Languages: Estonian 67% (official), Russian 30%, other
(2000)
Ethnicity/race: Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%,
Belorussian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000)
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 14%, Russian Orthodox 13%,
other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman
Catholic, Pentecostal) 1%, unaffiliated 34%, none 6% (2001)
Literacy: 100% (2003 est.)
Economic summary:GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$23.35 billion; per capita $21,800. Real growth rate: 7.3%.
Inflation: 6.3%. Unemployment: 5%. Arable land:
12.05%. Agriculture: potatoes, vegetables; livestock and
dairy products; fish. Labor force: 688,000; industry 20%,
agriculture 11%, services 69% (1999 est.). Industries:
engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information
technology, telecommunications. Natural resources: oil shale,
peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea
mud. Exports: $11.31 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and
equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%,
furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001). Imports: $14.71
billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical
products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation
equipment 8.9% (2001). Major trading partners: Finland, Sweden,
Germany, Latvia, Russia, Lithuania, U.S., Gibraltar (2006).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 541,900 (2006); mobile cellular: 1.659 million (2006). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001). Television
broadcast stations: 3 (2001). Internet hosts: 387,336
(2007). Internet users: 760,000 (2006).
Transportation: Railways: total: 968 km
(2006). Highways: total: 56,856 km; paved: 13,384 km (including
99 km of expressways); unpaved: 43,472 km (2004). Waterways:
500 km (2003). Ports and harbors: Kopli, Kuivastu, Muuga,
Tallinn, Virtsu. Airports: 19 (2007).
International disputes: in 1996, the
Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both
states have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting
that Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian
groups pressing for realignment of the boundary based more closely on
the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic
Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; as a member
state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must
implement the strict Schengen border rules.
Estonia is mainly a lowland country that is bordered by the Baltic Sea,
Latvia, and Russia. It has numerous lakes and forests and many rivers,
most draining northward into the Gulf of Finland or eastward into Lake
Peipus, its largest lake.
Government
Parliamentary democracy.
History
Estonians resisted the assaults of Vikings, Danes, Swedes, and Russians
before the 13th century. In 1346, the Danes, who possessed northern
Estonia, sold the land to the Teutonic Knights of Germany, who already
possessed Livonia (southern Estonia and Latvia). The Teutonic Knights
reduced the Estonians to serfdom. In 1526, the Swedes took over, and the
power of the German (Balt) landowning class was reduced. But after 1721,
when Russia succeeded Sweden as the ruling power under the Peace of
Nystad, the Estonians were subject to a double bondage—the Balts and the
czarist officials. The oppression lasted until the closing months of World
War I, when Estonia finally achieved independence after a victorious war
(1918–1920). But shortly after the start of World War II, the nation was
occupied by Russian troops and incorporated as the 16th republic of the
USSR in 1940. Germany occupied the nation from 1941 to 1944, when it was
retaken by the Soviets.
Estonia declared independence from the Soviet Union in March 1990.
Soviet resistance ensued, but after recognition by European and other
countries, the Soviet Union acknowledged Estonian nationhood on Sept. 6,
1991. UN membership followed on Sept. 17. The newly independent nation
embraced free-market reforms. Fueled by foreign investments, economic
advances continued. In 2004, Estonia became a member of the European Union
as well as of NATO. In Sept. 2006, Toomas Hendrik Ilves was elected
president, defeating incumbent Arnold Rüütel.
In March 2007, Estonia allowed Internet voting for Parliamentary
elections, becoming the first country to do so. Prime Minister Andrus
Ansip's Reform Party narrowly won the election, taking 31 out of 101
seats, just two more than the Centre Party.
Violent protests erupted in April when Estonian officials moved a
controversial bronze statue of a Soviet soldier from a park in Tallinn and
placed in it a military cemetery. One person died in the protests and
dozens were injured. Ethnic Russians—as well as the Russian government—say
the memorial honors Red Army soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany and
object to its relocation. Estonians, however, believe the statue glorifies
Soviet occupation of Estonia.
