The Southern Development Region (''Regiunea de Dezvoltare Sud'') is one of the three

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Moldova. It incorporates the southern portions of the country, except the territories of the autonomous region of

Gagauzia Gagauzia () or Gagauz-Yeri, officially the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (ATUG), is an Administrative divisions of Moldova, autonomous territorial unit of Moldova. Its autonomy is intended for the local Gagauz people, a Turkic languages ...

. Spread over an area of , the region includes eight of the 32

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

in Moldova. The districts are in turn organized into 177 communes which incorporate 294 towns and villages. With a population of over 0.53 million in 2013, it is the least populated of the three regions of Moldova.

History

The region has been populated since the

Paleolithic age The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

, with the later cultures of Cucuteni-Tripolie and Dacian spread across the region in the fifth to first centuries BCE. In the first century CE, the region was conquered by Roman Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

, and the region was influenced by

Roman culture The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1,200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day L ...

. The region was at the cross roads of various rulers after the fall of

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and was finally part of the Moldovan state formed in 14th century CE by Bogdan I. In the 15th century CE, the region which formed part of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

, was occupied by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. While the Russians captured the region briefly in the 18th century, the

Treaty of Bucharest (1812) The Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, was signed on 28 May 1812, in Manuc's Inn in Bucharest, and ratified on 5 July 1812, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812. The Ottomans had done poorly in ...

gave control of part of the region to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Sfatul Tarii declared independence, and united the region with Romania. Before the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1940, the region was annexed by Soviet Union as a part of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact of 1939. During the war, the region interchanged between the Romanians and the Soviets, before becoming part of the Soviet after the war. The region became part of independent Moldova only after the

dissolution of Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

in the early 1990s.

Administration

Moldova is divided into three

, apart from the capital region of Chisinau, the autonomous region of

and the uncontrolled territorial unit of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

. These regions incorporate 32

and one municipal region. The districts form the first level administrative units, and the regions are used for statistical and planning purposes. The Southern Regional Development Agency is responsible for planning in the region. The Southern Development Region includes eight districts–

Basarabeasca Basarabeasca () is a city in Moldova. It is the capital of Basarabeasca District. Geography The city, formerly an urban-type settlement, is located on the border with Ukraine. It is 94 km to the south of the national capital Chişinău, 2 ...

Cahul Cahul (; also known by alternative names) is a city and municipality in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 2014 census, the city has a population of 30,0 ...

, Cantemir,

Căușeni Căușeni () is a city in Moldova. It is located in the south-eastern part of the country, in the old Bessarabia region. It is the largest city and administrative center of Căușeni District. Spread across an area of , the town had a population ...

Cimișlia Cimișlia () is a town located in the southern part of Moldova situated on the banks of the Cogâlnic River, between the capital of Chișinău and the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia. Cimişlia had a population of 11,997 according to th ...

Leova Leova is a city in Moldova, located 92 km southwest of the national capital, Chișinău. It is the administrative center of Leova District. The city is situated on the east bank of the river Prut bordering Romania. History The city of Leova is ...

Ștefan Vodă Ștefan Vodă () is a city and the administrative centre of Ștefan Vodă District, Moldova. History Ștefan Vodă appeared on a map of the region for the first time in 1884, and was then resettled in 1909 as a small German colony. The town was ...

, and

Taraclia Taraclia (; ) is a city located in the south of Moldova. It is the capital of Taraclia District, bordered by the autonomous region of Gagauzia, by the Cahul District and the Odesa Oblast of Ukraine. The great majority of its inhabitants are eth ...

. These districts are organized into 177 communes, which incorporate 294 towns and villages.

Geography

The Southern Development Region incorporates the southern portions of the country, except the territories of the autonomous region of

. Spread over an area of , it shares international borders with Romania to the west, and Ukraine to the east. It is also bordered by the Central Development Region to the north, Gagauzian territories to the southeast and the breakaway

to the northeast. While the country is located close to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, it does not have direct access to the sea. The only seaport in the country is the Port of Giurgiulesti located in the Cahul district of the region, which gives access to the sea via the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river.

Demographics

With a population of over 0.53 million in 2013, it is the least populated of the three regions of Moldova. The population included 265,191 males and 264,523 females. The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) of the region was 16.838 billion leu in 2021, accounting for about seven perecent of Moldova economic output.

References

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