According to the 1989 Soviet Census, there were 4,739 Poles in the Moldavian SSR.
The Moldovan Census of 2004 reported 2,383 Poles.
The latter census did not include data collected in Transnistria, which for centuries was within the boundaries of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and was subject to significant Polish colonization.
The 2004 Census in Transnistria reported 2% of the population (about 1,100) to be Poles.

Some publications of Polonia activists and Polish diplomats mention numbers of more than 20,000 Poles in Moldova, — numbers significantly exceeding that of self-identified Poles in the census.
Some authors include in their estimates people of Polish descent, while others assume people of Catholic faith (in a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country) are most probably of Polish descent; and this may include, e.g. Ukrainians with ties to Poland in their ancestry.

As a consequence of the Russian and Soviet policies towards Polish culture, only a small percentage of Poles in Moldova today speak Polish.
For example, Petru Lucinschi ([ˈpetru luˈt͡ʃinski], who served as the second President of Moldova carries a transcribed version of the Polish surname Łuczyński, but has never publicly identified with a Polish heritage.
A number of Transnistrian politicians such as former First Lady Nina Shtanski and Yevgeni Zubov, however, are open about their Polish roots.
According to the 1989 Soviet Census, there were 4,739 Poles in the Moldavian SSR. The Moldovan Census of 2004 reported 2,383 Poles. The latter census did not include data collected in Transnistria, which for centuries was within the boundaries of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and was subject to significant Polish colonization. The 2004 Census in Transnistria reported 2% of the population (about 1,100) to be Poles. 
Some publications of Polonia activists and Polish diplomats mention numbers of more than 20,000 Poles in Moldova, — numbers significantly exceeding that of self-identified Poles in the census. Some authors include in their estimates people of Polish descent, while others assume people of Catholic faith (in a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country) are most probably of Polish descent; and this may include, e.g. Ukrainians with ties to Poland in their ancestry.
As a consequence of the Russian and Soviet policies towards Polish culture, only a small percentage of Poles in Moldova today speak Polish. For example, Petru Lucinschi ([ˈpetru luˈt͡ʃinski], who served as the second President of Moldova carries a transcribed version of the Polish surname Łuczyński, but has never publicly identified with a Polish heritage. A number of Transnistrian politicians such as former First Lady Nina Shtanski and Yevgeni Zubov, however, are open about their Polish roots.
Moldova–Poland relations