Estonia

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Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

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GEOGRAPHY

Location

Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia

Area

Total area: 45,100 sq km
Land area: 43,200 sq km
Comparative area: slightly larger than New Hampshire and Vermont combined

Note: Includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea

Land Boundaries

Total 557 km, Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km

Coastline

1,393 km

Maritime Claims

Exclusive economic zone: limits to be fixed in coordination with neighboring states
Territorial sea: 12 nm

International Disputes

Claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions - based on boundary established under the 1921 Peace Treaty of Tartu

Climate

Maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers

Terrain

Marshy, lowlands
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m

Natural Resources

Shale oil
Peat
Phosphorite
Amber

Land Use

Arable land: 22%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 11%
Forest and woodland: 31%
Other: 36%

Irrigated Land

110 sq km (1990)

Environment

Current issues: air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at military bases
Natural hazards: flooding occurs frequently in the spring
International agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

PEOPLE

Population

1,459,428 (July 1996 est.)
1,625,399 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

20% (male 148,683; female 143,563) July 1996 est.)
22% (male 181,101; female 174,304) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

66% (male 467,759; female 501,519) July 1996 est.)
65% (male 515,426; female 549,473) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

14% (male 63,976; female 133,928) (July 1996 est.)
13% (male 65,373; female 139,722) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

-1.13% (1996 est.)
0.53% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

10.74 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
13.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

14.12 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-7.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.87 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 68.13 years (1996 est.), 70.17 years (1995 est.)
Male: 62.5 years (1996 est.), 65.2 years (1995 est.)
Female: 74.05 years (1996 est.), 75.39 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

1.55 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Estonian(s)
Adjective: Estonian

Ethnic Divisions

Estonian 61.5%
Russian 30.3%
Ukrainian 3.17%
Byelorussian 1.8%
Finn 1.1%
Other 2.13% (1989)

Religions

Lutheran

Languages

Estonian (official), Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, other

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1989)

Total population: 100%
Male: 100%
Female: 100%

Labor Force

750,000 (1992)

By occupation:

Industry and construction 42%
Agriculture and forestry 20%
Other 38% (1990)

GOVERNMENT

Names

Conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
Conventional short form: Estonia
Local long form: Eesti Vabariik
Local short form: Eesti
Former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

Digraph

Type

Republic

Capital

Tallinn

Administrative Divisions

15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harju maakond (Tallinn), Hiiu maakond (Kardla), Ida-Viru maakond (Johvi), Jarva maakond (Paide), Jogeva maakond (Jogeva), Laane maakond (Haapsalu), Laane-Viru maakond (Rakvere), Parnu maakond (Parnu), Polva maakond (Polva), Rapla maakond (Rapla), Saare maakond (Kuessaare), Tartu maakond (Tartu), Valga maakond (Valga), Viljandi maakond (Viljandi), Voru maakond (Voru)

Note: County centers are in parentheses

Independence

6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 24 February (1918)

Constitution

Adopted 28 June 1992

Legal System

Based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of state: President Lennart MERI (since 21 October 1992); election last held 20 September 1992; (next to be held fall 1996); results - no candidate received majority; newly elected Parliament elected Lennart MERI (21 October 1992)
Head of government: Prime Minister Mart SIIMANN (since NA); the president nominated and Parliament authorized the candidate for prime minister
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister, authorized by the legislature

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Parliament (Riigikogu)

Elections last held 5 March 1995 (next to be held NA 1998); results - KMU 32.22%, RE 16.18%, K 14.17%, Pro Patria and ERSP 7.85%, M 5.98%, Our Home is Estonia and Right-Wingers 5.0%; seats - (101 total) KMU 41, RE 19, K 16, Pro Patria 8, Our Home is Estonia 6, M 6, Right-Wingers 5

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Political Parties and Leaders

Coalition Party and Rural Union (KMU), Tiit VAHI, chairman, made up of 4 parties: Coalition Party, Country People's Party, Farmer's Assembly, and Pensioners' and Families' League; Reform Party-Liberals (RE), Siim KALLAS, chairman; Center Party (K), Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman; Union of Pro Patria or Fatherland Alliance (Isamaa of Fatherland), Toivo JURGENSON, chairman; National Independence Party (ERSP), Kelam TUNNE, chairman, note - may have disappeared since the last election; Our Home is Estonia made up of 2 parties: United Peoples Party and the Russian People's Party of Estonia; United Peoples Party, Viktor ANDREJEV, chairman; Russian People's Party of Estonia, Sergei KUZNETSOV, chairman; Moderates (M) made up of 2 parties: Social Democratic Party and Rural Center Party; Social Democratic Party, Eiki NESTOR, chairman; Rural Center Party, Vambo KAAL, chairman; Right-Wingers, Ulo NUGIS, chairman

