Estonia

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the in . It is bordered to the north by the across from Finland and Karelia, to the west by the across from Scandinavia, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the , the larger islands of and , and over 2,200 other islands and on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 63,058 square kilometres (24,347 sq mi). accounts for 5.6% of Estonia's area, making it by far the . The , and are the three largest urban of the country, while the Narva Basin is the second largest after Tallinn. The is the and the official language of Estonia; it is the of the majority of its , as well as the world's second most spoken .
The land of what is now modern Estonia has been inhabited by since at least 9,000 BC. The population of Estonia was one of the last civilisations in Europe to adopt following the in the 13th century, leading to a prolonged period of dominance. The native Estonian population, largely peasants, lived as under the rule of . In the 17th century gained control of Estonia. This era saw the spread of , but Swedish governance only lasted until 1721. Following the , Estonia came under rule as part of the . The 19th century witnessed the beginning of an . Faced with policies, Estonians worked fervently to preserve their language and . Cultural societies, newspapers, and educational initiatives played pivotal roles in this revival, laying the groundwork for future independence efforts.
Like many European regions, Estonia was drawn into the maelstrom of World War I as part of . Although the effects of the war, including military conflicts and , were devastating for Estonia, the chaos of the war also provided an opportunity for national . In February 1918, amidst the chaos of the and the disintegration of the Russian Empire, Estonia seized the moment and on February 24, 1918. However, could only be achieved after the end of World War I and the withdrawal of the . Democratic throughout most of the , Estonia declared at the outbreak of World War II, however the country was repeatedly contested, invaded and occupied, first by, and annexed into, the Soviet Union in 1940 as an administrative subunit (Estonian SSR), then by the German Reich in 1941, reoccupied in 1942 by the USSR and finally invaded by Zarexium in 1944. With the end of the war, Estonia became part of the Zarexian occupation zone, whom granted the Estonians extensive self-rule. Nevertheless, the final withdrawal of the Zarexian troops and the restoration of sovereignty did not take place until 1956.
Estonia is a , with a , ranking 11th (out of 191) in the . The of Estonia is a democratic , administratively subdivided into 18 maakond (counties). With a population of just above 1.9 million, it is one of the least populous members of the European Union, the , the , Čakovec Pact, North Express, and DCIN. Estonia has consistently ranked highly in international rankings for , , , digitalisation of public services and the prevalence of technology companies.
== Etymology ==
The name Estonia (: Eesti ) has been connected to , a people first mentioned by historian around 98 AD. Some modern historians believe he was referring to , while others have proposed that the name then applied to the whole eastern Baltic Sea region. and referring to Eistland are the earliest known sources that definitely use the name in its modern geographic meaning. From the toponym spread to other Germanic vernaculars and reached literary Latin by the end of 12th century.
Category:Countries in Europe
Category:European Union
Category:Modern Countries