Theatres have surpassed pre-pandemic audiences. Chișinău museums have lost half their visitors since 2011

Theatres in the Republic of Moldova had about 420,000 spectators in 2025, 21% more than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic. Museums recorded 854,941 visits, 8% more than in 2019 but 14% below the 2015 peak. Cinemas, by contrast, had 624,000 spectators, 9% fewer than in 2019, despite the number of screens rising from 10 to 15. The figures come from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data series, which excludes localities on the left bank of the Dniester and the municipality of Bender.

In brief

• Theatres staged almost as many performances in 2025 as in 2019 (2,523 compared with 2,483), and far fewer than in 2016 (3,054), but audiences were larger: an average of about 167 spectators per performance, compared with 139 in 2019, according to COMUNICA.MD's calculation.

• Relative to the population, theatres had 158 spectators per 1,000 residents in 2024, the highest level in the NBS series, which began in 2014.

• Museums in Chișinău recorded 285,810 visits in 2025, compared with 559,066 in 2011 (-49%). The capital’s share of total visits fell from 58% to 33%, while the Central region (316,955 visits) surpassed it.

• The number of spectators per cinema screen fell from about 72,000 in 2023 to about 42,000 in 2025, after the number of screens rose from 10 to 15.

Theatres: fewer performances, fuller halls

The NBS has recorded 17 theatres since 2023, compared with 16 in previous years. In 2025, they staged 2,523 performances for 420,000 spectators. Audiences grew every year after the pandemic: 115,000 in 2020, 146,000 in 2021, 293,000 in 2022, 346,000 in 2023 and 377,000 in 2024. The 2025 figure is higher than in 2019 (346,000), but remains slightly below the 2016 peak (433,000).

The increase is not due to more performances. In 2016, theatres staged 3,054 performances, 531 more than in 2025. The difference lies in audience size: a performance had an average of about 142 spectators in 2016, 139 in 2019 and 167 in 2025, according to COMUNICA.MD's calculation based on NBS data.

The population-based indicator shows the same trend, more markedly because the population has declined. The NBS calculates that there were 158 theatre spectators per 1,000 residents in 2024, compared with 131 in 2019 and 156 in 2016. The figure for 2025 has not yet been published.

The Philharmonic and independent ensembles complete the picture. The NBS recorded two philharmonic institutions in 2025, compared with one through 2024. They had 46,000 spectators, twice the 2019 figure (23,000). The five independent ensembles had 87,000 spectators, below the 2019 level (100,000). Combined, theatres, the Philharmonic and the ensembles had 553,000 spectators in 2025, 18% more than in 2019.

Museums: national recovery, but a different centre of gravity

The Republic of Moldova has had 132 museums since 2022, compared with 119 in 2014, and most of them (101) are history museums. Visits reached 854,941 in 2025, after falling to 300,695 in 2020. The NBS regional series, available from 2011, shows, however, that the 2025 figure remains below those for 2011 (957,217) and 2015 (990,357), the year with the most visits.

The major change is geographical. The 13 museums in Chișinău municipality recorded 285,810 visits in 2025, almost half the 2011 figure. Unlike the rest of the country, the capital has not recovered from the pandemic: it had fewer visits in 2025 than in 2023 (301,955) and 2024 (292,389). Chișinău’s share of total visits fell from 58% in 2011 to 33% in 2025, according to COMUNICA.MD's calculation.

Over the same period, visits to museums in the Central region rose from 135,004 to 316,955, and in 2025 the region surpassed the capital for the first time in the NBS regional series, which began in 2011. Most of the increase came from Orhei district, where the six museums recorded 180,025 visits in 2025, compared with 38,004 in 2019. In the North, Soroca district recorded 120,522 visits, after just 9,623 in 2023. Together, Orhei and Soroca had more visits than all the museums in Chișinău. NBS data do not show which museums or attractions accounted for these increases.

Other areas saw declines. Museums in Bălți municipality recorded 32,236 visits in 2025, compared with 67,083 in 2019 and 87,641 in 2011. In the South, visits remained at around 43,000–44,000 a year over the past three years, below the 56,685 recorded in 2011, while the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia had 22,272 visits in 2025, half the 2019 figure.

Museums had more staff and larger collections than at any other point in the NBS series: 880 employees and 1.72 million items in their core collections in 2025, compared with 767 employees and 1.04 million items in 2011.

Cinemas: more screens, fewer spectators per screen

The NBS recorded 15 cinema venues at the end of 2025, compared with 10 in each year from 2019 to 2024 and 14 in 2014. The number of spectators was 624,000 in 2025, following a peak of 719,000 in 2023 and 585,000 in 2024. Relative to the population, 2023 was a record year in the series, with 297 spectators per 1,000 residents.

With more screens and fewer spectators than in 2023, the average per screen fell from about 72,000 spectators in 2023 to about 42,000 in 2025, according to COMUNICA.MD's calculation. The statistics do not break down films by country of production and do not publish box-office revenues, so these data cannot show what types of films attracted audiences.

Cultural infrastructure is shrinking

Long-term data series show a network that is slowly contracting. The Republic of Moldova had 1,181 cultural institutions in 2025, including 1,111 in rural areas, compared with 1,305 in 1995. The number of seats in performance halls fell from 378,000 to 315,000 over the same period, 284,000 of them in rural areas.

The NBS data also have limitations. They measure visits and spectators, not distinct individuals. They do not include independent events, festivals or performances outside reporting institutions. Indicators per 1,000 residents for 2025 are not yet available.

COMUNICA.MD calculated all derived figures in this article, including averages per performance and per screen and regional shares, based on the NBS tables listed below.