Estonia
Republic of Estonia
Capital: Tallinn
History
After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
Geography
Metric Units
|
Total Area
|
45,228
sq km
|
| Land Boundaries |
633
km
|
| Border Countries |
Latvia 343 km, Russia 290 km |
| Coastline |
3,794
km
|
| Terrain |
marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south |
| Minimum Elevation |
0
m
|
| Maximum Elevation |
318
m
|
| Climate |
maritime; wet, moderate winters, cool summers |
| Natural Resources |
oil shale, peat, rare earth elements, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud |
| Arable Land |
13.97% |
| Permanent Crops |
0.13% |
Economy
Budget & Debt
Trade
| Exports |
$17.38 billion |
| Export Items |
machinery and electrical equipment 21%, wood and wood products 9%, metals 9%, furniture 7%, vehicles and parts 5%, food products and beverages 4%, textiles 4%, plastics 3% |
| Export Partners |
Sweden 17%, Finland 16.3%, Russia 11.9%, Latvia 8.6%, Germany 4.9%, Lithuania 4.9% (2011) |
| Imports |
$17.87 billion |
| Import Items |
machinery and electrical equipment, mineral fuels, chemical products, foodstuffs, plastics, textiles |
| Import Partners |
Finland 13.4%, Latvia 11.6%, Sweden 11.3%, Germany 10.9%, Lithuania 8.7%, Poland 7.2%, China 4.7% (2011) |
People
| Population |
1,266,375 |
| Population Growth |
-0.66% |
| Ethnic Groups |
Estonian 68.7%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.2%, Finn 0.8%, other 1.6% (2008 census) |
| Religion |
Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census) |
| Life Expectancy |
73.82 years |
| Infant Mortality |
0.84 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Maternal Mortality |
0.1 deaths/100,000 live births |
Energy
