Estonia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Republic of Estonia
Eesti Vabariik (Estonian)
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![Location of Estonia (dark green)– on the European continent (green & dark grey)– in the European Union (green) — [Legend]](/Image:EU-Estonia.svg)
Location of Estonia (dark green)
– on the European continent (green & dark grey) |
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| Capital and largest city
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Tallinn 59°25′N 24°45′E / 59.417°N 24.750°E |
| Official language | Estonian |
| Ethnic groups (2024) |
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| Religion
(2021)
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| Demonym(s) | Estonian |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Alar Karis | |
| Kristen Michal | |
| Legislature | Riigikogu |
| Independence
from Russia and Germany
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• Declaration of independence
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23–24 February 1918 |
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• Joined the League of Nations
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22 September 1921 |
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• German and Soviet occupations
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1940–1991 |
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• Independence restored
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20 August 1991 |
| Area | |
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• Total
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45,335 km2 (17,504 sq mi) (129thd) |
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• Water (%)
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4.6 |
| Population | |
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• 2024 estimate
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 1,373,101 |
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• 2021 census
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1,331,824 |
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• Density
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30.3/km2 (78.5/sq mi) (148th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
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• Total
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 $61.598 billion (113th) |
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• Per capita
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$45,122 (41st) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
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• Total
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$43.486 billion (102nd) |
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• Per capita
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$31,854 (36th) |
| Gini (2021) | ▲ 30.6 medium |
| HDI (2022) | 0.899 very high · 31st |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
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• Summer (DST)
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UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Calling code | +372 |
| ISO 3166 code | EE |
| Internet TLD | .ee |
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia is a small country in the Baltic Region of Northern Europe. The capital city is Tallinn. Estonia's neighbors are Sweden, Finland, Russia and Latvia. Its population is around 1.4 million.
Estonia became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on 29 March 2004. It joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.
Estonia is east from the Baltic Sea and the northest of the Baltic States.
Estonia is divided into 15 counties (maakond): Harjumaa, Hiiumaa, Ida-Virumaa, Jõgevamaa, Järvamaa, Läänemaa, Lääne-Virumaa, Põlvamaa, Pärnumaa, Raplamaa, Saaremaa, Tartumaa, Valgamaa, Viljandimaa, Võrumaa.
Estonia has many forests, almost 50% of the land is covered with forests. Estonia has over 1,400 lakes and 1,500 islands.
Contents
History
Prehistory and the Viking Age
Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, when the ice from the last glacial era melted. The oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago.
The earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in semi-nomadic communities near bodies of water. Subsistence activities consisted of hunting, gathering and fishing. Around 4900 BC appear ceramics of the neolithic period, known as Narva culture. Starting from around 3200 BC the Corded Ware culture appeared; this included new activities like primitive agriculture and animal husbandry.
The Bronze Age started around 1800 BC, and saw the establishment of the first hill fort settlements. A transition from hunting-fishing-gathering subsistence to single farm based settlement started around 1000 BC, and was complete by the beginning of the Iron Age around 500 BC. Large amount of bronze objects indicate existence of an active communication with Scandinavian and Germanic tribes.
A more troubled and war-ridden middle Iron Age followed, with external threats appearing from different directions. Several Scandinavian sagas referred to major confrontations with Estonians, notably when Estonians defeated and killed the Swedish king Ingvar. Similar threats appeared in the east, where Russian principalities were expanding westward. In 1030 Yaroslav the Wise defeated Estonians and established a fort in what's modern day Tartu; this foothold lasted until Sosols (Estonian tribe) destroyed it in 1061, followed by their raid to Pskov. Around the 11th century, the Scandinavian Viking era around the Baltic Sea was succeeded by the Baltic Viking era, with seaborne raids by Curonians and by Estonians from the island of Saaremaa, known as Oeselians. In 1187 Estonians (Oeselians), Curonians or/and Karelians sacked Sigtuna, which was a major city of Sweden at the time.
In the early centuries AD, political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in Estonia. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the parish (Estonian: kihelkond) and the county (Estonian: maakond), which consisted of multiple parishes. A parish was led by elders and centred around a hill fort; in some rare cases a parish had multiple forts. By the 13th century Estonia consisted of eight major counties: Harjumaa, Järvamaa, Läänemaa, Revala, Saaremaa, Sakala, Ugandi, and Virumaa; and six minor, single-parish counties: Alempois, Jogentagana, Mõhu, Nurmekund, Soopoolitse, and Vaiga. Counties were independent entities and engaged only in a loose co-operation against foreign threats.
There is little known of early Estonian pagan religious practices. The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia mentions Tharapita as the superior god of the Oeselians. Spiritual practices were guided by shamans, with sacred groves, especially oak groves, serving as places of worship.
Danish Estonia, Terra Mariana and the Middle Ages
In 1199 Pope Innocent III declared a crusade to "defend the Christians of Livonia". Fighting reached Estonia in 1206, when Danish king Valdemar II unsuccessfully invaded Saaremaa. The German Livonian Brothers of the Sword, who had previously subjugated Livonians, Latgalians, and Selonians, started campaigning against Estonians in 1208, and over next years both sides made numerous raids and counter-raids. A major leader of the Estonian resistance was Lembitu, an elder of Sakala County, but in 1217 Estonians suffered a significant defeat at the Battle of St. Matthew's Day and Lembitu was killed. In 1219 Valdemar II landed at Lyndanisse, defeated the Estonians in battle, and started conquering Northern Estonia. The next year Sweden invaded Western Estonia, but were repelled by the Oeselians. In 1223 a major revolt ejected Germans and Danes from the whole of Estonia except Reval, but the crusaders soon resumed the offensive and in 1227 Saaremaa was the last county to surrender.
