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Estonia
Physical. Located in Eastern Europe, Estonia borders both the Baltic Sea
and the Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia. It covers an area slightly
smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined and includes around 1,520
islands located in the Baltic Sea. Estonia’s marshy terrain and lowlands
experience a wet and maritime climate, which gives the country both moderate
winters and cool summers. Natural resources include oil shale, peat, phosphorite,
clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land and sea mud.
People. Estonia is home to over 1,324,000 people. Estonian is the
official language, but Russian and Ukrainian are widely spoken as well. Ethnic
Estonians predominate the population (68%). The rest of the population includes
Russians (26%), Ukrainians (2%), Byelorussians (1%) and Finns (1%). Religions
practiced include Evangelical Lutheran (14%), Orthodox (13%), Estonian Orthodox
and over one-third of the population is not affiliated with any religion.
Government. The country is officially known as the Republic of Estonia
and is divided into 15 counties. The capital, Tallinn, is located on the north
shore on the Gulf of Finland. After its independence from the Soviet Union on
September 6, 1991, Estonia became a parliamentary republic based on its 1992
Constitution. The President is elected to a five-year term by the Parliament.
Estonia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
Economy. Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization and
the European Union, pegs its currency to the euro and has become a modern market
economy. It has electronics and telecommunications sectors and with three major
trading partners: Finland, Sweden and Germany. The current deficit is high,
however the state budget is in balance, and public debt is low. Estonia enjoys
remarkable levels of foreign direct investment, among the highest per capita in
Central and East Europe. The trade deficit is a negative factor, whereas the
internal government surplus is a plus. The GDP can be broken down as follows:
agriculture 4%, industry 29%, and services 67%.
Areas of Concern. Environmentally, Estonia's challenges include air
pollution. Estonia’s smaller natural and manmade lakes in agricultural areas
need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations.
For more information on Estonia you may write to the chancery at 2131
Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; check the U.S. State Department
or World Factbook country sites; or you may type in the country's name on the
Internet using a World Wide Web search engine.
Estonia statistics
Geography
Area: 45,226 sq km
Capital: Tallinn (population 500,400)
Environmental concerns: air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning
power plants in northeast; Estonia’s smaller natural and manmade lakes in
agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain
locations
Geographical features: marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south
Climate: maritime and wet with moderate winters and cool summers
People
Population: 1,324,000 (July 2006 est.)
Estonian (68%), Russian (26%), Ukrainian (2%), Belarusian (1%), Finn (1%), (2000
census)
Annual growth rate: -0.64% (2006 est.)
Major languages are Estonian (68% - official), Russian (30%) (2000 census)
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran (14%), Orthodox (13%), other Christian (1%),
unaffiliated (34%), other and unspecified (32%), none (6%) (2000 census)
Health and social issues
Life expectancy: Men, 67 years; women, 78 years
Infant mortality: 7.73 deaths per 1000 live births
It is not known what percentage of the population lives in poverty.
The number of physicians is not known.
HIV/AIDS Rate in Adults: 1.1% (2001 est.)
99.8% of adults are literate
Compulsory education (Ages): 7-16
Communication and transportation
444,000 (2004) main telephone lines
670,000 Internet users (2005)
56,849 km of roadways
958 km railroads
26 airfields
Government
Estonia is a parliamentary republic
President Arnold Ruutel is the chief of state (since 8 October 2001). Prime
Minister Andrus Ansip is the head of government (since 12 April 2005).
Universal suffrage at 18
Military
Military expenditures are 2% (2002 est.) of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for
FY02
Current disputes: Estonia is in dispute with Russia about their border while
Russia agitates for better accommodation of the Russian-speaking population
Economy
Currency: Estonian kroon
Per capita GDP: $16,700 (2005 est.)
GDP: $22.29 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 9.6% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate: 4% (2005 est.)
Labor force: agriculture: (11%), industry: (20%), services: (69%) (1999 est.)
Resources and industry
Natural resources: oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand,
dolomite, arable land, sea mud
Agriculture: potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish
Industry: engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information
technology, telecommunications
Exports: $7.439 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports: $9.189 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Suggested web sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cy.html
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