General information
- Official name: Republic of Estonia
- National holiday: Independence Day on 24 February. The Republic of Estonia declared its independence on this day in 1918.
- Estonia became a member of the European Union on 1 May 2004.
- On 1 January 2011, Estonia introduced the euro, which replaced the Estonian kroon as the national currency.
Geography
- Area: 45,227 km²
- Borders: 1,450.2 km (768.6 km of coastline and 681.6 km of land borders)
- Distance from the capital Tallinn to:
Helsinki – 85 km
St. Petersburg – 350 km
Riga – 310 km
Berlin – 1,530 km - Number of islands: 1,521. The largest islands are Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and Muhu.
- Estonia has thousands of lakes, the largest of which are Lake Peipsi and Lake Võrtsjärv.
- Around half of the country is covered by forest (22,846 km²).
- Highest point: Suur Munamägi, 318 m
- Climate: humid-temperate
Population
- Total population: 1.361 million (source: Estonian Population Register)
- Population density: 31 inhabitants/km²
- Urban population (as of 1 January 2008): 69.4%
- Rural population (as of 1 January 2008): 30.6%
- Nationalities: Estonians make up 69% of the population. Other major groups include: Russians (26%), Ukrainians (2%), Belarusians (1%) and Finns (1%).
Cities
- The capital is Tallinn, with a population of 398,000 (29.7% of the total population).
- Estonia’s other major cities include the university city of Tartu with 102,800 inhabitants, the industrial centres of Narva and Kohtla-Järve (66,200 and 44,800 inhabitants respectively) and the resort town of Pärnu, which has a population of 44,000.
Language
The official language of Estonia is Estonian, which belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family and is closely related to Finnish. Finnish, English, Russian and German are also widely spoken and understood.
Estonian cuisine
- Hernesupp / pea soup with küüslauguleivad / slices of dark bread, pan-fried with oil and garlic
- Heeringas hapukoore ja sibulaga / herring with sour cream and onions
- Mulgikapsad / braised pork with sauerkraut, served with mulgipuder pekikastmega / mashed potatoes in ham stock
- Vaarikamoosiga pannkoogid / pancakes filled with raspberry marmalade