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Estonia

Estonia /isˈtoʊniə/ (13px listen) (Estonian: [Eesti] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: [Eesti Vabariik] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a small country in the Baltic states of Northern Europe. The capital city is Tallinn. Estonia has borders with Sweden, Finland, Russia and Latvia. Its population is 1,332,893.[10]

Republic of Estonia
Eesti Vabariik  (Estonian)
Anthem: 
Location of  Estonia  (dark green) – on the European continent  (green & grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Location of  Estonia  (dark green)

– on the European continent  (green & grey)
– in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]

Capital
and largest city
Tallinna
59°25′N 24°45′E / 59.417°N 24.750°E / 59.417; 24.750
Estonian
  • Russian
  • Ukrainian
  • Lithuanian
  • Belarusian
  • Latvian
  • Finnish
  • Swedish
Ethnic groups
(2019[1])
Demonym(s)Estonian
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary republic
• President
Alar Karis
Kristen Michal
LegislatureRiigikogu
Independence
12 April 1917
24 February 1918
2 February 1920
1940–1991
20 August 1991
1 May 2004
Area
• Total
45,227[2] km2 (17,462 sq mi) (129thd)
• Water (%)
4.45%
Population
• 2020 estimate
Increase 1,328,360[3] (153rd)
• 2011 census
1,294,455[4]
• Density
28/km2 (72.5/sq mi) (149th)
GDP (PPP)2020 estimate
• Total
$49.644 billion[5]
• Per capita
$37,605[5] (43rd)
GDP (nominal)2020 estimate
• Total
$32.742 billion[5]
• Per capita
$24,802[5] (35th)
Gini (2018)▼ 30.6[6]
medium
HDI (2018)Increase 0.882[7]
very high · 30th
CurrencyEuro (€) (EUR)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving sideright
Calling code+372
ISO 3166 codeEE
Internet TLD.eee
  1. The Supreme Court and one ministry are based in Tartu.
  2. According to the Constitution of Estonia, Estonian is the only official language.[8] In southern counties, Võro and Seto are spoken along with it. Russian is spoken in parts of Ida-Virumaa and Tallinn.
  3. Including 5.4% Võros and 0.93% Setos.[9]
  4. 47,549 km2 (18,359 sq mi) were defined according to the Treaty of Tartu in 1920
  5. Also .eu, shared with other member states of the European Union.

The territory includes the mainland and 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea.[11]

History

People have lived in Estonia since at least 9,000 BC. The oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the Pärnu River.

Estonia became independent from Russia in 1920 after a brief War of Independence at the end of World War I (1914-1918). During World War II (1939–1945), Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union and Germany. It then became the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and lost its independence.

Estonia had its independence restored in 1991.[12] It became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on 29 March 2004. It joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Politics

In January 2021, Estonia became the only country in the world led by women by having a female president (Kersti Kaljulaid) and female prime minister (Kaja Kallas).[13] A few months later, Alar Karis replaced Kaljulaid as president and in 2024 Kristen Michal replaced Kallas as Prime minister.

The foreign intelligence service warned in 2024 that Russia intended to double the number of its troops stationed along its border. Estonia plans to spend more than 3% of GDP on defence.[14]

Geography

Estonia is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland with Finland on the other side, to the west by the Baltic Sea with Sweden on the other side, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km).[15]

Average elevation reaches only 50 metres (164 ft). The country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast at 318 metres (1,043 ft).

Estonia has many forests, almost 50% of the land is covered with forests.[16] The most common tree species are pine, spruce and birch.[17] Estonia has over 1,400 lakes and over 2,000 islands. The longest rivers are Võhandu (162 km or 101 mi), Pärnu (144 km or 89 mi), and Põltsamaa (135 km or 84 mi).

Biodiversity

Mammals in Estonia include the grey wolf, lynx, brown bear, red fox, badger, wild boar, moose, red deer, roe deer, beaver, otter, grey seal, and ringed seal. The critically endangered European mink has been successfully reintroduced to the island of Hiiumaa. The rare Siberian flying squirrel is present in east Estonia.[18][19]

Over 300 bird species have been found in Estonia. These include the white-tailed eagle, lesser spotted eagle, golden eagle, western capercaillie, black and white stork, many species of owls, waders, geese and many others.[20] The Barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia.[21]

Protected areas cover 18% of Estonian land and 26% of its sea territory. There are 5 national parks, 159 nature reserves, and many other protection areas.[22]

Government

The Riigikogu is the name of the parliament in Estonia.

