Leave it to Estonia, the tiny nation of 1.5 million on the Baltic Sea, to make such a bold proclamation. Not that the resourceful Estonians needed any encouraging. Thanks to an explosive growth in personal computer ownership, today more than one in 10 Estonians use the Net-a higher rate, in relative terms, than in France or Italy. UNDP led the drive, opening the first four public access points. A total of 300 are planned by the year 2002.
Human capital is their greatest strength.
Farming is down. Fishing has been hit hard as a result of turbulent markets in Russia and Ukraine, where 80 percent of the fish canned on Hiiumaa is sold. And eco-tourism remains a dream. Worse still, the tide of youth emigrating to the mainland has only risen since Estonia won its independence. On Hiiumaa, however, the Net is spawning more than cyber pen pals.