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Top economic activities in Moldova — CAEM analysis 2026

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CAEMMoldovaeconomic activitiesstatistics2026

What the business registry actually tells you

Moldova has 298,000+ registered companies. Behind every one of them is a CAEM code — a two-to-four-digit number that classifies its primary economic activity. Aggregate those codes and you get a precise snapshot of what Moldova’s economy actually does, not what politicians say it does.

This analysis is based on data from the State Enterprise Registration Chamber (Camera Înregistrării de Stat), Moldova’s official company registry.

What is a CAEM code?

CAEM (Clasificatorul Activităților din Economia Moldovei) is Moldova’s national classification of economic activities. It follows NACE Rev.2, the same standard used across the European Union. This makes Moldovan company data directly comparable with EU statistics — a practical advantage for investors and researchers working across borders.

The system uses 21 top-level sections, labeled A through U, each covering a major economic domain. Every company registers with at least one primary CAEM code when it incorporates. Companies can add secondary codes, but the primary one reflects the stated core business.

The EU alignment is not accidental. Moldova has been harmonizing its statistical and regulatory frameworks with the EU since the Association Agreement came into force, and CAEM is part of that alignment.

Top 10 sectors by company count

G — Wholesale and retail trade (~90,000 companies, ~30%)

Trade dominates Moldova’s economy by a wide margin. Nearly one in three registered companies operates in wholesale or retail. This includes everything from large distributors supplying supermarket chains to micro-enterprises running a single shop in a district town.

The concentration is partly a legacy of the post-Soviet transition, when trading became the fastest path to private business activity. It also reflects Moldova’s geography: as a landlocked country without significant natural resources, trade — importing goods and redistributing them — became a structural economic reality.

F — Construction (~25,000 companies)

Construction is the second-largest sector by company count. The driver has been sustained remittance-funded residential construction: Moldovan households receiving money from family abroad invest heavily in housing. This created consistent demand for small and medium construction firms across both urban and rural areas.

Infrastructure investment, partly EU-funded, has added further demand since the Association Agreement period.

M — Professional, scientific and technical activities (~22,000 companies)

This section covers accounting firms, legal services, consulting, architecture, engineering, and R&D. The size of this sector relative to Moldova’s GDP reflects two things: a highly educated workforce, and the growth of B2B services supporting the broader business ecosystem.

IT companies sometimes appear here (under M72 — Research, or M74 — Other professional activities), though most are classified under section J.

C — Manufacturing (~20,000 companies)

Moldova’s manufacturing base is diverse but fragmented. Key sub-sectors include food and beverage processing (wine, agricultural processing), textiles and garments (significant export industry with EU market access), electrical components, and furniture.

Wine deserves special mention: Moldova has one of the highest vineyard-per-capita ratios in the world, and wine manufacturing sits within section C. The sector benefits from EU preferential trade terms under the DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area).

A — Agriculture, forestry and fishing (~18,000 companies)

Agriculture employs a larger share of Moldova’s workforce than its company count alone suggests — many agricultural workers are employed by registered companies rather than self-employed. The 18,000 registered agricultural companies include large agro-holdings alongside small family farms that incorporated for tax efficiency.

Moldova’s agricultural output is disproportionately significant relative to its size: the country exports fruit, vegetables, wine, and grain to EU and regional markets.

H — Transportation and storage (~16,000 companies)

Moldova sits at a crossroads between EU and Eastern markets, which makes transport commercially viable. This sector includes road freight carriers (many operating internationally), passenger transport, and logistics companies.

The EU orientation of Moldovan transport companies has grown since the DCFTA: many carriers now operate routes into Romania, Germany, and other EU member states. Moldova’s EU candidate status, granted in 2022, is accelerating this integration.

L — Real estate activities (~14,000 companies)

Real estate companies in Moldova primarily deal with residential property management, brokerage, and development. The Chișinău market has seen significant price appreciation driven by diaspora investment and internal migration from rural areas to the capital.