Member of

BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

National Anthem

Flag

Pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white

ECONOMY

Overview

Estonia continues to experience strong economic growth after its economy bottomed out in 1993. Bolstered by a widespread national desire to reintegrate into Western Europe, Estonia has adhered to disciplined fiscal and financial policies and has led the FSU countries in pursuing economic reform. Monthly inflation has been held to under 5% since the beginning of 1992, with monthly inflation in 1995 at 2%. Following four years of decline, Estonia's GDP grew 5% in 1994 and 6% in 1995 - among the highest rates in Europe, according to estimates of the IMF and Estonia's own Economic Ministry. Despite these positive economic indicators, unemployment - 8% in 1994 - is on the rise, and wages - especially for teachers and law enforcement personnel - have not kept pace with inflation. Small- and medium-scale privatization is essentially complete, and large-scale privatization is progressing, but slowly. Estonia has successfully reoriented it trade toward the West, two-thirds of exports now going to Western markets. Estonia's free trade policies were the cornerstone of its negotiations with the European Union, and led to the signing of an association agreement in June 1995. Estonia was the only Baltic state not to have a transition period imposed by the EU prior to its implementation of a free trade agreement.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
$10.4 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National Product Real Growth Rate

12.4% (1997)
6% (1995 est.)
4% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$7,600 (1995 est.)
$6,460 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

12.4% (1997)
29% (1995 est.)
3.3% per month (1994 average)

Unemployment Rate

3.6% (1997)
8% (1994 est.)

Budget

Revenues: $620 million
Expenditures: $582 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (January-October 1995)

Exports

$1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$1.65 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

Commodities:

Textile 14%
Food products 11%
Vehicles 11%
Metals 11% (1993)

Partners:

Russia
Finland
Sweden
Germany

Imports

$2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$1 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

Commodities:

Machinery 18%
Fuels 15%
Vehicles 14%
Textiles 10% (1993)

Partners:

Finland
Russia
Germany
Sweden

External Debt

$270 million (January 1996)
$650 million (end of 1991)

Industrial Production

Growth rate -27% (1993)

Electricity

Capacity: 3,420,000 kW
Production: 11.3 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 6,528 kWh (1993)

Industries

Oil shale
Shipbuilding
Phosphates
Electric motors
Excavators
Cement
Furniture
Clothing
Textiles
Paper
Shoes
Apparel

Agriculture

Accounts for 10% of GDP; employs 20% of work force; very efficient by Soviet standards; net exports of meat, fish, dairy products, and potatoes; imports of feedgrains for livestock; fruits and vegetables

Illicit Drugs

Transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; very limited illicit opium producer; mostly for domestic consumption

Economic Aid

Recipient: ODA, $147 million (1993), U.S. commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million

Currency

1 Estonian kroon (EEK) = 100 cents (introduced in August 1992)

Exchange Rates

Kroons (EEK) per US$1 - 11.523 (December 1995), 11.465 (1995), 12.991 (1994), 13.223 (1993); note - krooni are tied to the German deutsche mark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Total: 1,018 km common carrier lines only; does not include dedicated industrial lines
Broad gauge: 1,018 km 1.520-m gauge (1995)

Highways

Total: 14,771 km
Paved or graveled: 8,124 km (including 62 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 6,647 km (1993)

Inland Waterways

500 km perennially navigable

Pipelines

Natural gas 420 km (1992)

Ports

Haapsalu, Narva, Novotallin, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn

Merchant Marine

Total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 353,140 GRT/467,086 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 33, oil tanker 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 4 (1995 est.)

Airports

Total: 22
With paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
With paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
With unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 5

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

About 400,000 telephones; 246 telephones/1,000 persons; telephone system is antiquated; improvements are being made piecemeal, with emphasis on business needs and international connections; there are still about 150,000 unfulfilled requests for telephone service

Domestic: substantial investment has been made in cellular systems which are operational throughout Estonia
International: international traffic is carried to the other former Soviet republics by landline or microwave radio relay and to other countries partly by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch and partly by a new Tallinn-Helsinki fiber-optic, submarine cable which gives Estonia access to international circuits everywhere; access to the international packet-switched digital network via Helsinki

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0
Radios: 710,000 (1992 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 3; note - provide Estonian programs as well as Moscow Ostenkino's first and second programs
Televisions: 600,000 (1993 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force (not officially sanctioned), Maritime Border Guard, Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Security Forces (internal and border troops), Coast Guard

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 357,835; males fit for military service 280,757; males reach military age (18) annually 10,525 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $35 million, 1.5% of GDP (1995)

Hisotry
World Atlas

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