After the crusade the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia was named Terra Mariana, but later it became known simply as Livonia. Northern-Estonia became the Danish Duchy of Estonia, while the rest was divided between the Sword Brothers and prince-bishoprics of Dorpat and Ösel–Wiek. In 1236, after suffering a major defeat, the Sword Brothers merged into the Teutonic Order becoming the Livonian Order. In the following decades there were several uprisings against foreign rulers on Saaremaa. In 1343 a major rebellion started, known as St. George's Night Uprising, encompassing the whole area of Northern-Estonia and Saaremaa. The Teutonic Order finished suppressing the rebellion in 1345, and the next year the Danish king sold his possessions in Estonia to the Order. The unsuccessful rebellion led to a consolidation of power for the Baltic German minority. For the subsequent centuries they remained the ruling elite in both cities and the countryside.
During the crusade Reval (Tallinn) was founded, as the capital of Danish Estonia, on the site of Lyndanisse. In 1248 Reval received full town rights and adopted the Lübeck law. The Hanseatic League controlled trade on the Baltic Sea, and overall four largest towns in Estonia became members: Reval, Dorpat (Tartu), Pernau (Pärnu), and Fellin (Viljandi). Reval acted as a trade intermediary between Novgorod and Western Hanseatic cities, while Dorpat filled the same role with Pskov. Many guilds were formed during that period, but only a very few allowed participation of native Estonians. Protected by their stone walls and alliance with the Hansa, prosperous cities like Reval and Dorpat repeatedly defied other rulers of Livonia. After the decline of the Teutonic Order following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, and the defeat of the Livonian Order in the Battle of Swienta on 1 September 1435, the Livonian Confederation Agreement was signed on 4 December 1435.
The Reformation in Europe began in 1517, and soon spread in Livonia despite opposition by the Livonian Order. Towns were the first to embrace Protestantism in 1520s, and by 1530s majority of gentry had adopted Lutheranism for themselves and their serf peasants. Church services were now conducted in vernacular, which initially meant German, but in 1530s first religious services in Estonian also took place.
During the 16th century expansionist monarchies of Muscowy, Sweden, and Poland–Lithuania consolidated power, posing a growing threat to decentralised Livonia weakened by disputes between cities, nobility, bishops, and the Order.
Swedish Estonia
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In 1558 czar Ivan the Terrible of Russia invaded Livonia, starting the Livonian War. The Livonian Order was decisively defeated in 1560, prompting Livonian factions to seek foreign protection. The majority of Livonia accepted Polish-Lithuanian rule, while Reval and the nobles of Northern Estonia swore loyalty to the Swedish king, and the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek sold his lands to the Danish king. Russian forces gradually conquered the majority of Livonia, but in the late 1570s the Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish armies started their own offensives and the bloody war finally ended in 1583 with Russian defeat. As result of the war, Northern Estonia became Swedish Duchy of Estonia, Southern Estonia became Polish-Lithuanian Duchy of Livonia, and Saaremaa remained under Danish control.
In 1600 the Polish-Swedish War broke out, causing further devastation. The protracted war ended in 1629 with Sweden gaining Livonia, including the regions of Southern Estonia and Northern Latvia. Danish Saaremaa was transferred to Sweden in 1645. The wars had halved the Estonian population from about 250–270,000 people in the mid 16th century to 115–120,000 in the 1630s.
Serfdom was retained under Swedish rule but legal reforms took place which strengthened peasants' land usage and inheritance rights, resulting this period's reputation of the "Good Old Swedish Time" in people's historical memory. Swedish king Gustaf II Adolf established gymnasiums in Reval and Dorpat; the latter was upgraded to Tartu University in 1632. Printing presses were also established in both towns. In 1680s the beginnings of Estonian elementary education appeared, largely due to efforts of Bengt Gottfried Forselius, who also introduced orthographical reforms to written Estonian. The population of Estonia grew rapidly for a 60–70-year period, until the Great Famine of 1695–97 in which some 70,000–75,000 people perished – about 20% of the population.
National awakening and Russian Empire
In 1700 the Great Northern War started, and by 1710 the whole of Estonia was conquered by the Russian Empire. The war again devastated population of Estonia, with 1712 population estimated at 150,000–170,000. Russian administration restored all the political and landholding rights of Baltic Germans . Rights of Estonian peasants reached their lowest point, as serfdom completely dominated agricultural relations during the 18th century. Serfdom was formally abolished in 1816–1819, but this initially had a very little practical effect; major improvements in rights of the peasantry started with reforms at mid 19th century.
As a result of the abolition of serfdom and the availability of education to the native Estonian-speaking population, an active Estonian nationalist movement developed in the 19th century. It began on a cultural level, with the establishment of Estonian language literature, theatre and professional music, and led on to the formation of the Estonian national identity and the Age of Awakening (Estonian: Ärkamisaeg). Although Estonian national consciousness spread in the course of the 19th century, some degree of ethnic awareness in the literate middle class preceded this development. By the 18th century the self-denomination eestlane, along with the older maarahvas, spread among Estonians in the then provinces of Estonia and Livonia of the Russian Empire.
The Bible was translated in 1739, and the number of books and pamphlets published in Estonian increased from 18 in the 1750s to 54 in the 1790s. By the end of the century more than half of the adult peasants were able to read. The first university-educated intellectuals identifying themselves as Estonians, including Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (1798–1850), Kristjan Jaak Peterson (1801–1822) and Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803–1882), came to prominence in the 1820s. The ruling elite had remained predominantly German in language and culture since the conquest of the early 13th century. Garlieb Merkel (1769–1850), a Baltic German Estophile, was the first author to treat the Estonians as a nationality equal to others; he became a source of inspiration for the Estonian national movement, modelled on the Baltic German cultural world before the middle of the 19th century. However, in the middle of the century the Estonians, with such leaders as Carl Robert Jakobson (1841–1882), Jakob Hurt (1839–1907) and Johann Voldemar Jannsen (1819–1890), became more ambitious in their political demands and started leaning towards the Finns as a successful model of national movement.
Significant accomplishments were the publication of the national epic, Kalevipoeg in 1862, and the organisation of the first national song festival in 1869. In response to a period of Russification initiated by the Russian Empire in the 1890s, Estonian nationalism took on more political tones, with intellectuals first calling for greater autonomy, and later for complete independence from the Russian Empire.
Independence
Following the Bolshevik takeover of power in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917 and German victories against the Russian army, between the Russian Red Army's retreat and the arrival of advancing German troops, the Committee of Elders of the Maapäev issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence in Pärnu on 23 February and in Tallinn on 24 February 1918.
The country was occupied by German troops, and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, whereby the Russian government waived all claims to Estonia. The Germans stayed until November 1918 when, with the end of the war in the west, the soldiers returned to Germany, leaving a vacuum which allowed the Bolshevik troops to move into Estonia. This caused the Estonian War of Independence, which lasted 14 months.
After winning the Estonian War of Independence against Soviet Russia and later the German Freikorps included in the Baltische Landeswehr as volunteers, who had earlier fought alongside Estonia, the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed on 2 February 1920. The Republic of Estonia was recognised (de jure) by Finland on 7 July 1920, by Poland on 31 December 1920, by Argentina on 12 January 1921, by the Western Allies on 26 January 1921 and by India on 22 September 1921.
Estonia maintained its independence for twenty-two years. Initially a parliamentary democracy, the parliament (Riigikogu) was disbanded in 1934, following political unrest caused by the global economic crisis. Subsequently, the country was ruled by decree by Konstantin Päts, who became president in 1938, the year parliamentary elections resumed.
Second World War
The fate of Estonia in the Second World War was decided by the German–Soviet Non-aggression Pact and its Secret Additional Protocol of August 1939. World War II casualties of Estonia are estimated at around 25% of the population. War and occupation deaths have been estimated at 90,000. These include the Soviet deportations in 1941, the German deportations and Holocaust victims.
Soviet occupation
In August 1939 Joseph Stalin gained Adolf Hitler's agreement to divide Eastern Europe into "spheres of special interest" according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and its Secret Additional Protocol.
On 24 September 1939, warships of the Red Navy appeared off Estonian ports and Soviet bombers began a patrol over Tallinn and the nearby countryside. The Estonian government was forced to allow the USSR to establish military bases and station 25,000 troops on Estonian soil for "mutual defence". On 12 June 1940, the order for a total military blockade of Estonia was given to the Soviet Baltic Fleet.
On 14 June, while the world's attention was focused on the fall of Paris to Nazi Germany a day earlier, the Soviet military blockade of Estonia went into effect. Two Soviet bombers downed the Finnish passenger aeroplane "Kaleva" flying from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying three diplomatic pouches from the US delegations in Tallinn, Riga and Helsinki. On 16 June, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia. The Red Army exited from their military bases in Estonia on 17 June. The following day, some 90,000 additional troops entered the country. In the face of overwhelming Soviet force, the Estonian government capitulated on 17 June 1940 to avoid bloodshed. The military occupation of Estonia was complete by 21 June.
Most of the Estonian Defence Forces surrendered according to the orders of the Estonian government, believing that resistance was useless, and they were disarmed by the Red Army.
On 6 August 1940, Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union as the Estonian SSR. The provisions of the Estonian constitution requiring a popular referendum to decide on joining a supra-national body were ignored. Instead the vote to join the Soviet Union was taken by those elected in the elections held the previous month. Further, those who had failed to do their "political duty" of voting Estonia into the USSR, specifically those who had failed to have their passports stamped for voting, were condemned to death by Soviet tribunals. The repressions followed with the mass deportations carried out by the Soviets in Estonia on 14 June 1941. Many of the country's political and intellectual leaders were killed or deported to remote areas of the USSR by the Soviet authorities in 1940–1941. Repressive actions were also taken against thousands of ordinary people.
When the German Operation Barbarossa started against the Soviet Union, about 34,000 young Estonian men were forcibly drafted into the Red Army, fewer than 30% of whom survived the war. Political prisoners who could not be evacuated were executed by the NKVD.
Many countries, including the UK and US, did not recognise the annexation of Estonia by the USSR de jure. Such countries recognised Estonian diplomats and consuls who still functioned in the name of their former governments. These diplomats persisted in this anomalous situation until the eventual restoration of Estonia's independence.
The official Soviet and current Russian version claims that Estonians voluntarily gave up their statehood. Anti-communist partisans of 1944–1976 are labelled "bandits" or "Nazis", though the Russian position is not recognised internationally.
German occupation
After Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the Wehrmacht crossed the Estonian southern border on 7 July. The Red Army retreated behind the Pärnu River – Emajõgi line on 12 July. At the end of July the Germans resumed their advance in Estonia, working in tandem with the Estonian Forest Brothers. Both German troops and Estonian partisans took Narva on 17 August and the Estonian capital Tallinn on 28 August. After the Soviets were driven out from Estonia, German troops disarmed all the partisan groups.
Although initially the Germans were welcomed by most Estonians as liberators from the USSR and its oppressions, and hopes were raised for the restoration of the country's independence, it was soon realised that the Nazis were but another occupying power. The Germans used Estonia's resources for their war effort; for the duration of the occupation Estonia was incorporated into the German province of Ostland. The Germans and their Estonian and other collaborators also carried out The Holocaust in Estonia in which they established a network of 22 concentration camps and murdered thousands of Estonian Jews and Estonian Gypsies, other Estonians, non-Estonian Jews, and Soviet prisoners of war.
Some Estonians, unwilling to side directly with the Nazis, joined the Finnish Army (which was allied with the Nazis) to fight against the Soviet Union. The Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 (Estonian: soomepoisid) was formed out of Estonian volunteers in Finland. Although many Estonians were recruited into the German armed forces (including Estonian Waffen-SS), the majority of them did so only in 1944 when the threat of a new invasion of Estonia by the Red Army had become imminent. In January 1944 Estonia was again facing the prospect of invasion from the Red Army, and the last legitimate prime minister of the Republic of Estonia (according to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia) delivered a radio address asking all able-bodied men born from 1904 to 1923 to report for military service. The call resulted in around 38,000 new enlistments and several thousand Estonians who had joined the Finnish Army came back to join the newly formed Territorial Defense Force, assigned to defend Estonia against the Soviet advance. It was hoped that by engaging in such a war Estonia would be able to attract Western support for Estonian independence.
Soviet Estonia
The Soviet forces reconquered Estonia in autumn 1944 after battles in the northeast of the country on the Narva river, on the Tannenberg Line (Sinimäed), in Southeast Estonia, on the Emajõgi river, and in the West Estonian Archipelago.
In the face of re-occupation by the Red Army, tens of thousands of Estonians (including a majority of the education, culture, science, political and social specialists) chose either to retreat with the Germans or to flee to Finland or Sweden, from where they sought refuge in other western countries, often on refugee ships such as the SS Walnut. On 12 January 1949, the Soviet Council of Ministers issued a decree "on the expulsion and deportation" from Baltic states of "all kulaks and their families, the families of bandits and nationalists", and others. More than 10% of the adult Baltic population were deported or sent to Soviet labour camps. In response to the continuing insurgency against Soviet rule, more than 20,000 Estonians were forcibly deported either to labour camps or to Siberia. Almost all of the remaining rural households were collectivised.
After the Second World War, as part of the goal to more fully integrate Estonia into the Soviet Union, mass deportations were conducted in Estonia and the policy of encouraging Russian immigration to the country continued.
Half the deported perished, and the other half were not allowed to return until the early 1960s (years after Stalin's death). The activities of Soviet forces in 1940–41 and after reoccupation sparked a guerrilla war against Soviet authorities in Estonia by the Forest Brothers, who consisted mostly of Estonian veterans of the German and Finnish armies and some civilians. This conflict continued into the early 1950s. Material damage caused by the world war and the following Soviet era significantly slowed Estonia's economic growth, resulting in a wide wealth gap in comparison with neighbouring Finland and Sweden.
Militarization was another aspect of the Soviet state. Large parts of the country, especially the coastal areas, were closed to all but the Soviet military.
Return to independence
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The United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy and the majority of other Western countries considered the annexation of Estonia by the USSR illegal. They retained diplomatic relations with the representatives of the independent Republic of Estonia, never de jure recognised the existence of the Estonian SSR, and never recognised Estonia as a legal constituent part of the Soviet Union. Estonia's return to independence became possible as the Soviet Union faced internal regime challenges, loosening its hold on its outer empire. As the 1980s progressed, a movement for Estonian autonomy started. In the initial period of 1987–1989, this was partially for more economic independence, but as the Soviet Union weakened and it became increasingly obvious that nothing short of full independence would do, Estonia began a course towards self-determination.
In 1989, during the "Singing Revolution", in a landmark demonstration of national renessaince and of aspiration towards greater independence, more than two million people formed a human chain stretching through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, called the Baltic Way. All three nations had similar experiences of military and political occupation and similar aspirations for regaining independence. The Estonian Sovereignty Declaration was issued on 16 November 1988. A nation-wide referendum on restoring national independence was held in Estonia on 3 March 1991. It was approved by 78.4% of voters with an 82.9% turnout. On 20 August 1991, Estonia declared formal independence during the Soviet military coup attempt in Moscow, reconstituting the pre-1940 state. The first country to diplomatically recognise Estonia's reclaimed independence was Iceland on 22 August 1991. Soviet Union recognised the independence of Estonia on 6 September 1991. UN admitted Estonia as a member state on 17 September 1991, under Resolution 46/4 of the General Assembly. The last units of the former occupying force (Russian army) left on 31 August 1994.
Estonia joined NATO on 29 March 2004.
After signing a treaty on 16 April 2003, Estonia was among the group of ten countries admitted to the European Union on 1 May 2004.
Estonia celebrated its 90th anniversary over the period 28 November 2007 to 28 November 2008.
Geography
Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea immediately across the Gulf of Finland from Finland on the level northwestern part of the rising East European platform between 57.3° and 59.5° N and 21.5° and 28.1° E. Average elevation reaches only 50 metres (164 ft) and the country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast at 318 metres (1,043 ft). There is 3,794 kilometres (2,357 mi) of coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. The number of islands and islets is estimated at some 2,355 (including those in lakes). Two of them are large enough to constitute separate counties: Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. A small, recent cluster of meteorite craters, the largest of which is called Kaali is found on Saaremaa, Estonia.
Estonia is situated in the northern part of the temperate climate zone and in the transition zone between maritime and continental climate. Estonia has four seasons of near-equal length. Average temperatures range from 16.3 °C (61.3 °F) on the islands to 18.1 °C (64.6 °F) inland in July, the warmest month, and from −3.5 °C (25.7 °F) on the islands to −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) inland in February, the coldest month. The average annual temperature in Estonia is 5.2 °C (41.4 °F). The average precipitation in 1961–1990 ranged from 535 to 727 mm (21.1 to 28.6 in) per year.