Administrative regions

File:Estonian administrative divisions 2017 with labels.svg
Administrative divisions of Estonia

Since administrative reform in 2017, there are in total 79 local governments. This includes 15 towns and 64 rural municipalities. All municipalities have equal legal status and form part of a county, which is a state administrative unit.[23]

The counties are:

Culture

According to speedtest.net, Estonia has one of the fastest Internet download speeds in the world with an average download speed of 27.12 Mbit/s.[24]

Estonia won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 with the song "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton. In 2002, Estonia hosted the event.

The Estonian National Day is the Independence Day celebrated on 24 February. This is the day the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued. As of 2013, there are 12 public holidays and 12 national holidays celebrated each year.

In June 2023, the Estonian government passed a bill legalising same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption in Estonia.[25] The bill went into effect on 1 January 2024, making Estonia the first Baltic state and country formerly occupied by the Soviet Union to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption.[26][27]

International rankings

The following are links to international rankings of Estonia.

Index Rank Countries reviewed
Freedom House Internet Freedom 2016 1 65
International Tax Competitiveness Index 2023[28] 1 38
Environmental Performance Index 2016 8 180
Index of Economic Freedom 2017 6 180
Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index 2011–2012 11 187
State of World Liberty Index 2006 1 159
Human Development Index 2019[29] 30 189
Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 22 176
TRACE Matrix business bribery risk 2016[30] 3 199
Networked Readiness Index 2014 21 133
Ease of Doing Business Index 2017 12 190
State of The World's Children's Index 2012[31] 10 165
State of The World's Women's Index 2012 18 165
World Freedom Index 2014[32] 8 165
Legatum Prosperity Index 2019 21 149

Estonia Media

  • Kaali kraater 2006.jpg

    Kaali crater in Saaremaa was created by a meteorite c. 1530–1450 BC, during the Nordic Bronze Age, in one of few impact events ever to occur in a populated area. The site was later a pagan shrine and source of meteoric iron.

  • Old Estonian counties.png

    Pre-Christian independent Estonian counties (maakond), c. 1200

  • Varbola maalinna värav 2008.jpg

    Ruins of the gates to Varbola stronghold, the largest fortress of pre-Christian Estonia

  • Medieval Livonia 1260.svg

    Estonia and Livonia after the 12th/13th century Northern crusades

  • Põltsamaa Castle walls.JPG

    Põltsamaa Castle was the seat of Magnus, King of Livonia from 1570 to 1578

  • Academia Gustaviana.jpg

    Academia Gustaviana, now University of Tartu was founded in 1632 by King Gustavus Adolphus

  • Tallinn asv2022-04 img55 Kadriorg Palace.jpg

    The Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn was built in 1718–1725 during the reign of Tsar Peter I (Emperor Peter the Great of Russia).

  • Kreutzwald-köler.jpg

    Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803–1882), author of the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg (by Johann Köler, 1864)

  • Grupp Viljandi kreisi vallavanemaid, 1880-1890.jpg

    Rural Estonians began practicing democratic local governance in the 19th century. Municipal elders of the Viljandi County in the 1880s

Related pages

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  2. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  3. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  4. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  6. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  7. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  8. ↑ Constitution of the Republic of Estonia Archived 2016-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, 6th article
  9. ↑ Võrokesed ees, setod järel. postimees.ee (13 July 2012).
  10. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  11. ↑ Matthew Holehouse Estonia discovers it's actually larger after finding 800 new islands The Telegraph, 28 August 2015
  12. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  13. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  14. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  15. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).. Official website of the Republic of Estonia (in Estonian)
  16. ↑ Facts Archived 2 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine Estonian Timber
  17. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  18. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  19. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  20. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  21. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  22. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  23. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  24. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  25. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  26. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  27. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  28. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  29. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  30. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  31. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  32. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).

Other websites

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