Information on Estonia

General Data

Territory	45'227 km2
Borders	1'384 km
Population	1'450'000
Ethnicities	65,3 % Estonians, 28,1 % Russians 2,5 % Ukranians a.o.
Religion	More than 60 % Lutherans
Urban %	69 %
Language	Estnian

Macroeconomic Data

Political Data

Official Name of the State	Republic of Estonia
Capital City	Tallinn  (400.000 inhabitants)
Type of Government	Parlamentary Democracy
President	Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Prime Minister	Andrus Ansip
Highest Judicial Power	Supreme Court
Electoral System	Proportional Representation
Age of majority	18 years

The Republic of Estonia is located in North-Eastern Europe, on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The neighbours are Russia, Latvia, Finland and Sweden.

The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km² (a little bigger than Switzerland). Estonia’s northern coastline is on the Gulf of Finland and its territory includes more than 1520 islands, the largest of them are Saaremaa
(2673 km2 ) and Hiiumaa (989 km² ). The capital Tallinn with its 480'000 inhabitants has an international airport. The second largest city, Tartu (109'000 inh.), is the old university town.

Estonia lies in the Eastern European time zone, that is GMT + 2 h

Estonia is mostly plain (the average height is only 50 m above sea level) but in the South there is a hilly county. A third of the total land area is utilized by agriculture. Estonia has the most forests of all the baltic states. About a third of the landscape is covered with forests (pine, spruce, birch) and 20% are covered by moorland and marsh. Estonia is rich in lakes and rivers. There are more than 1400 lakes and 20'000 pounds. The water depth lies generally between 1 m and 10 m. The largest lake is Lake Peipsi (3,555 km² ), which is a border lake between Estonia and Russia.

The Estonian coast is by far the longest and the most varied of all the Baltic states. That is why it accomodates a whole variety of fauna and flora.

Climate: the summers are warm, 17°C, the winters are moderately cold (- 5°C). (Peak values in summer +30°C, in winter -20°C). Usually snow covers the ground from December to March.

The population counts 1,4 mio. people. The share of ethnic Estonians is 60% and Russians 30%. The main reason for this ethnic mix are the two World Wars. In those days the respective occupants murdererd and deported hundreds of thousands of Estonians. Thousands exiled. After the World War II the population had declined to 2/3.

People in Estonia consider themselves Lutherian. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the church has experienced an enormous influx.

The colours of the Estonian state flag, blue-black-white, have developed from the Estonian Students‘ Club. In 1918 the colours were made to the official state flag.

The three lions of the Estonian coat of arms come from the Danish coat of arms.

The whole history of Estonia is determined by the struggle for the access to the Baltic Sea. Formerly it was the neighbours Danmark and the Teutonic Knights who struggled for power on the Estonian territory. The reformation in 1523 gave the Estonians at last the possibility to liberate themselves from the authority of the Church and the Order. This enabled the until now oppressed Estonians to educate themselves. The weakening of the Order made it possible for the other neighbour states to occupy the land. Russia, Poland and Sweden shared Estonia. In 1721 the czaristic troops occupied the whole of Estonia. A russification began.

At the start of World War I in 1914 the Germans occupied the whole Balticum. Then the Red Army invaded in Estonia but the Estonians succeeded in chasing away the Soviets. In 1920 the independence was proclaimed.

The secret Hitler-Stalin-Pact in 1939 put a sudden end to the new-won independence. The Free Republic of Estonia becomes a Soviet Republic. In 1941 the Germans invaded in Estonia.

The Brown Terror replaces the Red Horror. After the collapse of Germany a second Soviet occupation begins. The country is massively russificated.

In 1988 begins the „Singing Revolution“ which makes history. On 23.8.88 approximately two million people from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia stood on the Vilnius-Tallinn road, holding hands. The unprecedented living chain measured nearly 600 km in length. In 1991 the Estonian parliament proclaimed the restitution of the independent State of Estonia.

In 1991 the Republic of Estonia became a full member of the United Nations and of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Estonia is also a member of the Council of Europe and of the Council of the Baltic Sea States and participates in the North Atlantic Cooperation Council and the North Atlantic Assembly. In early 1992 it was agreed to abolish almost all trade restrictions between the three Baltic countries and to introduce a common visa policy.

National Holidays

		January 1st			New Years Day
		February 24th			Independence Day
		March/April			Good Friday
		May 1st			Spring Day
		In June			Pentecost
		June 23th			Victory Day
		June 24th			Jaanipäev (St. John’s Day)
		August 20th			Day of Restoration of Independence
		December 24th/25th			Christmas