1995 Edition

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

Climate

maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers

Coastline

1,393 km

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

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

Irrigated land

110 sq km (1990)

Land boundaries

total 557 km, Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km

Land use

arable land: 22% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 11% forest and woodland: 31% other: 36%

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: limits to be fixed in coordination with neighboring states territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

shale oil, peat, phosphorite, amber

Terrain

marshy, lowlands

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.)

Birth rate

13.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

11.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Estonian 61.5%, Russian 30.3%, Ukrainian 3.17%, Byelorussian 1.8%, Finn 1.1%, other 2.13% (1989)

Infant mortality rate

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

Labor force

750,000 (1992) by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 20%, other 38% (1990)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 70.17 years male: 65.2 years female: 75.39 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%

Nationality

noun: Estonian(s) adjective: Estonian

Net migration rate

3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

1,625,399 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

0.53% (1995 est.)

Religions

Lutheran

Total fertility rate

1.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Capital

Tallinn

Constitution

adopted 28 June 1992

Digraph

EN

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

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

FAX

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

[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

Independence

6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts

Legislative branch

unicameral

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

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 24 February (1918)

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

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

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

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

Budget

revenues: $643 million expenditures: $639 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Currency

1 Estonian kroon (EEK) = 100 cents (introduced in August 1992)

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million

Electricity

capacity: 3,420,000 kW production: 11.3 billion kWh consumption per capita: 6,528 kWh (1993)

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

Exports

$1.65 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: textile 14%, food products 11%, vehicles 11%, metals 11% (1993) partners: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany

External debt

$650 million (end of 1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

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

Imports

$1 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: machinery 18%, fuels 15%, vehicles 14%, textiles 10% (1993) partners: Finland, Russia, Germany, Sweden

Industrial production

growth rate -27% (1993)

Industries

oil shale, shipbuilding, phosphates, electric motors, excavators, cement, furniture, clothing, textiles, paper, shoes, apparel

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.3% per month (1994 average)

National product

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

National product per capita

$6,460 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

4% (1994 est.)

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.

Unemployment rate

about 2% in 1994 (official estimate but large number of underemployed workers)

Radio

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

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

Television

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

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

Highways

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

Inland waterways

500 km perennially navigable

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

Pipelines

natural gas 420 km (1992)

Ports

Haapsalu, Narva, Novotallin, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn

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)

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

Defense expenditures

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

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.)