Romania has far surpassed Bulgaria in the number of people that it naturalizes from the respective country that is its historically and ethnically closest neighbor. Over 220 000 Moldovans have been granted Romanian citizenship in the two decades since the Soviet collapse, the Moldovanews online portal reported on Tuesday, quoting a survey by the Open Society Foundation. A total of 226 507 Moldovan residents were issued Romanian passports in the period between 1991 and 2011, the survey authors calculated in an article published Tuesday. The figure may increase by 60 000 to 80 000 in the near future, they said. Moldova has a population of about 3.5 million, of those some 2.6 millions are ethnic Moldavians. (via Bulgaria: Romania Naturalizes Far More Moldavians Than Bulgaria - Macedonians - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency)