| Drochia | |
| Pushpin Map: | Moldova |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Moldova |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Moldova |
| Subdivision Type1: | District |
| Subdivision Name1: | Drochia District |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Cereteu Nina (PN), since 2015 |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1777 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2014 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 13,150 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
| Coordinates: | 48.0333°N 72°W |
| Elevation M: | 226 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | MD-52xx |
| Area Code: | +373 252 xx x xx |
| Blank Name: | Climate |
| Blank Info: | Dfb |
Drochia (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /ˈdroki.ja/) is a city in the northern part of Moldova. It is the administrative center of the eponymous district. The city is located 174.4km (108.4miles) north of the national capital, Chișinău, and 67km (42miles) north-east of the Romanian city of Iaşi. The average elevation of Drochia is 226 meters. The population at the 2004 census was 16,606.
The name of the city comes from a local type of bird, called dropie (English: great bustard).
Drochia is first mentioned by chroniclers in 1777. By 1830 it was a small settlement encompassing 25 families. A document dating from 1847 notes that a small grape-processing plant, the town's first industrial enterprise, had been built. Two mills situated on a local stream were built in 1875.
More intensive industrial development emerged after the railway first came through at the end of the 19th century. At the 1930 census, the locality (then a village) was known as Drochia-Gară (literally Drochia Station), and had a population of only 595. It was part of Plasa Bădiceni of the Soroca County.
Drochia received the status of a city in 1973.
According to the 2014 census, the population of Drochia amounted to 13,150 inhabitants, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2004, when 16,606 inhabitants were registered. Of these, 6,083 were men and 7,067 were women.[2]
Footnotes:
| Ethnic composition (1930 Census) | |||
| align=left | align=right | 181 | |
| align=left | align=right | 77 | |
| align=left | align=right | 209 | |
| align=left | align=right | 112 | |
| align=left | align=right | 5 | |
| align=left | align=right | 7 | |
| align=left | align=right | 1 | |
| align=left | others | align=right | 3 |
| align=left bgcolor="#98FB98" | Total | align=right bgcolor="#98FB98" | 595 |
| Linguistic composition (1930 Census) | |||
| align=left | align=right | 198 | |
| align=left | align=right | 210 | |
| align=left | align=right | 102 | |
| align=left | align=right | 80 | |
| align=left | align=right | 4 | |
| align=left | other | align=right | 1 |
| align=left bgcolor="#98FB98" | Total | align=right bgcolor="#98FB98" | 595 |
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Moldova.
Drochia is twinned with:
