Bahamas, The (2002) | Estonia (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29% (male 43,964; female 43,250)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 95,508; female 98,859) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 7,948; female 11,000) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 16% (male 110,452; female 104,363)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 431,493; female 474,255) 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 72,819; female 148,282) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish |
Airports | 67 (2001) | 29 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 34 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 23 (2002) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2003 est.) |
Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined |
Background | Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, 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 Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
Birth rate | 18.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $3.806 billion
expenditures: $3.648 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Nassau | Tallinn |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 3,794 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | adopted 28 June 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | Estonian kroon (EEK) |
Death rate | 7.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.27 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $381.9 million (2000) | $7.002 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Richard BLANKENSHIP
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Aldona Zofia WOS
embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Juri LUIK
chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint December 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | $108 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs almost half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences have led to solid GDP growth in recent years. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of the majority of tourist visitors. | Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization, is steadily moving toward a modern market economy with increasing ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors. Estonia has been invited to join the European Union and will do so in May 2004. The economy is greatly influenced by developments in Finland, Sweden, Russia, and Germany, four major trading partners. The high current account deficit remains a concern. However, the state budget enjoyed a surplus of $130 million in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.432 billion kWh (2000) | 6.192 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1.19 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.54 billion kWh (2000) | 7.937 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | Estonian 65.3%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Belarusian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.6% (1998) |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) | krooni per US dollar - 13.8564 (2003), 16.6118 (2002), 17.4781 (2001), 16.9686 (2000), 14.6776 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
chief of state: President Arnold RUUTEL (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Juhan PARTS (since 10 April 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if he or she does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 21 September 2001 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Arnold RUUTEL elected president on 21 September 2001 by a 367-member electoral assembly that convened following Parliament's failure in August to elect then-President MERI's successor; on the second ballot of voting, RUUTEL received 186 votes to Parliament Speaker Toomas SAVI's 155; the remaining 26 ballots were either left blank or invalid |
Exports | $535.8 million (2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables (1999) | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) |
Exports - partners | US 28.2%, France 16.5%, Germany 14.1%, UK 12.4% (2000) | Finland 21.9%, Sweden 12.5%, Russia 11.4%, Germany 8.4%, Latvia 7.4%, Lithuania 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.35 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 30.3% services: 64.8% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2001) | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 59 00 N, 26 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
total: 51,411 km
paved: 10,334 km (including 94 km of expressways) unpaved: 41,077 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds |
Imports | $1.88 billion (2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals (1999) | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) |
Imports - partners | US 31.6%, South Korea 18.2%, Italy 17.4%, Japan 5.8% (2000) | Finland 15.9%, Germany 11.1%, Russia 10.2%, Sweden 7.7%, Ukraine 4.3%, China 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications |
Infant mortality rate | 17.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 8.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 1.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 40 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) |
Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 654,000 (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) | agriculture 11%, industry 20%, services 69% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.6%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.04%
permanent crops: 0.45% other: 83.51% (2001) |
Languages | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party 25.4%, Res Publica 24.6%, Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%; seats by party - Center Party 28, Res Publica 28, Reform Party 19, Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, People's Party Moodukad 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.87 years
male: 66.32 years female: 73.49 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.38 years
male: 65.78 years female: 77.33 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
Merchant marine | total: 1,076 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,309,187 GRT/45,859,485 DWT
ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 246, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 13, combination ore/oil 22, container 80, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 8, passenger 88, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 178, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 120, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 22 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Angola 1, Argentina 1, Australia 4, Belgium 18, Bermuda 1, Canada 5, Chile 1, China 3, Croatia 2, Cuba 3, Cyprus 2, Denmark 27, Ecuador 1, Estonia 2, Finland 9, France 15, Germany 26, Greece 173, Hong Kong 6, India 2, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 9, Jamaica 1, Japan 32, Kenya 3, Malaysia 10, Malta 2, Monaco 67, Netherlands 32, New Zealand 2, Norway 237, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, South Korea 2, Spain 7, Sweden 12, Switzerland 8, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, Turkey 2, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 10, United Kingdom 107, United States 159, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 212,998 GRT/177,488 DWT
by type: bulk 2, cargo 12, container 4, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea/passenger 5 foreign-owned: Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 45 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force | Estonia Defense Forces (including Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force), Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Maritime Border Guard, Coast Guard
note: Border Guards and Ministry of Internal Affairs become part of the Estonian Defense Forces in wartime; the Coast Guard is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense in peacetime and the Estonian Navy in wartime |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY95/96) | $155 million (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (FY99) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 326,803 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 257,386 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 10,884 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 is the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud |
Net migration rate | -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -3.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 859 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN, chairman]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG, chairman]; Pro Patria Union (Isamaaliit) [Tunne KELAM, chairman]; Res Publica [Juhan PARTS, chairman]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR, chairman]; Social Liberals (group of 8 parliamentarians, former Center Party members) [Peeter Kreitzberg] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 300,529
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
1,341,664 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA (2000) |
Population growth rate | 0.86% (2002 est.) | -0.66% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 215,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 958 km
broad gauge: 958 km 1.520-m/1.524-m gauge (132 km electrified) note: gauge being increased from 1.520-m to 1.524-m to reduce wear on wheels and rail as lines are modernized (2003) |
Religions | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
general assessment: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are available throughout most of the country - only about 11,000 subscriber requests were unfilled by September 2000
domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 96,000 (1997) | 475,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,152 (1997) | 881,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 3 (2001) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south |
Total fertility rate | 2.28 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 10.1% (2003) |
Waterways | none | 500 km (2003) |