 Life expectancy in the ex-Soviet country (which is among Europe's poorest) is 67.5 years for men and 75.5 years for women.In a country with a population of 3.5 million, of which 1 million are abroad, there are more than 700,000 pensioners.After achieving independence from the Soviet Union, Moldova's foreign policy was designed with a view to establishing relations with other European countries, neutrality, and European Union integration.