Sîngerei District

The Sîngerei district is situated in the north of the Republic of Moldova, in the North Development Region. Its seat is the town of Sîngerei. The district occupies a transitional position between the Bălți plain to the north and the wooded hilly zone of the country's centre, bordering several districts in northern and central Moldova.

Geography and waters

With an area of roughly 1,034 km², the district has a hilly plain relief, fragmented by valleys. It is crossed by the river Răut, one of the most important inland tributaries of the Dniester, as well as by other smaller watercourses, which feed the numerous ponds and reservoirs in the area. Chernozem soils ensure good agricultural productivity, the district being one of the granaries of the north.

Population and ethnic groups

At the 2014 census, the district had around 79,800 inhabitants, with a density of about 77 inhabitants/km². The population is predominantly Moldovan/Romanian (over 86%), with a notable Ukrainian community (almost 10%) and a Russian minority. Besides Sîngerei, the district also includes the town of Biruința. The population grew until towards the end of the 1980s, when it exceeded 89,000 inhabitants, followed by a decline in the following decades.

Economy and history

The district's economy is largely agricultural, focused on cereals, industrial crops, viticulture, fruit growing and animal husbandry, complemented by agricultural processing enterprises. The rural heritage includes old churches, manor houses and plain and forest landscapes characteristic of northern Moldova. The district, in its first administrative form, was constituted in November 1940 and went through several territorial reorganisations in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, reaching its present configuration. Through its transitional position between the Bălți plain and the hills of the Codri, through its dense network of villages and through the Răut valley that crosses it, the Sîngerei district remains an area representative of the rural and agricultural life of northern Moldova, with a natural and ethnographic heritage that blends Moldovan and Ukrainian influences. Its villages, many with a history documented for centuries, preserve churches, manor houses and agricultural traditions specific to this transitional area of the country.