As of December 31, 2023, 366,000 inhabitants residing in the Transnistrian region were recorded in the State Population Register. Of them, over 357,000 held the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova. The number has increased compared to 2020, when there were over 330,000 holders of Moldovan citizenship in the breakaway region.

According to data provided by the Public Services Agency, over 336,000 Transnistrians hold Moldovan passports, and almost 300,000 hold the buletin (identity cards).

“Thanks to the amendments for simplifying the procedure of acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova, from April 19, 2018 to December 31, 2023, under the new legal provisions, 35,682 people were recognized as citizens of the Republic of Moldova, of whom 24,497 (68, 65%) residents of the Transnistrian region who also obtained identity documents of citizens of the Republic of Moldova”, said the Reintegration Policy Bureau.

At the same time, as a result of restrictions illegally imposed by Tiraspol in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of annual documents issued for the residents of the region decreased considerably.

“Following the efforts made by the legitimate authorities to eliminate the infrastructure of checkpoints illegally installed by Tiraspol and which self-isolated the region from the right bank, obstructing the free movement of citizens between the two banks, from 2022 the dynamics of documenting citizens from the Transnistrian region returned to normality, 19,408 identity cards and 38,040 passports have already been issued, respectively +100.6% and +118.7% more documents issued compared to 2021”, the Reintegration Policy Bureau added.