Benin (2004) | Estonia (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 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: 46.8% (male 1,711,075; female 1,679,439)
15-64 years: 51% (male 1,802,990; female 1,890,915) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 68,890; female 96,724) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 15% (male 101,430/female 95,658)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 423,664/female 464,813) 65 years and over: 17.5% (male 76,344/female 154,003) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish |
Airports | 5 (2003 est.) | 19 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 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 Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined |
Background | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. | 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 - 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 | 42.57 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $698.9 million
expenditures: $613.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $7.671 billion
expenditures: $7.015 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | name: Tallinn
geographic coordinates: 59 26 N, 24 43 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers |
Coastline | 121 km | 3,794 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | adopted 28 June 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
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 | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 13.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 13.3 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $20.24 billion (30 June 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Stanley Davis PHILLIPS
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 Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Vaino REINART
chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones | Russia recalled its signature to the 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia in 2005, rather than concede to Estonia's appending prepared a unilateral declaration referencing Soviet occupation and territorial losses; Russia demands better accommodation of Russian-speaking population in Estonia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules with Russia |
Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $135.5 million (2004) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms. | Estonia, a 2004 European Union entrant, has a modern market-based economy and one of the highest per capita income levels in Central Europe. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and strong trade ties with Finland, Sweden, and Germany. The current government has pursued relatively sound fiscal policies, resulting in balanced budgets and low public debt. In 2007, however, a large current account deficit and rising inflation put pressure on Estonia's currency, which is pegged to the euro, highlighting the need for growth in export-generating industries. |
Electricity - consumption | 631.1 million kWh (2001) | 6.888 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.953 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 376 million kWh (2001) | 345 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 274.3 million kWh (2001) | 9.599 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | 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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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 | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) | krooni per US dollar - 11.535 (2007), 12.473 (2006), 12.584 (2005), 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003)
note: the krooni is pegged to the euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
chief of state: President Toomas Hendrik ILVES (since 9 October 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); if a candidate 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 23 September 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2011); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Toomas Hendrik ILVES elected president on 23 September 2006 by a 345-member electoral assembly; ILVES received 174 votes to incumbent Arnold RUUTEL's 162; remaining 9 ballots left blank or invalid |
Exports | NA (2001) | 3,958 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) |
Exports - partners | China 21.1%, India 18%, Thailand 6.8%, Ghana 5.8%, Niger 4.4%, Indonesia 4.1% (2003) | Finland 18.2%, Sweden 12.2%, Latvia 9.1%, Russia 7.9%, US 6.6%, Germany 5%, Lithuania 4.8%, Gibraltar 4.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band 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 - $7.742 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.4%
industry: 14.5% services: 49.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 2.9%
industry: 28.9% services: 68.2% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2003 est.) | 7.3% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 59 00 N, 26 00 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 27.6% (2003) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure | growing producer of synthetic drugs; increasingly 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 |
Imports | NA (2001) | 54,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) |
Imports - partners | China 29.5%, France 14.9%, UK 4.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.7%, Thailand 4.6% (2003) | Finland 18.4%, Russia 12.9%, Germany 12.3%, Sweden 9.2%, Lithuania 6.4%, Latvia 5.8% (2006) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | 6.1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications |
Infant mortality rate | total: 85.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 7.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2003 est.) | 6.3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 40 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) |
Labor force | NA (1996) | 688,000 (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 11%
industry: 20% services: 69% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
Land use | arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
arable land: 12.05%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 87.6% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 4 March 2007 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Estonian Reform Party 27.8%, Center Party of Estonia 26.1%, Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica 17.9%, Social Democratic Party 10.6%, Estonian Greens 7.1%, Estonian People's Union 7.1%, other 5%; seats by party - Reform Party 31, Center Party 29, Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica 19, Social Democrats 10, Estonian Greens 6, People's Union 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.25 years female: 51.39 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 72.3 years
male: 66.87 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.9% male: 56.2% female: 26.5% (2000) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2000 census) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
Merchant marine | none | total: 33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 393,655 GRT/93,245 DWT
by type: cargo 7, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 23, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Norway 2) registered in other countries: 67 (Antigua and Barbuda 15, Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 5, Dominica 8, Latvia 1, Liberia 1, Malta 7, Norway 1, Panama 3, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20, Vanuatu 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force | Estonian Defense Forces: Land Force, Navy, Air Force (Eesti Ohuvagi), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit, KL) (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $98.3 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (2003) | 2% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,638,010
females age 15-49: 1,647,850 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 835,561
females age 15-49: 835,633 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 77,552
females: 81,841 (2004 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 was the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 859 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR]; Estonian Greens (Rohelised) [Marek STRANDBERG]; Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR]; Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica (Isamaa je Res Publica Liit) [Mart LAAR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Nochnoy Dozor/Night Watch anti-fascist movement (leader Alexander KOROBOV) |
Population | 7,250,033
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 2004 est.) |
1,315,912 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (2001 est.) | 5% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 2.89% (2004 est.) | -0.635% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
total: 968 km
broad gauge: 968 km 1.520 m/1.524-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.496 male(s)/female total population: 0.842 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
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 widely available; schools and libraries are connected to the internet, a large percentage of the population files income-tax returns online, and online voting was used for the first time in the 2005 local elections
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; 2 international switches are located in Tallinn (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 66,500 (2003) | 541,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,200 (2003) | 1.659 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 3 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south |
Total fertility rate | 5.95 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.41 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 5.2% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) | 320 km (2006) |