The registry includes both active developers and many dormant holding structures used to own property under a corporate entity.

J — Information and communication (~12,000 companies)

IT is Moldova’s fastest-growing sector in revenue terms, even if its company count is not yet at the top. Moldova has positioned itself as a regional IT hub, backed by:

  • A young, technically educated workforce with competitive salaries
  • The IT Park Moldova regime: a flat 7% tax on turnover (covering all taxes) for qualifying IT companies
  • Strong EU market access for software services
  • High university enrollment in technical fields relative to population

Chișinău now has a visible cluster of software development companies, many serving EU and US clients. Several have grown to 100+ employees. The 12,000 companies in section J represent a significant share of Moldova’s export revenue despite being a modest fraction of total registrations.

S — Other service activities (~10,000 companies)

Section S is a catch-all for personal and community services not classified elsewhere: beauty salons, fitness, repair services, membership organizations, laundries. The count reflects a broad base of micro-enterprises serving local consumer demand across the country.

I — Accommodation and food service (~9,000 companies)

Hotels, restaurants, cafes, and catering. Chișinău’s restaurant scene has grown significantly, with the capital developing a range of food and hospitality offerings. Tourism, while not a dominant economic driver, is growing — Moldova’s wine tourism circuit in particular attracts increasing international visitors.

IT is punching above its weight. Section J’s 12,000 companies generate export revenues that put them among the most economically significant sectors despite being outside the top five by registration count. The IT Park tax regime is a deliberate government policy to attract and retain tech talent. The trend is upward.

Agriculture is consolidating. The number of small agricultural registrations is stable, but agro-holdings are growing in scale. EU market access under the DCFTA has made export-oriented agriculture commercially attractive for larger operators.

Trade remains dominant but is evolving. The ~30% share of companies in wholesale and retail is high, but the mix is shifting. E-commerce operators, previously unregistered or informally classified, are now formally registering under section G as the sector professionalizes.

Construction is cyclical but structurally supported. EU infrastructure funding and diaspora remittances provide two independent demand streams that reduce the sector’s volatility compared to purely market-driven construction economies.

Regional distribution

Chișinău concentrates IT, professional services, and commerce. The capital accounts for roughly half of all registered companies despite holding around 20% of the national population. Section J (IT) and Section M (professional services) are especially concentrated in the capital, where the talent pool, infrastructure, and client base exist.

Rural districts are agriculture-first. Districts like Cahul, Soroca, Ungheni, and Hîncești show a much higher proportion of agricultural registrations relative to their total company count. The South and Center regions have stronger wine industry presence.

The North (Bălți and surrounding districts) has a mix of industry, trade, and agriculture, with some manufacturing presence.

Transnistria is excluded from Moldova’s company registry data. Companies operating in the breakaway region are registered under a separate, unrecognized jurisdiction.

What this means for investors and entrepreneurs

Trade is competitive, but entry is low-cost. The density of companies in section G means fierce competition, especially in retail. Margins are tight. Differentiation through logistics efficiency or product specialization is where the opportunity lies.

IT has structural advantages and lower competition. The IT Park regime makes Moldova’s effective tax burden among the lowest in Europe for qualifying companies. Talent costs remain significantly below Western European levels. For companies building software products or services for EU clients, Moldova is a credible base.

Agriculture requires scale. Small agricultural operations struggle with margins. The opportunity is in aggregation, processing, and export — adding value before the product leaves the farm.

Construction and real estate follow macroeconomic cycles. EU accession progress will be the key variable: significant infrastructure spending is tied to EU pre-accession and accession funding.

Professional services are fragmented. Section M’s 22,000 companies include many micro-firms with one or two people. Quality differentiation and specialization are gaps in the market.

Explore the data yourself

The numbers in this article are drawn from Moldova’s official company registry. You can explore them directly:

The registry is updated continuously. Company counts shift as new businesses register and inactive ones are formally dissolved. The figures cited here reflect the state of the registry as of early 2026.