Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0075
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Estonia
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Estonia 
 
 
                                  Estonia
 
 
                                 Geography
 
Location:
     Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia
Map references:
     Arctic Region, Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     45,100 sq km
land area:
     43,200 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than New Hampshire and Vermont combined
note:
     includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Land boundaries:
     total 557 km, Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km
Coastline:
     1,393 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers
Terrain:
     marshy, lowlands
Natural resources:
     shale oil, peat, phosphorite, amber
Land use:
arable land:
     22%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     11%
forest and woodland:
     31%
other:
     36%
Irrigated land:
     110 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues:
     air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power
     plants in northeast; contamination of soil and ground water with
     petroleum products, chemicals at military bases
natural hazards:
     NA
international agreements:
     party to - Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified
     - Biodiversity, Climate Change
 
 
                                  People
 
Population:
     1,616,882 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.52% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     13.98 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     12.04 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     19.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     69.96 years
male:
     64.98 years
female:
     75.19 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Estonian(s)
adjective:
     Estonian
Ethnic divisions:
     Estonian 61.5%, Russian 30.3%, Ukrainian 3.17%, Byelorussian 1.8%,
     Finn 1.1%, other 2.13% (1989)
Religions:
     Lutheran
Languages:
     Estonian (official), Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, other
Literacy:
     age 9-49 can read and write (1989)
total population:
     100%
male:
     100%
female:
     100%
Labor force:
     750,000 (1992)
by occupation:
     industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 20%, other 38%
     (1990)
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Estonia
 
 
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Eesti Vabariik
local short form:
     Eesti
former:
     Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph:
     EN
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Tallinn
Administrative divisions:
     15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond) and 6 municipalities*:
     Harju maakond (Tallinn), Hiiu maakond (Kardla), Ida-Viru maakond
     (Johvi), Jarva maakond (Paide), Jogeva maakond (Jogeva),
     Kohtla-Jarve*, Laane maakond (Haapsalu), Laane-Viru maakond (Rakvere),
     Narva*, Parnu*, Parnu maakond (Parnu), Polva maakond (Polva), Rapla
     maakond (Rapla), Saare maakond (Kuessaare), Sillamae*, Tallinn*,
     Tartu*, Tartu maakond (Tartu), Valga maakond (Valga), Viljandi maakond
     (Viljandi), Voru maakond (Voru)
note:
     county centers are in parentheses
Independence:
     6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 24 February (1918)
Constitution:
     adopted 28 June 1992
Legal system:
     based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President Lennart MERI (since 21 October 1992); election last held 20
     September 1992; (next to be held NA 1997); results - no candidate
     received majority; newly elected Parliament elected Lennart MERI (21
     October 1992)
head of government:
     Prime Minister Mart LAAR (since 21 October 1992)
cabinet:
     Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister, authorized by
     the legislature
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
Parliament (Riigikogu):
     elections last held 20 September 1992; (next to be held NA); results -
     Fatherland 21%, Safe Haven 14%, Popular Front 13%, M 10%, ENIP 8%, ERP
     7%, ERL 7%, EP 2%, other 18%; seats - (101 total) Fatherland 29, Safe
     Haven 18, Popular Front 15, M 12, ENIP 10, ERP 8, ERL 8, EP 1
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
 
 
Political parties and leaders:
     National Coalition Party 'Pro Patria' (Isamaa of Fatherland), Mart
     LAAR, president, made up of 4 parties: Christian Democratic Party
     (KDE), Aivar KALA, chairman; Christian Democratic Union (KDL), Illar
     HALLASTE, chairman; Conservative People's Party (KR), Enn TARTO,
     chairman; Republican Coalition Party (VK), Leo STARKOV, chairman;
     Moderates (M), made up of two parties: Estonian Social Democratic
     Party (ESDB), Marju LAURISTIN, chairman; Estonian Rural Center Pary
     (EMK), Ivar RAIG, chairman; Estonian National Independence Party
     (ENIP), Tunne KELAM, chairman; Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
     Paul-Eerik RUMMO, chairman; Safe Haven, made up of three parties:
     Estonian Coalition Party (EK), Tiit VAHI, chairman; Estonian Rural
     Union (EM), Arvo SIRENDI, chairman; Estonian Democratic Justice
     Union/Estonian Pensioners' League (EDO/EPU), Harri KARTNER, chairman;
     Estonian Centrist Party (EK), Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman; Estonian
     Democratic Labor Party (EDT), Vaino VALJAS, chairman; Estonian Green
     Party (ERL), Tonu OJA; Estonian Royalist Party (ERP), Kalle KULBOK,
     chairman; Entrepreneurs' Party (EP), Tiit MADE; Estonian Citizen
     (EKL), Juri TOOMEPUU, chairman
Member of:
     BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
     IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, UN,
     UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Toomas Hendrik ILVES
chancery:
     1030 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, Suite 1000
telephone:
     (202) 789-0320
FAX:
     (202) 789-0471
consulate(s) general:
     New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Robert C. FRASURE
embassy:
     Kentmanni 20, Tallin EE 0001
mailing address:
     use embassy street address
telephone:
     011-[372] (6) 312-021 through 024
FAX:
     [372] (6) 312-025
Flag:
     pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal
     horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white
 
