Denmark (2006) | Estonia (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: as a result of an extensive 2005 local government reform, with 2006 being a transition year, 275 municipalities will be merged to 99 by 1 January 2007, and the 14 counties will be reorganized into five regions |
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: 18.7% (male 523,257/female 496,697)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,815,240/female 1,787,406) 65 years and over: 15.2% (male 355,656/female 472,405) (2006 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 | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish |
Airports | 92 (2006) | 29 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
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: 64
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 61 (2006) |
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: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
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 less than twice the size of Massachusetts | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined |
Background | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs. | 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 | 11.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $144 billion
expenditures: $135 billion; including capital expenditures of $4.6 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues: $3.806 billion
expenditures: $3.648 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Copenhagen
geographic coordinates: 55 40 N, 12 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Tallinn |
Climate | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers |
Coastline | 7,314 km | 3,794 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1849 adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of 5 June 1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state | adopted 28 June 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
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 | - | Estonian kroon (EEK) |
Death rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 13.27 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $352.9 billion (30 June 2005) | $7.002 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James P. CAIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 33 41 71 00 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
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 Friis Arne PETERSEN
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, 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 | Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland | Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint December 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $2 billion (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $108 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members in the euro. Nonetheless, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Economic growth gained momentum in 2004 and the upturn accelerated through 2005. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees. | 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 | 31.68 billion kWh (2003) | 6.192 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 15.6 billion kWh (2003) | 1.19 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 7 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 43.32 billion kWh (2003) | 7.937 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides | 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
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 | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali | Estonian 65.3%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Belarusian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.6% (1998) |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001) | 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 MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Council of State appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch |
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 | 332,100 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) |
Exports - partners | Germany 17.5%, Sweden 13.2%, UK 8.8%, US 6.4%, France 5.5%, Netherlands 5.3%, Norway 5.1% (2005) | Finland 21.9%, Sweden 12.5%, Russia 11.4%, Germany 8.4%, Latvia 7.4%, Lithuania 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $17.35 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 24.6% services: 73.5% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 30.3% services: 64.8% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $12,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.2% (2005 est.) | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 56 00 N, 10 00 E | 59 00 N, 26 00 E |
Geography - note | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands |
Highways | - | 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%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 | 195,000 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) |
Imports - partners | Germany 20.5%, Sweden 13.8%, Norway 6.6%, Netherlands 6.6%, UK 6%, China 4.7%, France 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2005) | Finland 15.9%, Germany 11.1%, Russia 10.2%, Sweden 7.7%, Ukraine 4.3%, China 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy | 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.6% (2005 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 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) | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 1.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | 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 |
Irrigated land | 4,490 sq km (2003) | 40 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) |
Labor force | 2.9 million (2005 est.) | 654,000 (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3%
industry: 21% services: 76% (2004 est.) |
agriculture 11%, industry 20%, services 69% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
Land use | arable land: 52.59%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 47.22% (2005) |
arable land: 16.04%
permanent crops: 0.45% other: 83.51% (2001) |
Languages | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other |
Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 29%, Social Democrats 25.9%, Danish People's Party 13.2%, Conservative Party 10.3%, Social Liberal Party 9.2%, Socialist People's Party 6%, Unity List 3.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 52, Social Democrats 47, Danish People's Party 24, Conservative Party 18, Social Liberal Party 17, Socialist People's Party 11, Unity List 6; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
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: 77.79 years
male: 75.49 years female: 80.22 years (2006 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: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn) | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
Merchant marine | total: 293 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,986,735 GRT/9,936,431 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 63, chemical tanker 48, container 86, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 25 (Canada 1, Germany 13, Greece 5, Greenland 1, Norway 3, Sweden 1, UK 1) registered in other countries: 409 (Antigua and Barbuda 14, Bahamas 59, Belgium 4, Cayman Islands 5, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Estonia 2, France 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Gibraltar 1, Hong Kong 6, Isle of Man 53, North Korea 1, Liberia 8, Lithuania 10, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 2, Netherlands 9, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 32, Panama 34, Portugal 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 14, Singapore 52, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 4, UK 46, US 24, Vanuatu 6, Venezuela 3, Vietnam 1) (2006) |
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 | Defense Command: Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Tactical Air Command (2006) | 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 | $3,271.6 million (2003) | $155 million (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2004) | 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 | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day | 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: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
Natural hazards | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud |
Net migration rate | 2.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -3.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 12 km; gas 3,931 km; oil 626 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2006) | gas 859 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democrats (was Christian People's Party) [Bodil KORNBEK]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership]; Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL] | 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 | 5,450,661 (July 2006 est.) | 1,341,664 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA (2000) |
Population growth rate | 0.33% (2006 est.) | -0.66% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Railways | total: 2,673 km
standard gauge: 2,673 km 1.435-m gauge (601 km electrified) (2005) |
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 | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% | Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: country code - 45; 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (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 | 3.35 million (2005) | 475,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.469 million (2005) | 881,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) | 3 (2001) |
Terrain | low and flat to gently rolling plains | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south |
Total fertility rate | 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (2005 est.) | 10.1% (2003) |
Waterways | 400 km (2001) | 500 km (2003) |