Gabriela Cuneva
Logos Press reached out to Member of Parliament Gabriela Cuneva, a member of the Committee on Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sports, and the Media, to find out what lies behind this alarming trend and whether it can be reversed.
As of early 2026, there were 517,300 young people aged 14–34 in the country, accounting for 21.9% of the population. Over the course of the year, their number decreased by 13,500, or 2.5%.
According to the lawmaker, the outflow of young people is a very long-term trend. Its intensity has increased in recent years against the backdrop of an overall decline in the country’s population. In total, half a million young people have left the country over the past 15 years.
“This is a catastrophic figure, given that the share of young people in the total population is shrinking, partly due to a significant decline in the birth rate since the 1990s. And while 15 years ago one in five of the generation born in the ’80s and early ’90s left the country, now one in two of the generation born between 1996 and 2010 is leaving, – comments Gabriela Cuneva. – There are many reasons, but the main ones are the lack of progress in the country’s economic development, a weakened higher education system that offers young people no guarantee of employment or career advancement, and low wages that make it impossible to afford housing, the cost of which has become out of reach for most residents. Instead of waiting for things to change, young people prefer to use their time to settle in another country with more favorable living conditions and better prospects. Given the current living conditions and policies in place in Moldova, this trend is set to continue.”
One in four young people is a NEET
One in seven young people aged 15–24 (14.5%) and one in four people aged 15–29 (23.2%) or aged 15–34 (27.9%) were neither in education (formal or informal) nor employed. They are referred to as NEET youth (from the English *Not in Education, Employment, or Training*)—young people who are neither studying, working, nor undergoing vocational training.
According to Gabriela Cuneva, official statistics do not fully reflect the actual situation. The figure does not account for young people who work remotely for foreign companies or freelance abroad without having bank accounts in Moldova or official employment registered in the country.
“Everyone is familiar with the phenomenon of young people working in international logistics and programming. The actual youth employment rate is much higher, but that does not negate the fact that we need to create conditions for their involvement in the development of social programs and funds,” the lawmaker believes. “For this to happen, it is not enough for this generation of citizens to know what they ‘must’ do and that the system relies solely on ‘punitive’ measures—such as fines and sanctions—to engage them. They want the freedom to manage the funds they set aside for the future. For example, if part of their income goes toward health insurance, they should have the right to use those funds to pay for the services they need, rather than being limited to a restricted list of what the current public healthcare system provides. If part of their income goes toward social security funds, they should have the right to decide how those funds are invested and when they can receive payments from them. This requires a completely different approach to citizens, whose social responsibility should be commensurate with the contribution made by their economic activity.”
Education Is Not Keeping Pace with the Labor Market
As for vocational and higher education, in her view, every young person facing a career choice weighs the costs in terms of time and money against the potential return on these investments.
“They live in a world where the pace of change in the labor market renders any profession obsolete within 3–5 years. Consequently, a conservative education system cannot meet their needs. The education system itself must learn to provide up-to-date professional competencies and skills quickly. And it must do so in a way that allows for reliable verification of the quality of the knowledge acquired. This issue is relevant not only for Moldova’s education system but for the entire world,” the lawmaker believes.
What’s Needed Are Systemic Changes, Not Isolated Programs
Responding to a question about what measures the government should take to engage young people in education and the labor market, the lawmaker reiterated that the main causes of the youth exodus are the stagnation of the national economy, the mismatch between vocational education and labor market demands, low incomes, and the high cost of living and real estate.
Added to this are the difficulties of starting one’s own business in Moldova, bureaucratic obstacles, and, in her opinion, an excessively rigid system of control and regulation.
“Special programs designed to help young people start businesses do not solve all these problems; they only address a small part of them. For example, government guarantees used as collateral do not make loans cheaper or businesses more profitable. Young people consider current tax rates for self-employment to be high. Consequently, they are in no hurry to officially engage in entrepreneurial activity, instead finding other ways to earn a living. “Structural changes require more comprehensive measures, a focus on real problems, and targeted incentive programs. And most importantly—guaranteed programs, at least in the medium term,” concluded Gabriela Cuneva.
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