Estonia

**Estonia**, officially the **Republic of Estonia**, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from  Finland and  Karelia, to the west by the sea across from  Scandinavia, to the south by  Latvia, and to the east by  Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,200 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 63,058 square kilometres (24,347 sq mi). Lake Peipus accounts for 5.6% of Estonia's area, making it by far the largest lake in Estonia. The capital city Tallinn, Tartu and Pihkva are the three largest urban areas of the country, while the Narva Basin is the second largest metropolitan area after Tallinn. The Estonian language is the indigenous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, as well as the world's second most spoken Finnic language.

The land of what is now modern Estonia has been inhabited by *Homo sapiens* since at least 9,000 BC. The medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last pagan civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following the Papal-sanctioned Livonian Crusade in the 13th century, leading to a prolonged period of German dominance. The native Estonian population, largely peasants, lived as serfs under the rule of German nobility. In the 17th century  Sweden gained control of Estonia. This era saw the spread of Lutheranism, but Swedish governance only lasted until 1721. Following the Great Northern War, Estonia came under Russian rule as part of the Treaty of Nystad. The 19th century witnessed the beginning of an Estonian national awakening. Faced with Russification policies, Estonians worked fervently to preserve their language and culture. 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  Russia. Although the effects of the war, including military conflicts and economic disruption, were devastating for Estonia, the chaos of the war also provided an opportunity for national self-determination. In February 1918, amidst the chaos of the Russian Revolution and the disintegration of the  Russian Empire, Estonia seized the moment and declared its independence on February 24, 1918. However, actual independence could only be achieved after the end of World War I and the withdrawal of the German army. Democratic throughout most of the interwar period, Estonia declared neutrality 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 developed country, with a high-income advanced economy, ranking 11th (out of 191) in the Human Development Index. The sovereign state of Estonia is a democratic unitary directorial republic, 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 OECD, the Schengen Area,  Čakovec Pact, North Express, and  DCIN. Estonia has consistently ranked highly in international rankings for quality of life, education, press freedom, digitalisation of public services and the prevalence of technology companies.

## Etymology

The name *Estonia* (Estonian: *Eesti* [ˈeːsʲti]) has been connected to *Aesti*, a people first mentioned by Ancient Roman historian Tacitus around 98 AD. Some modern historians believe he was referring to Balts, while others have proposed that the name then applied to the whole eastern Baltic Sea region. Scandinavian sagas and Viking runestones referring to *Eistland* are the earliest known sources that definitely use the name in its modern geographic meaning. From Old Norse the toponym spread to other Germanic vernaculars and reached literary Latin by the end of 12th century.