Snow cover, which is deepest in the south-eastern part of Estonia, usually lasts from mid-December to late March. Estonia has over 1,400 lakes. Most are very small, with the largest, Lake Peipus, being 3,555 km2 (1,373 sq mi). There are many rivers in the country. The longest of them are Võhandu (162 km or 101 mi), Pärnu (144 km or 89 mi), and Põltsamaa (135 km or 84 mi). Estonia has numerous fens and bogs. Forest land covers 50% of Estonia. The most common tree species are pine, spruce and birch.
Phytogeographically, Estonia is shared between the Central European and Eastern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Estonia belongs to the ecoregion of Sarmatic mixed forests.
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Satellite image of Estonia
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Osmussaar is one of many islands in the territorial waters of Estonia.
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There are approximately 2,549 square kilometres (984 sq mi) of mires in Estonia which cover 5.6% of the territory.
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50% of Estonia's territory is covered by forest land
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Duckboards along a hiking trail in Viru bog in Lahemaa National Park. The longest hiking trail is 627 km (390 mi) long.
Politics
Estonia is a parliamentary representative democratic republic in which the Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government and which includes a multi-party system. The political culture is stable in Estonia, where power is held between two and three parties that have been in politics for a long time.
This situation is similar to other countries in Northern Europe. The former Prime Minister of Estonia, Andrus Ansip, is also Europe's longest-serving Prime Minister (from 2005 until 2014).
Government
The Government of Estonia (Estonian: Vabariigi Valitsus) or the executive branch is formed by the Prime Minister of Estonia, nominated by the president and approved by the parliament. The government exercises executive power pursuant to the Constitution of Estonia and the laws of the Republic of Estonia and consists of twelve ministers, including the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also has the right to appoint other ministers and assign them a subject to deal with. These are ministers without portfolio – they don't have a ministry to control.
The Prime Minister has the right to appoint a maximum of three such ministers, as the limit of ministers in one government is fifteen. It is also known as the cabinet. The cabinet carries out the country's domestic and foreign policy, shaped by parliament; it directs and co-ordinates the work of government institutions and bears full responsibility for everything occurring within the authority of executive power. The government, headed by the Prime Minister, thus represents the political leadership of the country and makes decisions in the name of the whole executive power.
Estonia has pursued the development of the e-state and e-government. Internet voting is used in elections in Estonia. The first internet voting took place in the 2005 local elections and the first in a parliamentary election was made available for the 2007 elections, in which 30,275 individuals voted over the internet. Voters have a chance to invalidate their electronic vote in traditional elections, if they wish to. In 2009 in its eighth Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Estonia sixth out of 175 countries. In the first ever State of World Liberty Index report, Estonia was ranked first out of 159 countries.
Economy
Estonia is economically deeply integrated with the economies of its northern neighbours, Sweden and Finland. As a member of the European Union, Estonia is considered a high-income economy by the World Bank.
According to Eurostat, Estonia had the lowest ratio of government debt to GDP among EU countries at 6.7% at the end of 2010.
A balanced budget, almost non-existent public debt, flat-rate income tax, free trade regime, competitive commercial banking sector, innovative e-Services and even mobile-based services are all hallmarks of Estonia's market economy.
Estonia produces about 75% of its consumed electricity. In 2011 about 85% of it was generated with locally mined oil shale. Alternative energy sources such as wood, peat, and biomass make up approximately 9% of primary energy production. Renewable wind energy was about 6% of total consumption in 2009. Estonia imports petroleum products from western Europe and Russia. Oil shale energy, telecommunications, textiles, chemical products, banking, services, food and fishing, timber, shipbuilding, electronics, and transportation are key sectors of the economy. The ice-free port of Muuga, near Tallinn, is a modern facility featuring good transshipment capability, a high-capacity grain elevator, chill/frozen storage, and new oil tanker off-loading capabilities. The railroad serves as a conduit between the West, Russia, and other points to the East.
Resources
Although Estonia is in general resource-poor, the land still offers a large variety of smaller resources. The country has large oil shale and limestone deposits, along with forests that cover 48% of the land. In addition to oil shale and limestone, Estonia also has large reserves of phosphorite, pitchblende, and granite that currently are not mined, or not mined extensively.
Industry and environment
Food, construction, and electronic industries are currently among the most important branches of Estonia's industry. In 2007, the construction industry employed more than 80,000 people, around 12% of the entire country's workforce. Another important industrial sector is the machinery and chemical industry, which is mainly located in Ida-Viru County and around Tallinn.
The oil shale based mining industry, which is also concentrated in East-Estonia, produces around 90% of the entire country's electricity. Although the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have been falling since the 1980s, the air is still polluted with sulphur dioxide from the mining industry that the Soviet Union rapidly developed in the early 1950s. In some areas the coastal seawater is polluted, mainly around the Sillamäe industrial complex.
Estonia is a dependent country in the terms of energy and energy production. In recent years many local and foreign companies have been investing in renewable energy sources. The importance of wind power has been increasing steadily in Estonia and currently the total amount of energy production from wind is nearly 60 MW while at the same time roughly 399 MW worth of projects are currently being developed and more than 2800 MW worth of projects are being proposed in the Lake Peipus area and the coastal areas of Hiiumaa.
Estonia has a strong information technology sector, partly owing to the Tiigrihüpe project undertaken in the mid-1990s, and has been mentioned as the most "wired" and advanced country in Europe in the terms of e-Government of Estonia. A new direction is to offer those services present in Estonia to the non-residents via e-residency program.
Skype was written by Estonia-based developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, and Jaan Tallinn, who had also originally developed Kazaa. Other notable tech startups include GrabCAD, Fortumo and TransferWise. It is even claimed that Estonia has the most startups per person in world.
