Introduction
After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It will accede to the EU in May 2004 and to NATO in the summer of 2004.
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic coordinates
59 00 N, 26 00 E
Area
total: 45,226 sq km
note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
water: 2,015 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km
Land boundaries
total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states
Climate
maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers
Terrain
marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south
Natural resources
oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud
Irrigated land
40 sq km (1998 est.)
Environment - current issues
air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations
Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands
Population
1,341,664 (July 2004 est.)