"text":"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 and many other countries - 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 the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia"
"text":"Orthodox 16.2%, Lutheran 9.9%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 2.2%, other 0.9%, none 54.1%, unspecified 16.7% (2011 est.)"
"text":"air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amounts of pollutants emitted into the air have fallen dramatically and the pollution load of wastewater at purification plants has decreased substantially due to improved technology and environmental monitoring; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations"
"text":"the Estonian name is generally believed to be derived from \"Taani-linn\" (originally meaning \"Danish castle\", now \"Danish town\") after a stronghold built in the area by the Danes; it could also have come from \"tali-linn\" (\"winter castle\" or \"winter town\") or \"talu-linn\" (\"home castle\" or \"home town\")"
"text":"24 February 1918 (from Soviet Russia); 20 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 was the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 20 August 1991 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union restoring its statehood"
"text":"proposed by at least one-fifth of Parliament members or by the president of the republic; passage requires three readings of the proposed amendment and a simple majority vote in two successive memberships of Parliament; passage of amendments to the \"General Provisions\" and \"Amendment of the Constitution\" chapters requires at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament to conduct a referendum and majority vote in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2015"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"civil law system"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Estonia"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"5 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal; age 16 for local elections"
"text":"<p>president indirectly elected by Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); if a candidate does not secure two thirds of the votes after 3 rounds of balloting, then an electoral college consisting of Parliament members and local council members elects the president, choosing between the 2 candidates with the highest number of votes; election last held on 30-31 August 2021 (next to be held in 2026); in a first round of voting on 30 August, parliament failed to elect a president; in a second round on 31 August, the sole candidate, Alar KARIS, received 72 votes of 101 votes (there were 8 blank votes and 21 electors not present); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament</p>"
"text":"<p>2021: Alar KARIS elected president; parliamentary vote Alar KARIS (independent) 72 of 101 votes; KALLAS is Estonia's first female prime minister<br><br>2016: Kersti KALJULAID is indirectly elected president with 81 of 98 votes in parliament (17 ballots blank). She is sworn in on October 10 as the first female head of state of Estonia.</p>"
"text":"unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open- list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - RE 28.9%, K 23.1%, EKRE 17.8%, Pro Patria 11.4%, SDE 9.8%, other 9%; seats by party - RE 34, K 26, EKRE 19, Pro Patria 12, SDE 10; composition - men 75, women 26, percent of women 25.7%"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of 19 justices, including the chief justice, and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional review chambers)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"the chief justice is proposed by the president of the republic and appointed by the Riigikogu; other justices proposed by the chief justice and appointed by the Riigikogu; justices appointed for life"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"circuit (appellate) courts; administrative, county, city, and specialized courts"
"text":"Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) or K [Juri RATAS]<br>Estonia 200 [Kristina KALLAS]<br>Estonian Conservative People's Party (Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond) or EKRE [Martin HELME]<br>Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) or RE [Kaja KALLAS]<br>Pro Patria (Isamaa) [Helir-Valdor SEEDER]<br>Social Democratic Party or SDE [Lauri LAANEMETS]"
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white; various interpretations are linked to the flag colors; blue represents faith, loyalty, and devotion, while also reminiscent of the sky, sea, and lakes of the country; black symbolizes the soil of the country and the dark past and suffering endured by the Estonian people; white refers to the striving towards enlightenment and virtue, and is the color of birch bark and snow, as well as summer nights illuminated by the midnight sun"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"barn swallow, cornflower; national colors: blue, black, white"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Mu isamaa, mu onn ja room\" (My Native Land, My Pride and Joy)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1920, though banned between 1940 and 1990 under Soviet occupation; the anthem, used in Estonia since 1869, shares the same melody as Finland's but has different lyrics"
"text":"<p>Estonia, a member of the EU since 2004 and the euro zone since 2011, has a modern market-based economy and one of the higher per capita income levels in Central Europe and the Baltic region, but its economy is highly dependent on trade, leaving it vulnerable to external shocks. Estonia's successive governments have pursued a free market, pro-business economic agenda, and sound fiscal policies that have resulted in balanced budgets and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the EU.</p> <p></p> <p>The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and strong trade ties with Finland, Sweden, Germany, and Russia. The economy’s 4.9% GDP growth in 2017 was the fastest in the past six years, leaving the Estonian economy in its best position since the financial crisis 10 years ago. For the first time in many years, labor productivity increased faster than labor costs in 2017. Inflation also rose in 2017 to 3.5% alongside increased global prices for food and energy, which make up a large share of Estonia’s consumption.</p> <p></p> <p>Estonia is challenged by a shortage of labor, both skilled and unskilled, although the government has amended its immigration law to allow easier hiring of highly qualified foreign workers, and wage growth that outpaces productivity gains. The government is also pursuing efforts to boost productivity growth with a focus on innovations that emphasize technology start-ups and e-commerce.</p>"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities, including sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government, and social security funds"