Trade
Estonia has had a market economy since the end of the 1990s and one of the highest per capita income levels in Eastern Europe. Proximity to the Scandinavian and Finnish markets, its location between the East and West, competitive cost structure and a highly skilled labour force have been the major Estonian comparative advantages in the beginning of the 2000s (decade). As the largest city, Tallinn has emerged as a financial centre and the Tallinn Stock Exchange joined recently with the OMX system. The current government has pursued tight fiscal policies, resulting in balanced budgets and low public debt.
Estonia exports mainly machinery and equipment, wood and paper, textiles, food products, furniture, and metals and chemical products. Estonia also exports 1.562 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. At the same time Estonia imports machinery and equipment, chemical products, textiles, food products and transportation equipment. Estonia imports 200 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
Demographics
| Residents of Estonia by ethnicity (2016) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonians | 68.8% | |||
| Russians | 25% | |||
| Ukrainians | 1.8% | |||
| Belarusians | 0.9% | |||
| Finns | 0.6% | |||
| Others | 2.9% | |||
Thirteen of Estonia's 15 counties are over 80% ethnic Estonian, the most homogeneous being Hiiumaa, where Estonians account for 98.4% of the population. In the counties of Harju (including the capital city, Tallinn) and Ida-Viru, however, ethnic Estonians make up 60% and 20% of the population, respectively. Russians make up 25.6% of the total population but account for 36% of the population in Harju county and 70% of the population in Ida-Viru county.
The Estonian Cultural Autonomy law that was passed in 1925 was unique in Europe at that time. Cultural autonomies could be granted to minorities numbering more than 3,000 people with longstanding ties to the Republic of Estonia. Before the Soviet occupation, the Germans and Jewish minorities managed to elect a cultural council. The Law on Cultural Autonomy for National Minorities was reinstated in 1993. Historically, large parts of Estonia's northwestern coast and islands have been populated by indigenous ethnically Rannarootslased (Coastal Swedes).
In recent years the numbers of Coastal Swedes has risen again, numbering in 2008 almost 500 people, owing to the property reforms in the beginning of the 1990s.
Society
Estonian society has undergone considerable changes over the last twenty years, one of the most notable being the increasing level of stratification, and the distribution of family income. The Gini coefficient has been steadily higher than the European Union average (31 in 2009), although it has clearly dropped. The registered unemployment rate in January 2012 was 7.7%.
Modern Estonia is a multinational country in which 109 languages are spoken, according to a 2000 census. 67.3% of Estonian citizens speak Estonian as their native language, 29.7% Russian, and 3% speak other languages. As of 2 July 2010, 84.1% of Estonian residents are Estonian citizens, 8.6% are citizens of other countries and 7.3% are "citizens with undetermined citizenship". Since 1992 roughly 140,000 people have acquired Estonian citizenship by passing naturalisation exams.
The ethnic distribution in Estonia is very homogeneous, where in most counties over 90% of the people are ethnic Estonians. This is in contrast to large urban centres like Tallinn, where Estonians account for 60% of the population, and the remainder is composed mostly of Russian and other Slavic inhabitants, who arrived in Estonia during the Soviet period.
The 2008 United Nations Human Rights Council report called "extremely credible" the description of the citizenship policy of Estonia as "discriminatory". According to surveys, only 5% of the Russian community have considered returning to Russia in the near future. Estonian Russians have developed their own identity – more than half of the respondents recognised that Estonian Russians differ noticeably from the Russians in Russia. When comparing the result with a survey from 2000, then Russians' attitude toward the future is much more positive.
Estonia has been the first post-soviet republic that has legalised civil unions of same-sex couples. The law was approved in October 2014 and came into effect 1 January 2016.
53.3% of ethnically Estonian youth consider belonging in the nordic identity group as important or very important for them. 52.2% have the same attitude towards the "baltic" identity group, according to a research study from 2013
The image that Estonian youths have of their identity is rather similar to that of the Finns as far as the identities of being a citizen of one’s own country, a Fenno-Ugric person, or a Nordic person are concerned, while our identity as a citizen of Europe is common ground between us and Latvians - being stronger here than it is among the young people of Finland and Sweden.
Urbanization
Tallinn is the capital and the largest city of Estonia. It lies on the northern coast of Estonia, along the Gulf of Finland. There are 33 cities and several town-parish towns in the country. In total, there are 47 linna, with "linn" in English meaning both "cities" and "towns". More than 70% of the population lives in towns. The 20 largest cities are listed below:
Largest cities of Estonia by population
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- Tallinn = 434,562
- Tartu = 96,974
- Narva = 55,249
- Pärnu = 50,643
- Kohtla-Järve = 33,743
- Viljandi = 17,407
- Maardu = 15,332
- Rakvere = 15,189
- Kuressaare = 13,097
- Haapsalu = 13,077
- Sillamäe = 12,719
- Valga = 12,182
- Võru = 11,859
- Paide = 10,590
- Jõhvi = 10,541
- Keila = 9,910
- Elva = 5,664
- Saue = 5,629
- Põlva = 5,324
- Tapa = 5,316
Religion
According to Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Tharapita was the predominant deity for the Oeselians before Christianization.
Estonia was Christianised by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. During the Reformation, Protestantism spread, and the Lutheran church was officially established in Estonia in 1686. Before the Second World War, Estonia was approximately 80% Protestant; overwhelmingly Lutheran, with individuals adhering to Calvinism, as well as other Protestant branches. Many Estonians profess not to be particularly religious, because religion through the 19th century was associated with German feudal rule. Historically, there has been another minority religion, Russian Old-believers, near Lake Peipus area in Tartu County.
