ESTONIA
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Text by: Vahur Made
Estonian School of Diplomacy ESD, November 2001
Territory: 45 227 sq. km.
Estonia is bigger than either the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Slovenia,
Albania or Denmark. It is bordered by the Baltic Sea on the north and
west, by Russia on the east and by Latvia on the south. Its closest neighbours
across the sea are Finland and Sweden.
The Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920 between Estonia and Russia established Estonia with a territory of 47 561 sq. km. In 1945 Russia attached the eastern border regions (territories east to Narva River and most of the Petseri/Pechory county on the south-eastern border) to its administration, in total 2334 sq. km or five per cent of Estonia's pre-war territory. Although Estonia's constitution foresees that 'the Estonian land border is established by the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920 and other international treaties' in 1994 Estonia gave up all demands to the above mentioned regions.
Still, so far there exists no border agreement between Estonia and Russia, although physically the border line is established and border controls operate. The border locations on the map were agreed in 1999. Because of the Russia's refusal, the signing and ratification of a border agreement as an international treaty has not taken place.
The border between Estonia and Latvia was fixed in 1919 and has remained unchanged.
Population: 1 439 197 (January 2000), 1 366 723 (January 2001).
Ethnic divison:
|
Ethnic group
|
Percentage of the population in 1990 | Percentage of the population in 2000 |
| Estonians | 61.45 | 65.26 |
| Russians | 30.43 | 28.07 |
| Ukrainians | 3.10 | 2.53 |
| Byelorussians | 1.77 | 1.47 |
| Finns | 1.05 | 0.89 |
| Jews | 0.28 | 0.16 |
| Others | 1.92 | 1.62 |
Capital: Tallinn (403 981 inhabitants by March 2000).
More
facts and figures on Tallinn.
National Day: February 24 (Independence Day).
Day of the Restoration of Independence: August 20.
Official Language: Estonian.
Constitution: Adopted on June 28, 1992 (the fourth constitution of Estonia since 1919). Estonia is a parliamentary republic.
Currency: Estonian crown (EEK) (1 crown=100 cents); through the system of a currency committee the Estonian crown was tied to the Deutschmark (1 DEM = 8EEK). Now through the Deutschmark there exists a fixed exchange rate between the Estonian crown and Euro (1 EUR = 15.64 EEK).