Estonia Facts

by Vishal Kumar

Where is Estonia? Estonia is a state located in north-eastern part of the European continent. What countries border Estonia? Estonia borders the Baltic Sea on the west, the Gulf of…


Where is Estonia?

Estonia is a state located in north-eastern part of the European continent.

What countries border Estonia?

Estonia borders the Baltic Sea on the west, the Gulf of Finland on the north, Latvia on the south, and Russia on the east.

What is the capital of Estonia?

The capital city of Estonia is Tallinn. It is situated on the northeastern coast of the country. The capital covers an area of 61.5 square miles and houses a population of 413,727 inhabitants. The city is listed among the top ten digital cities in the world.

How big is Estonia?

Estonia has an area of 17,413 square miles.

What is the population of Estonia?

Estonia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union. According to the census conducted in 2010, the estimated population of the state is 1,340,021.

What are the main ethnic groups in Estonia?

Ethnic Estonians make up sixty-four percent of the population, while twenty-nine percent of the population is composed of ethnic Russians (living mostly in and around Narva). Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Finns are the other minority groups.

What are the administrative divisions of Estonia?

The Republic of Estonia is divided into fifteen counties that are known as Maakonnad. Each county is subdivided into municipalities, the smallest administrative subdivisions of Estonia. There are two types of municipalities: urban municipality and rural municipality. Each municipality has its own executive bodies. There are 227 municipalities in Estonia, 33 of which are urban and 193 rural.

Who are the political leaders of Estonia?

The state of Estonia is a parliamentary republic and the prime minister is the supreme head of the state. President: Toomas Hendrik Ilves

Prime Minister: Andrus Ansip
Parliament speaker: Ene Ergma

What is the official currency of Estonia?

Estonia adopted the Euro as its official currency on January 1, 2011. It is denoted by the ISO 4217 code EUR. The new currency replaced the Estonian kroon, which was the official currency of Estonia for the following periods in the history of the state: 1928–1940 and 1992–2011.

What is the religion of Estonia?

Seventy-five percent of the Estonian population claims to be irreligious. However, Evangelical Lutheranism is the predominant religion of the state followed by 152,000 Estonians. There are adherents of other faiths like Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Seventh day Adventist, Pentecostal, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Taaraism. Also, there are smaller communities of Jews and Muslims.

What is the official language of Estonia?

Estonian is the official language of the Republic of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia. Estonian is related to Finnish and is also influenced by German, Russian, Swedish and Latvian. Russian is used as a secondary language. English, Finnish, German and Swedish are the other languages spoken in the state.

What are the economic features of Estonia?

The Republic of Estonia is often described as the Baltic Tiger because of its rapid growth. Electronics and telecommunications are important sectors in the Estonian economy; the country is nicknamed E-stonia as it is almost completely wired. Mostly all public places are equipped with wireless connections. Skype, a popular service offering free calls over the Internet to millions of people worldwide, is designed by Estonian developers. Transit, information technology, telecommunications, business services, retail, construction, and real estate collectively account for sixty percent of the GDP. Tourism also adds to Estonia’s economic growth; Tallinn’s beautifully restored old town is a major tourist destination. The state abounds in natural resources like oil shale, phosphorus, limestone, and blue clay. Manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, timber, chemicals, and food are the chief export items; exports account for $8.9 billion. Finland (18%), Sweden (12.5%), Latvia (9.7%), Russia (9.3%), Germany (6%), Lithuania (4.9%), and the United States (4.2%) are the major export partners. Estonia imports machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, fuels and lubricants. It also imports 200 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The principal import partners are Finland (14.5%), Germany (10.4%), Sweden (8.4%), Lithuania (10.9%), Latvia (10.2%), Russia (8.8%).

When is the national day of Estonia celebrated?

The national day of Estonia is celebrated on February 24 every year, as the Republic of Estonia got independence from Russia on this date in 1918. The day is known as the Estonian Independence Day. However, there were a series of occupations by many countries in the coming years, and independence was finally restored on August 20, 1991. Nevertheless, the national day continues to be celebrated on February 24.