Estonia

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''Alternate uses: Estonia (disambiguation)

The Republic of Estonia is a small country in Northeastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea to the west and the north (including the Gulf of Finland to the north), and sharing a land border with its fellow Baltic state Latvia to the south and with Russia to the east.

Eesti Vabariik

(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: None
Official language	Estonian
Capital	Tallinn
President	Arnold Rüütel
Prime Minister	Juhan Parts
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 129th 45,226 km² 4.56%
Population  - Total (2003)  - Density	Ranked 150th 1,408,556 31/km²
Independence  - Declared  - Recognised	From Russia 24 February 1918 2 February 1920
Currency	Estonian kroon
Time zone	UTC +2
National anthem	Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm
Internet TLD	.ee
Calling Code	372

Table of contents

1 History 2 Politics 3 Counties 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External links

History

Main article: History of Estonia Estonia has been populated by the native Finno Ugric Estonians since prehistory. It was first christianised when the German Sword Brethren and Denmark conquered the land by 1227. Subsequent foreign powers that controlled Estonia at various times included Denmark, Sweden, Poland and finally Russia.

Following the collapse of Imperial Russia after the October Revolution, Estonia declared its independence as a republic on 24 February 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union in June 1940, it regained its freedom on 20 August 1991 with the Singing Revolution and collapse of the Soviet Union. 20 August remains a national holiday in Estonia because of this.

Since the last Russian troops left on 31 August 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe and outside, becoming a member of NATO on 29 March 2004. Estonia opened accession negotiations with the European Union in 1998 and joined on 1 May 2004.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Estonia Estonia is a constitutional democracy, with a president elected by the parliament (elections every five years) and a unicameral parliament. The government or the executive branch is formed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and a total of 14 ministers. The government is appointed by the president after approval by the parliament.

Legislative power lies with the unicameral parliament, the Riigikogu or State Assembly, which holds 101 seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The supreme judiciary court is the National Court or Riigikohus, with 17 justices whose chairman is appointed by the parliament for life on nomination by the president.

Counties

Main article: Counties of Estonia Estonia numbers 15 main administrative subdivisions, called counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond):

• Harju County (Harju maakond or Harjumaa)
• Hiiu County (Hiiu maakond or Hiiumaa)
• Ida-Viru County or Eastern Virumaa (Ida-Viru maakond or Ida-Virumaa)
• Jaerva County (Jaerva maakond or Jaervamaa)
• Jogeva County (Jogeva maakond or Jogevamaa)
• Laeaene County (Laeaene maakond or Laeaenemaa)
• Laeaene-Viru County or Western Virumaa (Laeaene-Viru maakond or Laeaene-Virumaa)
• Paernu County (Paernu maakond or Paernumaa)
• Polva County (Polva maakond or Polvamaa)
• Rapla County (Rapla maakond or Raplamaa)
• Saare County (Saare maakond or Saaremaa)
• Tartu County (Tartu maakond or Tartumaa)
• Valga County (Valga maakond or Valgamaa)
• Viljandi County (Viljandi maakond or Viljandimaa)
• Voru County (Voru maakond or Vorumaa)

Geography

Main article: Geography of Estonia Between 57.3 and 59.5 latitude and 21.5 and 28.1 longitude, Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising east European platform. Average elevation reaches only 50 m.

Oil shale (or kukersite) and limestone deposits, along with forests which cover 47% of the land, play key economic roles in this generally resource-poor country. Estonia boasts over 1,400 lakes (most very small, with the largest, Lake Peipsi, being 3,555 km²), numerous bogs, and 3,794 kilometers of coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. The number of islands and islets is estimated at some 1,500 with two large enough to constitute their own counties, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.

Its highest point is the Suur Munamaegi in the southeastern corner of the country (318 m).

Economy

Main article: Economy of Estonia In 1999, Estonia experienced its worst year economically since it regained independence in 1991, largely because of the impact of the August 1998 Russian financial crisis. Estonia joined the WTO in November 1999 - the second Baltic state to join - and continued its EU accession talks. Privatization of energy, telecommunications, railways, and other state-owned companies is a continuing process. Estonia completed most of its preparations for EU membership by the end of 2002 and now has one of the strongest economies of the new members states of the European Union, which Estonia joined on 1 May 2004. The Estonian economy is growing fast, partly due to a number of Finnish companies relocating their routine operations, and has a strong IT sector.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Estonia About two thirds of the population consist of Estonians, with the rest from other former Soviet republics, mainly Russia, who predominantly live in the capital Tallinn. There is also a small group of Finnish descent.

The country's official language is Estonian, which is closely related to Finnish. Russian is also widely spoken.

The majority of Estonians are Lutheran, whereas the Russian minority is Eastern Orthodox.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Estonia

• List of famous Estonians
• Tartu University
• Music of Estonia

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Estonia
• Transportation in Estonia
• Military of Estonia
• Foreign relations of Estonia
• Tourism in the Baltics
• List of cities in Estonia
• Crime in Estonia
• The Estonian State Decorations
• List of people on stamps of Estonia

External links

• Official State Website (eRiik) - in English
• Estonia Country Guide
• Estonica - from A to Z about Estonia
• Association Of Baltic German Knighthoods