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Estonia Profile |
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Quick Facts About Estonia
Capital
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name: Tallinn
geographic coordinates: 59 26 N, 24 43 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
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Country Name
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conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
conventional short form: Estonia
local long form: Eesti Vabariik
local short form: Eesti
former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
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Dependency Status
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*
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Type of Government
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parliamentary republic
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Background
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After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - 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 joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
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Branches
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Estonian Defense Forces: Land Force, Navy, Air Force (Eesti Ohuvagi), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit, KL) (2010)
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Age Structure
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0-14 years: 15% (male 99,770/female 93,965)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 414,315/female 456,025)
65 years and over: 17.6% (male 74,852/female 152,243) (2010 est.)
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Languages
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Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)
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Population
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1,291,170 (July 2010 est.)
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Religions
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Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census)
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Internet Users
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888,100 (2008)
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Area - Comparative
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slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined
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Area
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total: 45,228 sq km
land: 42,388 sq km
water: 2,840 sq km
note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
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Terrain
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marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south
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Climate
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maritime; wet, moderate winters, cool summers
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Natural Hazards
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sometimes flooding occurs in the spring
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Source:
CIA World Factbook |
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