ESTONIA
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ESTONIA
@Estonia:Geography
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of
Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Map references: Europe
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ESTONIA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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TALLINN 482,000 59.25N, 24.45E 7- GMT+3
Tartu 114,000 58.23N, 26.43E 7- GMT+3
Narva 82,000 59.22N, 28.17E 7- GMT+3
Kohtla-J„rve 77,000 59.28N, 27.20E 7- GMT+3
P„rnu 54,000 58.28N, 24.30E 7- GMT+3
Sillam„e 21,000 59.28N, 27.49E 7- GMT+3
Rakvere 20,000 59.21N, 26.20E 7- GMT+3
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Area:
total area: 45,100 sq km
land area: 43,200 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than New Hampshire and Vermont
combined
note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Land boundaries: total 557 km, Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km
Coastline: 1,393 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: limits to be fixed in coordination with
neighboring states
territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Land use:
arable land: 22%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 11%
forest and woodland: 31%
other: 36%
Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1990)
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
@Estonia:People
Population: 1,625,399 (July 1995 est.)
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.)
Population growth rate: 0.53% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.17 years
male: 65.2 years
female: 75.39 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian
Ethnic divisions: Estonian 61.5%, Russian 30.3%, Ukrainian 3.17%,
Byelorussian 1.8%, Finn 1.1%, other 2.13% (1989)
Religions: Lutheran
Languages: Estonian (official), Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, other
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100%
Labor force: 750,000 (1992)
by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry
20%, other 38% (1990)
@Estonia:Government
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
Digraph: EN
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
Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of
legislative acts
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
Legislative branch: unicameral
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
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)
National product real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $6,460 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% per month (1994 average)
Unemployment rate: about 2% in 1994 (official estimate but large
number of underemployed workers)
Budget:
revenues: $643 million
expenditures: $639 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1993 est.)
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)
Industrial production: growth rate -27% (1993)
Electricity:
capacity: 3,420,000 kW
production: 11.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 6,528 kWh (1993)
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
@Estonia:Transportation
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)
Inland waterways: 500 km perennially navigable
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
Airports:
total: 22
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 5
@Estonia:Communications
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
@Estonia:Defense Forces
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)
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