Geography

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:
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

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 ground water with petroleum products, chemicals at military bases
natural hazards : NA
international agreements: party to - Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

People

Population: 1,616,882 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.52% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 13.98 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 12.04 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 19.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.96 years
male: 64.98 years
female: 75.19 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2 children born/woman (1994 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 9-49 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)

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) and 6 municipalities*: Harju maakond (Tallinn), Hiiu maakond (Kardla), Ida-Viru maakond (Johvi), Jarva maakond (Paide), Jogeva maakond (Jogeva), Kohtla-Jarve*, Laane maakond (Haapsalu), Laane-Viru maakond (Rakvere), Narva*, Parnu*, Parnu maakond (Parnu), Polva maakond (Polva), Rapla maakond (Rapla), Saare maakond (Kuessaare), Sillamae*, Tallinn*, Tartu*, 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 NA 1997); results - no candidate received majority; newly elected Parliament elected Lennart MERI (21 October 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Mart LAAR (since 21 October 1992)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister, authorized by the legislature

Legislative branch: unicameral
Parliament (Riigikogu): elections last held 20 September 1992; (next to be held NA); results - Fatherland 21%, Safe Haven 14%, Popular Front 13%, M 10%, ENIP 8%, ERP 7%, ERL 7%, EP 2%, other 18%; seats - (101 total) Fatherland 29, Safe Haven 18, Popular Front 15, M 12, ENIP 10, ERP 8, ERL 8, EP 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: National Coalition Party 'Pro Patria' (Isamaa of Fatherland), Mart LAAR,president, made up of 4 parties: Christian Democratic Party (KDE), Aivar KALA, chairman; Christian Democratic Union (KDL), Illar HALLASTE, chairman; Conservative People's Party (KR), Enn TARTO, chairman; Republican Coalition Party (VK), Leo STARKOV, chairman; Moderates (M), made up of two parties: Estonian Social Democratic Party (ESDB), Marju LAURISTIN, chairman; Estonian Rural Center Pary (EMK), Ivar RAIG, chairman; Estonian National Independence Party (ENIP), Tunne KELAM, chairman; Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Paul-Eerik RUMMO, chairman; Safe Haven, made up of three parties: Estonian Coalition Party (EK), Tiit VAHI, chairman; Estonian Rural Union (EM), Arvo SIRENDI, chairman; Estonian Democratic Justice Union/Estonian Pensioners' League (EDO/EPU), Harri KARTNER,chairman; Estonian Centrist Party (EK), Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman; Estonian Democratic Labor Party (EDT), Vaino VALJAS, chairman; Estonian Green Party (ERL), Tonu OJA; Estonian Royalist Party (ERP), Kalle KULBOK, chairman; Entrepreneurs' Party (EP), Tiit MADE; Estonian Citizen (EKL), Juri TOOMEPUU, chairman

Member of: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,ICFTU, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC,UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Toomas Hendrik ILVES
chancery: 1030 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, Suite 1000
telephone: (202) 789-0320
FAX: (202) 789-0471
consulate(s) general : New York

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission : Ambassador Robert C. FRASURE
embassy: Kentmanni 20, Tallin EE 0001
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: 011-[372] (6) 312-021 through 024
FAX: [372] (6) 312-025

Economy

CIA Overview: Bolstered by a widespread national desire to reintegrate into Western Europe, the Estonian government has pursued a program of market reforms and rough stabilization measures,which is rapidly transforming the economy. Two years after independence -- and one year after the introduction of the kroon -- Estonians are beginning to reap tangible benefits; inflation is low; production declines appear to have bottomed out; and living standards are rising. Economic restructuring is clearly underway with the once-dominant energy-intensive heavy industrial sectors giving way to labor-intensive light industry and the underdeveloped service sector. The private sector is growing rapidly; the share of the state enterprises in retail trade has steadily declined and by June 1993 accounted for only 12.5% of total turnover, and 70,000 new jobs have reportedly been created as a result of new business start-ups. Estonia's foreign trade has shifted rapidly from East to West with the Western industrialized countries now accounting for two-thirds of foreign trade.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $8.8 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Estonian statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)

National product real growth rate: -5% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $5,480 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% per month (1993 average)

Unemployment rate: 3.5% (May 1993); but large number of underemployed workers

Budget:
revenues: $223 million
expenditures: $142 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Exports: $765 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: textile 14%, food products 11%, vehicles 11%, metals 11% (1993)
partners: Russia, Finland, Latvia, Germany, Ukraine

Imports: $865 million (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities : machinery 18%, fuels 15%, vehicles 14%, textiles 10% (1993)
partners: Finland, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands

External debt: $650 million (end of 1991)

Industrial production: growth rate -27% (1993)

Electricity:
capacity: 3,700,000 kW
production: 22.9 billion kWh
consumption per capita : 14,245 kWh (1992)

Industries: accounts for 42% of labor force; oil shale, shipbuilding, phosphates, electric motors, excavators, cement, furniture, clothing, textiles, paper, shoes, apparel

Agriculture: 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; 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 - 13.9 (January 1994), 13.2 (1993); note - kroons are tied to the German Deutschmark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Railroads: 1,030 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)

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

Inland waterways: 500 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: natural gas 420 km (1992)

Ports: coastal - Tallinn, Novotallin, Parnu; inland - Narva

Merchant marine: 69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 406,405 GRT/537,016 DWT, bulk 6, cargo 50, container 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 4

Airports:
total: 29
usable: 18
with permanent-surface runways : 11
with runways over 3,659 m: 0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m : 10
with runways 1,060-2,439 m: 8
note: a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

Telecommunications: Estonia's telephone system is antiquated and supports about 400,000 domestic telephone circuits, i.e. 25 telephones for each 100 persons; improvements are being made piecemeal, with emphasis on business needs and international connections; there are still about 150,000 unfulfilled requests for telephone service; broadcast stations - 3 TV (provide Estonian programs as well Moscow Ostenkino's first and second programs); 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

Defense Forces

Branches: Ground Forces, Maritime Border Guard, National Guard (Kaitseliit), Security Forces (internal and border troops), Coast Guard

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 392,135; fit for military service 308,951; reach military age (18) annually 11,789 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures: 124.4 million kroons, NA% of GDP (forecast for 1993); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

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