"text":"the competitive telecom market continues to progress with a range of regulatory measures which have enabled alternative operators to chip away at the fixed-line market share; fixed-line infrastructure upgrades have been focused on fiber, and the legacy DSL network has gradually been replaced; limited commercial 5G deployments have been made though an expansion of service availability awaits the delayed auction of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band, which is expected to be held later in 2021 (2021)"
"text":"just under 23 per 100 for fixed-line subscribership and approximately 145 per 100 for mobile-cellular; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are widely available; schools and libraries are connected to the Internet, a large percentage of the population files income tax returns online, and online voting - in local and parliamentary elections - has climbed steadily since first being introduced in 2005; a large percent of Estonian households have broadband access (2020)"
"text":"country code - 372; landing points for the EE-S-1, EESF-3, Baltic Sea Submarine Cable, FEC and EESF-2 fiber-optic submarine cables to other Estonia points, Finland, and Sweden; 2 international switches are located in Tallinn (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
"text":"the publicly owned broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhaaling (ERR), operates 3 TV channels and 5 radio networks; growing number of private commercial radio stations broadcasting nationally, regionally, and locally; fully transitioned to digital television in 2010; national private TV channels expanding service; a range of channels are aimed at Russian-speaking viewers; in 2016, there were 42 on-demand services available in Estonia, including 19 pay TVOD and SVOD services; roughly 85% of households accessed digital television services"
"text":"the Estonian military has a limited inventory of Soviet-era and some more recently acquired modern weapons systems, largely from western European countries, particularly France and the Netherlands (2021)"
"text":"18-27 for compulsory military or governmental service for men; conscript service requirement 8-11 months depending on education; non-commissioned officers, reserve officers, and specialists serve 11 months; women can volunteer, and as of 2018 could serve in any military branch (2022)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> conscripts comprise approximately 3,000-3,300 of the Estonian military's 7,000 active duty personnel and serve in all branches, except for the Air Force, which does not have conscripts; after conscript service, reservists are called up for training every 5 years; Estonia has had conscription since 1991<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the Estonian Defense Forces rely largely on reservists who have completed compulsory conscription in the previous 10 years to fill out its active duty and Territorial Defense units during a crisis; a total of approximately 230,000 Estonians are enrolled in the mobilization registry<br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> in 2020, women comprised about 10% of the full-time professional military force"
"text":"Estonia became a member of NATO in 2004<br><br>since 2017, Estonia has hosted a UK-led multi-national NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative; NATO has provided air protection for Estonia since 2004 through its Air Policing mission; NATO member countries that possess air combat capabilities voluntarily contribute to the mission on 4-month rotations; NATO fighter aircraft have been hosted at Estonia’s Ämari Air Base since 2014 (2022)"
"text":"<p>Russia and Estonia in May 2005 signed a technical border agreement, but Russia in June 2005 recalled its signature after the Estonian parliament added to its domestic ratification act a historical preamble referencing the Soviet occupation and Estonia's pre-war borders under the 1920 Treaty of Tartu; Russia contends that the preamble allows Estonia to make territorial claims on Russia in the future, while Estonian officials deny that the preamble has any legal impact on the treaty text; Russia demands better treatment of the Russian-speaking population in Estonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia implements strict Schengen border rules with Russia</p>"
"text":"71,873 (mid-year 2021); note - following independence in 1991, automatic citizenship was restricted to those who were Estonian citizens prior to the 1940 Soviet occupation and their descendants; thousands of ethnic Russians remained stateless when forced to choose between passing Estonian language and citizenship tests or applying for Russian citizenship; one reason for demurring on Estonian citizenship was to retain the right of visa-free travel to Russia; stateless residents can vote in local elections but not general elections; stateless parents who have been lawful residents of Estonia for at least five years can apply for citizenship for their children before they turn 15 years old"
"text":"producer of synthetic drugs; important transshipment zone for cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and synthetic drugs since joining the European Union and the Schengen Accord; potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern, as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds; major use of opiates and ecstasy"
