Moldovans, sometimes referred as Moldavians (Romanian: moldoveni[moldoˈvenʲ], Moldovan Cyrillic: молдовень), are the largest ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova (75.1% of the population as of 2014) and a significant minority in Ukraine and Russia.
This article refers to the mostly Romanian language-speaking population native to the Republic of Moldova, the historical Bessarabia, Transnistria and the diaspora originating from these regions,[18] self-identified as Moldovans (another 7% of the population of Moldova self-identified as Romanians).
The variant Moldavians may also be used to refer to all inhabitants of the territory of historical Principality of Moldavia, currently divided among Romania (47.5%), Moldova (30.5%) and Ukraine (22%), regardless of ethnic identity. In Romania, natives of Western Moldavia identifying with the term generally declare Romanian ethnicity, while the Moldovans from Bessarabia (the Republic of Moldova included) are usually called "Bessarabians" (Romanian: basarabeni).
↑This includes all self-declared Moldovans, according to official data, living in the Republic of Moldova and other countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as some citizens of the Republic of Moldova living abroad, regardless of ethnicity. The rest of some 5 million Romanian-speakers living on the territory of the Principality of Moldavia who self-identify as Romanians, according to official data, were counted only among Romanians.
↑2014 Moldovan census results, 2004 census in Transnistria
↑"4.1. National composition of population". 2010 All-Russia Population Census. Basic Results. Russian Federal State Statistics Service. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2012.