                                  Economy
 
 
Overview:
     Bolstered by a widespread national desire to reintegrate into Western
     Europe, the Estonian government has pursued a program of market
     reforms and rough stabilization measures, which is rapidly
     transforming the economy. Two years after independence - and one year
     after the introduction of the kroon - Estonians are beginning to reap
     tangible benefits; inflation is low; production declines appear to
     have bottomed out; and living standards are rising. Economic
     restructuring is clearly underway with the once-dominant
     energy-intensive heavy industrial sectors giving way to
     labor-intensive light industry and the underdeveloped service sector.
     The private sector is growing rapidly; the share of the state
     enterprises in retail trade has steadily declined and by June 1993
     accounted for only 12.5% of total turnover, and 70,000 new jobs have
     reportedly been created as a result of new business start-ups.
     Estonia's foreign trade has shifted rapidly from East to West with the
     Western industrialized countries now accounting for two-thirds of
     foreign trade.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $8.8 billion (1993 estimate from
     the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and
     published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as
     extrapolated to 1993 using official Estonian statistics, which are
     very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
National product real growth rate:
     -5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $5,480 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     2.6% per month (1993 average)
Unemployment rate:
     3.5% (May 1993); but large number of underemployed workers
Budget:
revenues:
     $223 million
expenditures:
     $142 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)
Exports:
     $765 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
     textile 14%, food products 11%, vehicles 11%, metals 11% (1993)
partners:
     Russia, Finland, Latvia, Germany, Ukraine
Imports:
     $865 million (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
     machinery 18%, fuels 15%, vehicles 14%, textiles 10% (1993)
partners:
     Finland, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands
External debt:
     $650 million (end of 1991)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -27% (1993)
 
 
Electricity:
capacity:
     3,700,000 kW
production:
     22.9 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     14,245 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     accounts for 42% of labor force; oil shale, shipbuilding, phosphates,
     electric motors, excavators, cement, furniture, clothing, textiles,
     paper, shoes, apparel
Agriculture:
     employs 20% of work force; very efficient by Soviet standards; net
     exports of meat, fish, dairy products, and potatoes; imports of
     feedgrains for livestock; fruits and vegetables
Illicit drugs:
     transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia
     and Latin America to Western Europe; limited illicit opium producer;
     mostly for domestic consumption
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million
Currency:
     1 Estonian kroon (EEK) = 100 cents (introduced in August 1992)
Exchange rates:
     kroons (EEK) per US$1 - 13.9 (January 1994), 13.2 (1993); note -
     kroons are tied to the German Deutschmark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1
Fiscal year:
     calendar year
 
                              Communications
 
Railroads:
     1,030 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
total:
     30,300 km
paved or gravelled:
     29,200 km
unpaved:
     earth 1,100 km (1990)
Inland waterways:
     500 km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
     natural gas 420 km (1992)
Ports:
     coastal - Tallinn, Novotallin, Parnu; inland - Narva
Merchant marine:
     69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 406,405 GRT/537,016 DWT, bulk 6,
     cargo 50, container 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6,
     short-sea passenger 4
Airports:
total:
     29
 
 
usable:
     18
with permanent-surface runways:
     11
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     10
with runways 1,060-2,439 m:
     8
note:
     a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications:
     Estonia's telephone system is antiquated and supports about 400,000
     domestic telephone circuits, i.e. 25 telephones for each 100 persons;
     improvements are being made piecemeal, with emphasis on business needs
     and international connections; there are still about 150,000
     unfulfilled requests for telephone service; broadcast stations - 3 TV
     (provide Estonian programs as well Moscow Ostenkino's first and second
     programs); international traffic is carried to the other former USSR
     republics by land line or microwave and to other countries partly by
     leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch, and
     partly by a new Tallinn-Helsinki fiber optic submarine cable which
     gives Estonia access to international circuits everywhere; substantial
     investment has been made in cellular systems which are operational
     throughout Estonia and also Latvia and which have access to the
     international packet switched digital network via Helsinki
 
                              Defense Forces
 
Branches:
     Ground Forces, Maritime Border Guard, National Guard (Kaitseliit),
     Security Forces (internal and border troops), Coast Guard
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 392,135; fit for military service 308,951; reach
     military age (18) annually 11,789 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     124.4 million kroons, NA% of GDP (forecast for 1993); note -
     conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current
     exchange rate could produce misleading results
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.