Estonia

After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

• air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast;
• however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980;
• the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980;
• in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased;
• Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored;
• coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations

party to:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.911 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.496 male(s)/female

total population:

0.842 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

noun:

Estonian(s)

adjective:

Estonian

conventional long form:

Republic of Estonia

conventional short form:

Estonia

local long form:

Eesti Vabariik

local short form:

Eesti

former:

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Tallinn

geographic coordinates:

59 26 N, 24 43 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• Independence Day, 24 February (1918);
• note - 24 February 1918 was the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia;
• 20 August 1991 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union

chief of state:

President Toomas Hendrik ILVES (since 9 October 2006)

head of government:

Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament

elections:

• president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• if a candidate does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes;
• election last held 23 September 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2011);
• prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament

election results:

• Toomas Hendrik ILVES elected president on 23 September 2006 by a 345-member electoral assembly;
• ILVES received 174 votes to incumbent Arnold RUUTEL's 162;
• remaining 9 ballots left blank or invalid

• Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR];
• Estonian Greens;
• Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN];
• Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP];
• Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG];
• Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR];
• Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica (Isamaa je Res Publica Liit) [Tonis LUKAS and Taavi VESKIMAGI]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Vaino REINART

chancery:

2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 588-0101

FAX:

[1] (202) 588-0108

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Stanley Davis PHILLIPS

embassy:

Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[372] 668-8100

FAX:

[372] 668-8134

agriculture:

11%

industry:

20%

services:

69% (1999 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.5%

highest 10%:

27.6% (2003)

• potatoes, vegetables;
• livestock and dairy products;
• fish

general assessment:

• foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service;
• substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode;
• Internet services are widely available;
• schools and libraries are connected to the internet, a large percentage of the population files income-tax returns online, and online voting was used for the first time in the 2005 local elections

domestic:

a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country

international:

• country code - 372;
• fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service;
• 2 international switches are located in Tallinn (2001)

total:

968 km

broad gauge:

968 km 1.520 m/1.524-m gauge (2006)

total:

56,856 km

paved:

13,384 km (includes 99 km of expressways)

unpaved:

43,472 km (2004)

total:

33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 393,655 GRT/93,245 DWT

by type:

cargo 7, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 23, petroleum tanker 2

foreign-owned:

4 (Denmark 2, Norway 2)

registered in other countries:

67 (Antigua and Barbuda 15, Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 5, Dominica 8, Latvia 1, Liberia 1, Malta 7, Norway 1, Panama 3, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20, Vanuatu 1) (2007)

• compulsory military service for men between 19 and 28;
• conscription lasts 11 months for junior NCOs and reserve platoon leaders;
• reserve officers and designated specialists have a different conscript service obligation;
• Estonia has committed to retaining conscription for men up to 2010 and, unlike Latvia and Lithuania, has no plan to transition to a contract armed forces;
• 17 years of age for volunteers;
• reserve commitment up to the age of 60 (2006)

males age 18-49:

291,696

females age 18-49:

304,961 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

200,382 (in 2004, 51% of the young men called up for service were determined to be unfit; main obstacles to conscription were psychiatric and behavioral)

females age 18-49:

250,351 (2005 est.)

males age 15-49:

11,146

females age 18-49:

10,605 (2005 est.)

• Russia recalled its signature to the 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia in 2005, rather than concede to Estonia's appending prepared a unilateral declaration referencing Soviet occupation and territorial losses;
• Russia demands better accommodation of Russian-speaking population in Estonia;
• Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia;
• as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules with Russia

• growing producer of synthetic drugs;
• increasingly important transshipment zone for cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and synthetic drugs since joining the European Union and the Schengen Accord;
• potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern, as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds;
• major use of opiates and ecstasy