Estonia: Sovereign state in northeastern Europe

The capital city is Tallinn. Estonia's neighbors are Sweden, Finland, Russia and Latvia. Its population is 1,332,893.

Republic of Estonia Eesti Vabariik  (Estonian)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" (English: "My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy")
Location of  Estonia  (dark green) – on the European continent  (green & grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Tallinna 59°25′N 24°45′E / 59.417°N 24.750°E / 59.417; 24.750
Official language and national language	Estonian
Other recognised languages	Russian Ukrainian Lithuanian Belarusian Latvian Finnish Swedish
Ethnic groups (2019)	68.5% Estonians 24.8% Russians 1.8% Ukrainians 0.9% Belarusians 0.6% Finns 3.4% Others
Demonym(s)	Estonian
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	Alar Karis
• Prime Minister	Kaja Kallas
Legislature	Riigikogu
Independence
• Autonomy declared	12 April 1917
• Independence declared	24 February 1918
• Independence recognised	2 February 1920
• Soviet and German occupations	1940–1991
• Independence restored	20 August 1991
• Joined the European Union	1 May 2004
Area
• Total	45,227 km2 (17,462 sq mi) (129thd)
• Water (%)	4.45%
Population
• 2020 estimate	1,328,360 (153rd)
• 2011 census	1,294,455
• Density	28/km2 (72.5/sq mi) (149th)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$49.644 billion
• Per capita	$37,605 (43rd)
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$32.742 billion
• Per capita	$24,802 (35th)
Gini (2018)	30.6 medium
HDI (2018)	0.882 very high · 30th
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+372
ISO 3166 code	EE
Internet TLD	.eee
The Supreme Court and one ministry are based in Tartu. According to the Constitution of Estonia, Estonian is the only official language. In southern counties, Võro and Seto are spoken along with it. Russian is spoken in parts of Ida-Virumaa and Tallinn. Including 5.4% Võros and 0.93% Setos. 47,549 km2 (18,359 sq mi) were defined according to the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 Also .eu, shared with other member states of the European Union.

The territory of Estonia has the mainland and 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea.

People have lived in Estonia since at least 9,000 BC. The oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the Pärnu River.

Estonia became independent from Russia in 1920 after a brief War of Independence at the end of World War I. During World War II (1939–1945), Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union and Germany. It then became the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and lost its independence.

Estonia had its independence restored in 1991. It became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on 29 March 2004. It joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.

In January 2021, Estonia became the only country in the world led by women by having a female president (Kersti Kaljulaid) and female prime minister (Kaja Kallas). A few months later, Alar Karis replaced Kaljulaid as president.

The foreign intelligence service warned in 2024 that Russia intended to double the number of its troops stationed along its border. Estonia plans to spend more than 3% of GDP on defence.

Estonia is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland with Finland on the other side, to the west by the Baltic Sea with Sweden on the other side, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km).

Average elevation reaches only 50 metres (164 ft). The country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast at 318 metres (1,043 ft).

Estonia has many forests, almost 50% of the land is covered with forests. The most common tree species are pine, spruce and birch. Estonia has over 1,400 lakes and over 2,000 islands. The longest rivers are Võhandu (162 km or 101 mi), Pärnu (144 km or 89 mi), and Põltsamaa (135 km or 84 mi).

Mammals in Estonia include the grey wolf, lynx, brown bear, red fox, badger, wild boar, moose, red deer, roe deer, beaver, otter, grey seal, and ringed seal. The critically endangered European mink has been successfully reintroduced to the island of Hiiumaa. The rare Siberian flying squirrel is present in east Estonia.

Over 300 bird species have been found in Estonia. These include the white-tailed eagle, lesser spotted eagle, golden eagle, western capercaillie, black and white stork, many species of owls, waders, geese and many others. The Barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia.

Protected areas cover 18% of Estonian land and 26% of its sea territory. There are 5 national parks, 159 nature reserves, and many other protection areas.

The Riigikogu is the name of the parliament in Estonia.

Administrative regions

 

Since administrative reform in 2017, there are in total 79 local governments. This includes 15 towns and 64 rural municipalities. All municipalities have equal legal status and form part of a county, which is a state administrative unit.

The counties are:

•   Harju County
•   Hiiu County
•   Ida-Viru County
•   Jõgeva County
•   Järva County
•   Lääne County
•   Lääne-Viru County
•   Põlva County
•   Pärnu County
•   Rapla County
•   Saare County
•   Tartu County
•   Valga County
•   Viljandi County
•   Võru County

According to speedtest.net, Estonia has one of the fastest Internet download speeds in the world with an average download speed of 27.12 Mbit/s.

Estonia won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 with the song "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton. In 2002, Estonia hosted the event.

The Estonian National Day is the Independence Day celebrated on 24 February. This is the day the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued. As of 2013^[update], there are 12 public holidays and 12 national holidays celebrated each year.

In June 2023, the Estonian government passed a bill legalising same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption in Estonia. The bill went into effect on 1 January 2024, making Estonia the first Baltic state and country formerly occupied by the Soviet Union to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption.

The following are links to international rankings of Estonia.

• Estonia at the Olympics
• Estonia national football team
• List of rivers of Estonia