Today, Estonia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, separation of church and state, and individual rights to privacy of belief and religion. According to the Dentsu Communication Institute Inc, Estonia is one of the least religious countries in the world, with 75.7% of the population claiming to be irreligious. The Eurobarometer Poll 2005 found that only 16% of Estonians profess a belief in a god, the lowest belief of all countries studied. According to the Lutheran World Federation, the historic Lutheran denomination has a large presence with 180,000 registered members.
The most recent Pew Research Center, found that in 2015 51% of the population of Estonia declared itself Christians, 45% religiously unaffiliated—a category which includes atheists, agnostics and those who describe their religion as "Nothing in Particular", while 2% belonged to other faiths. The Christians divided between 25% Eastern Orthodox, 20% Lutherans, 5% other Christians and 1% Roman Catholic. While the religiously unaffiliated divided between 9% as atheists, 1% as agnostics and 35% as Nothing in Particular.
The largest religious denomination in the country is Lutheranism, adhered to by 160,000 Estonians (or 13% of the population), principally ethnic Estonians. Other organisations, such as the World Council of Churches, report that there are as many as 265,700 Estonian Lutherans. Additionally, there are between 8,000–9,000 members abroad.
Another major group, inhabitants who follow Eastern Orthodox Christianity, practised chiefly by the Russian minority, and the Russian Orthodox Church is the second largest denomination with 150,000 members.
Languages
The official language, Estonian, belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Estonian is closely related to Finnish, spoken in Finland, across the other side of the Gulf of Finland, and is one of the few Languages of Europe that is not of an Indo-European origin. Despite some overlaps in the vocabulary due to borrowings, in terms of its origin, Estonian and Finnish are not related to their nearest geographical neighbours, Swedish, Latvian, and Russian, which are all Indo-European languages.
Although the Estonian and Germanic languages are of very different origins, one can identify many similar words in Estonian and German, for example. This is primarily because the Estonian language has borrowed nearly one third of its vocabulary from Germanic languages, mainly from Low Saxon (Middle Low German) during the period of German rule, and High German (including standard German). The percentage of Low Saxon and High German loanwords can be estimated at 22–25 percent, with Low Saxon making up about 15 percent.
South Estonian (including Võro and Seto varieties), spoken in South-Eastern Estonia, is genealogically distinct from northern Estonian, but traditionally and officially considered as dialects and "regional forms of the Estonian language", not separate language(s).
Russian is still spoken as a secondary language by forty- to seventy-year-old ethnic Estonians, because Russian was the unofficial language of the Estonian SSR from 1944 to 1991 and taught as a compulsory second language during the Soviet era.
From the 13th to the 20th century, there were Swedish-speaking communities in Estonia, particularly in the coastal areas and on the islands (e.g., Hiiumaa, Vormsi, Ruhnu; in Swedish, known as Dagö, Ormsö, Runö, respectively) along the Baltic sea, communities which today have all but disappeared. The Swedish-speaking minority was represented in parliament, and entitled to use their native language in parliamentary debates.
From 1918 to 1940, when Estonia was independent, the small Swedish community was well treated. Municipalities with a Swedish majority, mainly found along the coast, used Swedish as the administrative language and Swedish-Estonian culture saw an upswing. However, most Swedish-speaking people fled to Sweden before the end of World War II, that is, before the invasion of Estonia by the Soviet army in 1944. Only a handful of older speakers remain. Apart from many other areas the influence of Swedish is especially distinct in the Noarootsi Parish in Lääne County where there are many villages with bilingual Estonian and/or Swedish names and street signs.
The most common foreign languages learned by Estonian students are English, Russian, German and French. Other popular languages include Finnish, Spanish and Swedish.
Culture
The culture of Estonia incorporates indigenous heritage, as represented by the Estonian language and the sauna, with mainstream Nordic and European cultural aspects. Because of its history and geography, Estonia's culture has been influenced by the traditions of the adjacent area's various Finnic, Baltic, Slavic and Germanic peoples as well as the cultural developments in the former dominant powers Sweden and Russia.
Music
The earliest mention of Estonian singing dates back to Saxo Grammaticus Gesta Danorum (ca. 1179). Saxo speaks of Estonian warriors who sang at night while waiting for a battle. The older folksongs are also referred to as regilaulud, songs in the poetic metre regivärss the tradition shared by all Baltic Finns. Runic singing was widespread among Estonians until the 18th century, when rhythmic folk songs began to replace them.
Traditional wind instruments derived from those used by shepherds were once widespread, but are now becoming again more commonly played. Other instruments, including the fiddle, zither, concertina, and accordion are used to play polka or other dance music. The kannel is a native instrument that is now again becoming more popular in Estonia. A Native Music Preserving Centre was opened in 2008 in Viljandi.
The tradition of Estonian Song Festivals (Laulupidu) started at the height of the Estonian national awakening in 1869. Today, it is one of the largest amateur choral events in the world. In 2004, about 100,000 people participated in the Song Festival. Since 1928, the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds (Lauluväljak) have hosted the event every five years in July. The last festival took place in July 2014. In addition, Youth Song Festivals are also held every four or five years, the last of them in 2017.
Professional Estonian musicians and composers such as Rudolf Tobias, Miina Härma, Mart Saar, Artur Kapp, Juhan Aavik, Aleksander Kunileid, Artur Lemba and Heino Eller emerged in the late 19th century. At the time of this writing, the most known Estonian composers are Arvo Pärt, Eduard Tubin, and Veljo Tormis. In 2014, Arvo Pärt was the world's most performed living composer for the fourth year in a row.
In the 1950s, Estonian baritone Georg Ots rose to worldwide prominence as an opera singer.
In popular music, Estonian artist Kerli Kõiv has become popular in Europe, as well as gaining moderate popularity in North America. She has provided music for the 2010 Disney film Alice in Wonderland and the television series Smallville in the United States of America.
