research on behalf of IDIS Viitorul in June this year. In 2025, the average salary that citizens would like to receive in order not to leave the country was more than 21,000 lei per month, which is 1.6 times higher than the average real salary in the country. In 2017, for comparison, this amount was 10,500 lei. In 2025, almost 49% of respondents said they would not leave the country if they earned more than 20,000 lei. While commenting on the survey results, IDIS Viitorul expert Veaceslav Ionita noted that it is difficult to say whether there is a direct link between expected salary and the intention to leave the country. According to him, the paradox lies in the fact that those who want to emigrate are satisfied with lower salary expectations (22,000 lei) than those who do not want to leave (25,000 lei). The expert points out that most often, citizens whose incomes are considered sufficient want to leave the country. They are followed by those who struggle to make ends meet, and then those who are experiencing serious financial difficulties. According to the survey, 74.3% of citizens who have never worked abroad do not intend to do so in the future. At the same time, the highest level of those wishing to leave the country is among the rural population and among young people, especially those aged 18-29. "Young people from rural areas aged 18 to 29 want to leave the most, accounting for about 36% or every third young person. They do not see a future for themselves in rural areas and are looking for a better life and opportunities. By region, the intention to migrate is highest among residents of the north of the country (18.2%), followed by residents of Chisinau (13.8%) and the central part of the country (12.7%), with the lowest percentage in the southern part of the country (10.8%). On average, according to the survey, the share of those planning to leave the country in the next six months is 13.9%, compared to 16.4% in February 2024 and 17.7% in December 2021. Veaceslav Ionita notes that this is the lowest figure since observations began. He stressed that most of those who wanted to leave have already done so, and the actual number of people leaving is significantly lower than the stated figure. In 2024, the migration rate was 1.3%, compared to 2.4% a year earlier and 2.5% in 2022 — the lowest since 2017. Among those who returned from abroad, only 10.6% said they could leave again in the next six months, compared to 17.5% in February 2024. // 04.07.2025 — InfoMarket
