Moldova has a population (2001 estimate) of 4,431,570, giving it an average population density of 132 persons per sq km (341 per sq mi). The country’s inhabitants are concentrated in the northern and central portions of the country. During the Soviet period, Moldova had the highest population density of any Soviet republic, although it was one of the least urbanized. Some 53 percent of the population lives in urban areas. Chisinau, the capital, is located on the Byk River in the central part of the country. Other important cities include Tiraspol and Tighina (also called Bender).

The Moldovans, who ethnically are kindred to the Romanians, are the indigenous people of the republic and represent about two-thirds of the population. Their numbers are greater in the centre and north of the republic than in the south, and they account for about four-fifths of all rural inhabitants. As recent newcomers to the cities, they represent only one-third of all urban inhabitants. Most of the Ukrainians and Russians—each group constituting about one-eighth of the population—came to Moldova after World War II and settled mainly in the cities. Nearly all of the remainder of the population consists of Gagauz, Bulgarians, and Jews. The Gagauz, a mainly rural Turkic and Christian people, have lived in the Bugeac Plain region of southern Bessarabia since the late 18th century. Bulgarians also are mainly rural and inhabit the southern districts, where they settled at the end of the 18th century. Jews, by contrast, are overwhelmingly urban. They began to enter Bessarabia in substantial numbers after 1800, but their numbers have been greatly reduced by war and emigration.