Architecture
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The architectural history of Estonia mainly reflects its contemporary development in northern Europe. Worth mentioning is especially the architectural ensemble that makes out the medieval old town of Tallinn, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition, the country has several unique, more or less preserved hill forts dating from pre-Christian times, a large number of still intact medieval castles and churches, while the countryside is still shaped by the presence of a vast number of manor houses from earlier centuries.
Cuisine
Historically, the cuisine of Estonia has been heavily dependent on seasons and simple peasant food, which today is influenced by many countries. Today, it includes many typical international foods. The most typical foods in Estonia are black bread, pork, potatoes, and dairy products. Traditionally in summer and spring, Estonians like to eat everything fresh – berries, herbs, vegetables, and everything else that comes straight from the garden. Hunting and fishing have also been very common, although currently hunting and fishing are enjoyed mostly as hobbies. Today, it is also very popular to grill outside in summer.
Traditionally in winter, jams, preserves, and pickles are brought to the table. Gathering and conserving fruits, mushrooms, and vegetables for winter has always been popular, but today gathering and conserving is becoming less common because everything can be bought from stores. However, preparing food for winter is still very popular in the countryside.
Sports
Sport plays an important role in Estonian culture. After declaring independence from Russia in 1918, Estonia first competed as a nation at the 1920 Summer Olympics, although the National Olympic Committee was established in 1923. Estonian athletes took part of the Olympic Games until the country was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. The 1980 Summer Olympics Sailing regatta was held in the capital city Tallinn. After regaining independence in 1991, Estonia has participated in all Olympics. Estonia has won most of its medals in athletics, weightlifting, wrestling and cross-country skiing. Estonia has had very good success at the Olympic games given the country's small population. Estonia's best results were being ranked 13th in the medal table at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and 12th at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The list of notable Estonian athletes include wrestlers Kristjan Palusalu, Johannes Kotkas, Voldemar Väli, and Georg Lurich, skiers Andrus Veerpalu and Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, fencer Nikolai Novosjolov, decathlete Erki Nool, tennis players Kaia Kanepi and Anett Kontaveit, cyclists Jaan Kirsipuu and Erika Salumäe and discus throwers Gerd Kanter and Aleksander Tammert.
Kiiking, a relatively new sport, was invented in 1996 by Ado Kosk in Estonia. Kiiking involves a modified swing in which the rider of the swing tries to go around 360 degrees.
Paul Keres, Estonian and Soviet chess grandmaster, was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s. He narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five occasions.
Basketball is also a notable sport in Estonia. The domestic top-tier basketball championship is called the Korvpalli Meistriliiga. BC Kalev/Cramo are the most recent champions, having won the league in the 2015–16 season. University of Tartu team has won the league a record 26 times. Estonian clubs also participate in European and regional competitions. Estonia national basketball team previously participated in 1936 Summer Olympics, appeared in EuroBasket four times. Estonian national team also competed at the EuroBasket 2015.
Kelly Sildaru, an Estonian freestyle skier, won the gold medal in the slopestyle event in the 2016 Winter X Games. At age 13, she became the youngest gold medalist to date at a Winter X Games event, and the first person to win a Winter X Games medal for Estonia. She has also won the women's slopestyle at 2015 and 2016 Winter Dew Tour.
In modern era motorsports, World Rally Championship has seen two very successful Estonian drivers reach high results, with Markko Märtin achieving 5 rally victories and finishing 3rd overall in the 2004 World Rally Championship and Ott Tänak (active driver) winning his first WRC event at 2017 Rally d'Italia. In circuit racing, Marko Asmer was the first Estonian driver to test a Formula One car in 2003 with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, in other series Sten Pentus and Kevin Korjus (active driver) have enjoyed success on a global scale.
Internet
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.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Independent counties of Ancient Estonia in the beginning of the 13th century
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Kuressaare Castle in Saaremaa dates back to the 1380s
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"Academia Dorpatensis" (now University of Tartu) was founded in 1632 by King Gustavus as the second university in the kingdom of Sweden. After the king's death it became known as "Academia Gustaviana".
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Estonian armoured train during the Estonian War of Independence
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According to the 23 August 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact "the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)" were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (German copy)
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The Red Army troops crossing Soviet-Estonian border in October 1939 after Estonia had been forced to sign the Bases Treaty
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The capital Tallinn after bombing by the Soviet Air Force during the war on the Eastern Front in March 1944
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The blue-black-white flag of Estonia was raised again on the top of the Pikk Hermann tower on February 24, 1989.
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Baltic Way in Estonia
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The barn swallow (H. r. rustica) is the national bird of Estonia.
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Estonia Endla Nature Reserve 07 Forest
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Haanja Nature reserve where violations of Natura 2000 area logging is taking place.
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Estonia's GDP growth from 2000 till 2012
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Population of Estonia 1960–2019. The changes are largely attributed to Soviet immigration and emigration.
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A Russian Old Believer village with a church on Piirissaar island
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Distribution of Finnic languages in Northern Europe
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The University of Tartu is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe and the highest-ranked university in Estonia. According to the Top Universities website, the University of Tartu ranks 285th in the QS Global World Ranking.
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Building of the Estonian Students' Society in Tartu. It is considered to be the first example of Estonian national architecture. The Treaty of Tartu between Finland and Soviet Russia was signed in the building in 1920.
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ESTCube-1 is the first Estonian satellite.
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The Estonian National Museum in Tartu.
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Jaan Kross is the most translated Estonian writer.
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Mulgipuder, a national dish of Estonia made with potatoes, groats, and meat. It is very traditional food in the southern part of Estonia.
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Tartu Ski Marathon in 2006
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See also
In Spanish: Estonia para niños
