About Estonia

Government

Official name: Republic of Estonia, short form: Estonia

National holiday: February 24, Independence Day (1918)

Estonia has been a member of NATO since March 29, 2004 and the European Union since May 1, 2004.

Geography and climate

Territory: 45,227 square kilometers

Border: 1,450.2 km

Land border (length – 681.6 km): with Latvia and Russia; sea border (length – 768.6 km): with Latvia, Russia, Finland and Sweden

Forest covers 50.5% of the country’s territory, swamps cover 20%, more than 1,521 islands cover 9.2% and over 1,000 lakes cover 6.1%

Highest elevation: Suur Munamägi Mountain at 318 meters above sea level

Distance between Tallinn and other European cities:

Kyiv – 1,300 km

Helsinki - 85 km

Riga - 310 km

St. Petersburg - 350 km

Moscow – 1,050 km

Stockholm - 375 km

Vilnius - 600 km

Brussels – 2,100 km

Warsaw – 1,210 km

Berlin – 1,395 km

Climate: moderately continental, moist

Precipitation: 70 cm per year

Average temperature (average daily, 1992-2002): +19.4°С in summer (can rise to +30°С, usually in July); -2.0°С in the winter (can drop to -20°С, usually in February), additional information: www.emhi.ee.

People

(last census held in 2000)

Population: 1.361 million (Interior Ministry’s population registrar)

Population density: 31 people/square km

Birth rate (2006): 11.1 births/1,000 population

Death rate (2006): 12.9 deaths/1,000 population

Urban population (Jan 1, 2007): 69.4%

Rural population (Jan 1, 2007): 30.6%

By nationality (2006): Estonian (68.5%), Russian (25.5%), Ukrainian (2.1%), Belarusian (1.2%), Finnish (0.8%).

Major cities

Capital: Tallinn (396,900 people, or 29.6% of total population as of Jan 1, 2007);

Tartu (102,000), Narva (66,700), Kohtla-Järve (45,400) and Pärnu (44,100).

Education

Total number of schools: 601. Of this number, 501 are Estonian language schools, 74 are Russian language, 22 are Estonian and Russian language, two are English language, one is Estonian and English language and one is Estonian and Finnish language.

Number of universities: 11. Of this number, five are private.

State language: Estonian (belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages and is closely related to Hungarian and Finnish). Russian, Finnish, English and German are frequently used in everyday life.

Religion

Main religion: Lutheranism

Other large confessions include Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist and Catholic. The Orthodox Pjuhtica Saint-Assumption Nunnery is located in Kuremäe.

Currency

Estonian kroon (ЕЕК), 1 EEK = 100 cents, 1 euro (EUR) = 15.65 EEK.

Tax system

Personal income tax and profit tax is 21%; profit reinvestment is not subjected to tax.

VAT is 20%.

Government, political system

Type: parliamentary republic

Estonia’s Constitution was passed in 1992 and is the result of previous constitutions of the 1920s as well as contemporary influences.

Head of state: President, who is elected by the Riigikogu (parliament) or an electoral college which, in addition to members of parliament, includes representatives of local government bodies. The president is elected to a five-year term. The next presidential election will be held in September 2011. The president carries out representative and some executive functions. The president has the right to veto some laws to delay their passing and the president’s signature is required to appoint Cabinet members. The president also nominates candidates for several top government positions for parliament’s approval. The president is the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces (www.president.ee).

Legislative power belongs to the Riigikogu, a unicameral parliament that is comprised of 101 members. Riigikogu members are elected to four-year terms. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 2011 (www.riigikogu.ee).

Executive power is handled by the government led by the prime minister (www.peaminister.ee). The Riigikogu is in charge of appointing and dismissing the head of government. The government has a stabilizing guarantee under which it can disband parliament with the aid of the president and hold new elections in the event that parliament announces a vote of no confidence in the government.

The right to vote is granted to Estonian citizens above the age of 18. All permanent residents of Estonia irrespective of nationality have the right to vote at elections for municipal government bodies. Municipal governments are elected to four-year terms. The next municipal elections are scheduled for October 2009.

Highest judicial authority: Supreme Court of Estonia (www.nc.ee). The judicial system is three-tiered: district and municipal judges; district courts that handle appeals; and the Supreme Court, which also functions as a constitutional court.

The Estonian legal system is largely based on the German legal model (codex legal system), particularly as regards civil rights. This can be attributed to historical ties. The judicial system operates independently. Judges are appointed to lifetime terms and cannot hold any other position. Estonia’s laws are subject to international law and generally recognized norms that are a component of the Estonian legal system. Under the constitution, Estonia is an autonomous and independent nation, however internal legislative acts are subordinate to international agreements signed by the Estonian government.

Other institutions

The Constitution stipulates that the Bank of Estonia function as an independent institution from the government and also handle the function of printing money. In addition, the Constitution envisions the position of a chancellor of justice, who also serves as an ombudsman, as well as the position of state supervisor. The Riigikogu appoints the aforementioned officials in addition to the chairman of the Bank of Estonia based on the president’s nomination. Following the appointment, these officials are considered independent and cannot be dismissed by the Riigikogu ahead of schedule.

The Constitution envisions two types of self-government with a broad range of autonomous authority: local bodies of self-government and cultural self-government of national minorities.

Administrative division: 15 counties (maakond), 194 districts and 33 municipal self-governments.

Symbols

Estonia’s formal symbols are the coat of arms, flag and anthem.

The country’s Coat of Arms has extremely deep roots and originates from the same source as the coats of arms of Denmark and England. The Coat of Arms, which has a golden shield with three slim, blue leopards (or lions passant guardant) in the middle and oak branches along the side of the shield, was initially the coat of arms of Tallinn in 1219 and then became the coat of arms of the Esthonian government. The Coat of Arms has been the state symbol of the Republic of Estonia since 1925.

The national flag of Estonia first came to prominence in the 1880s as the flag of the Estonian Students' Society, which chose the colors of blue, black and white. At the end of the nineteenth century, these colors were already generally recognized as the country’s national colors. In 1920, it became the official state flag of Estonia.

Flag colors:

Blue – vaulted blue sky above the native land;
Black – attachment to the soil of the homeland as well as the fate of Estonians – for centuries black with worries;
White – hard work, purity and commitment

Estonia’s national anthem has a common history with the anthem of its northern neighbor Finland. Both anthems have the same melody, which was composed in 1848 by Fredrik Pacius. The lyrics were written by Johann Voldemar Jannsen, who played a prominent role in the Estonian National Awakening in the nineteenth century. During the years of Soviet occupation, Estonia’s coat of arms, flag and national anthem were banned. Those found using the symbols were sentenced to long prison terms.

Estonian national flower – cornflower.
Estonian national bird – barn swallow.
Estonian national stone – grey limestone.