Estonia

Republic of EstoniaEesti Vabariik

republicIndependence 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Estonia as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 81 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalTallinn
Area45,100 sq km
LocationEastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of
1995

Every edition of Estonia

Populationas each edition published it
1.63 million July 1995 est. · 1.61m in 1992
Population growth% a year
0.53% 1995 est. · 0.52% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 38.1 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
70.17 years 1995 est. · 69.75 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.98 children per woman 1995 est. · 2.3 in 1992
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
18.7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 25 in 1992
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$6,460 1994 est. · $5,480 in 1994
GDP real growth% a year
4% 1994 est. · -30% in 1993

Geography

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

13 fields

Land useshare of 45,100 sq km

arable land 22%permanent crops 0%meadows and pastures 11%forest and woodland 31%other 36%irrigated 110 sq km (1990)
Area
45,100sq km
land area: 43,200 sq kmcomparative area: slightly larger than New Hampshire and Vermont combinednote: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Coastline
1,393km
exclusive economic zone: limits to be fixed in coordination with neighboring statesterritorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
557km
total · Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km

Location

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

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

Natural resources

shale oil, peat, phosphorite, amber

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

15 fields
Population
1,625,399
(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 0.53% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth
13.9Death
11.93Net migration
3.31

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years70.17
65.2 · 75.39
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy100%
100% · 100%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1989)

Ethnic divisions(1989)

Estonian 61.5%Russian 30.3%Ukrainian 3.17%Byelorussian 1.8%Finn 1.1%other 2.13% (1989)
Labor force
750,000
(1992)by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 20%, other 38% (1990)

Age structure

0-14 years:
22% (female 174,304; male 181,101)
15-64 years:
65% (female 549,473; male 515,426)
65 years and over:
13% (female 139,722; male 65,373) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

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

Total fertility rate

1.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Estonian(s)
adjective:
Estonian

Religions

Lutheran

Languages

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

Government

Republic; President Lennart MERI (since 21 October 1992); Prime Minister Andres TARAND (since NA October 1994)

21 fields

Legislature, 101 seatsone dot, one seat

KMU 41RE 19K 16Pro Patria 8Our Home is Estonia 6M 6Right-Wingers 5

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

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

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 Andres TARAND (since NA October 1994)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister, authorized by the legislature

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)

made up of 4 parties:
  • Coalition Party, Country People's Party, Farmer's Assembly, and Pensioners' and Families' League;
  • Coalition Party, Tiit VAHI, chairman;
  • Country People's Party, Arnold RUUTEL, chairman;
  • Farmer's Assembly, Jaak-Hans KUKS, chairman;
  • Pensioners' and Families' League;
  • Reform Party-Liberals (RE), Siim KALLAS, chairman;
  • Center Party (K), Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman;
  • Union of Pro Patria (Isaama of Fatherland), Mart LAAR, chairman;
  • National Independence Party (ERSP), Kelam TUNNE, chairman;
  • Our Home is Estonia made up of 2
parties:
  • United Peoples Party and the Russian Party in Estonia;
  • United Peoples Party, Viktor ANDREJEV, chairman;
  • Russian Party in 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, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Toomas Hendrik ILVES
chancery:
1030 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, Suite 1000
telephone:
[1] (202) 789-0320

FAX

[1] (202) 789-0471; consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Keith SMITH
embassy:
Kentmanni 20, Tallinn EE 0001
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[372] (2) 312-021 through 024

FAX

[372] (2) 312-025

Flag

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

Economy

19 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$6,460
(1994 est.)
Real growth rate
4%
(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate -27% (1993)
Inflation, consumer prices
3.3%per month
(1994 average)
Unemployment rate
2%
about · in 1994 (official estimate but large number of underemployed workers)

Budget

Revenues
$643 millionExpenditures
$639 million (1993 est.)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA

Installed generating capacity, 3,420,000 kW

Electricity production
11.3 billionElectricity consumption per capita
6,528 (1993)

Overview

Bolstered by a widespread national desire to reintegrate into Western Europe, the Estonian government has pursued an ambitious program of market reforms and stabilization measures, which is rapidly transforming the economy. Three years after independence - and two years after the introduction of the kroon - Estonians are beginning to reap tangible benefits;

inflation, though still high, was brought down to about 2% per month in second half 1994; production declines have bottomed out with estimated growth of 4% in 1994; and living standards are rising. Economic restructuring has been dramatic. By 1994 the service sector accounted for over 55% of GDP, while the once-dominant heavy industrial sector continues to shrink.

The private sector is growing rapidly; the share of the state enterprises in the economy has steadily declined and by late 1994 accounted for only about 40% of GDP. Estonia's foreign trade has shifted rapidly from East to West; the Western industrialized countries now account for two-thirds of foreign trade.

National product

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

Exports

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

commodities:
textile 14%, food products 11%, vehicles 11%, metals 11% (1993)
partners:
Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany

Imports

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

commodities:
machinery 18%, fuels 15%, vehicles 14%, textiles 10% (1993)
partners:
Finland, Russia, Germany, Sweden

External debt

$650 million (end of 1991)

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: US 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 - 12.25 (January 1995); note - kroons are tied to the German Deutschmark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1

Fiscal year

calendar year

Transportation

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 22 in all

7
2,438 to 3,047 m
1
3
914 to 1,523 m
4
1,524 to 2,438 m
2
under 914 m
5
PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways
30,300Railroads
1,030Inland waterways
500
Highways: paved or graveled: 29,200 km · unpaved: earth 1,100 km (1990) · Railroads: ; does not include dedicated industrial lines · broad gauge: 1,030 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Railroads

total:
1,030 km common carrier lines only; does not include dedicated industrial lines
broad gauge:
1,030 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways

total:
30,300 km
paved or graveled:
29,200 km
unpaved:
earth 1,100 km (1990)

Pipelines

natural gas 420 km (1992)

Ports

Haapsalu, Narva, Novotallin, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn

Merchant marine

total:
65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 415,332 GRT/532,749 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 6, cargo 44, container 2, oil tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 4

Communications

3 fields

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
local:
NA
intercity:
NA
international:
  • international traffic is carried to the other former USSR republics by land line or microwave 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;
  • substantial investment has been made in cellular systems which are operational throughout Estonia and also Latvia and which have access to the international packet switched digital network via Helsinki

Radio

broadcast stations:
AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0
radios:
NA

Television

broadcast stations:
3; note - provide Estonian programs as well as Moscow Ostenkino's first and second programs
televisions:
NA

Defense Forces

3 fields

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 15-49 396,588;
  • males fit for military service 311,838;
  • males reach military age (18) annually 11,915 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $34.1 million, almost 5% of the overall State budget and 1.5% of GDP (1995) ETHIOPIA

Central Intelligence Agency. “Estonia.” The World Factbook 1995. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/estonia/1995.

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