Estonia

Official name Eesti Vabariik (Republic of Estonia)
Form of government unitary multiparty republic with a single legislative body (Riigikogu, or Parliament [101])
Head of state President: Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Head of government Prime Minister: Taavi Rõivas
Capital Tallinn
Official language Estonian
Official religion none
Monetary unit euro (€)1
Population (2013 est.) 1,285,000COLLAPSE
Total area (sq mi) 17,462
Total area (sq km) 45,227
Urban-rural population Urban: (2011) 69.5%
Rural: (2011) 30.5%
Life expectancy at birth Male: (2010) 70.6 years
Female: (2010) 80.5 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate Male: not available
Female: not available
GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2012) 15,830

1The euro (€) replaced the kroon (EEK) on Jan. 1, 2011, at an exchange rate of €1 = EEK 15.65.

About Estonia

Estonians belong to the Finno-Ugric peoples, as do the Finns and the Hungarians. Archaeological research confirms the existence of human activity in the region as early as 8000 BC; by 3500 BC the principal ancestors of the Estonians had arrived from the east.

Estonia country in northeastern Europe, the northernmost of the three Baltic states. Estonia’s area includes some 1,500 islands and islets; the two largest of these islands, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, are off mainland Estonia’s west coast.

Estonia has been dominated by foreign powers through much of its history. In 1940 it was incorporated into the U.S.S.R. as one of its constituent republics. Estonia remained a Soviet republic until 1991, when, along with the other Baltic states, it declared its independence. The Soviet Union recognized independence for Estonia and the other Baltic states on September 6, 1991, and United Nations membership followed shortly thereafter. Estonia set about transforming its government into a parliamentary democracy and reorienting its economy toward market capitalism. It sought integration with greater Europe and in 2004 joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU).

Disclaimer

This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].

Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.