Estonia (2001) | Iceland (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 (Kuessaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
8 regions; Austurland, Hofudhborgarsvaedhi, Nordhurland Eystra, Nordhurland Vestra, Sudhurland, Sudhurnes, Vestfirdhir, Vesturland |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.08% (male 123,997; female 119,166) 15-64 years: 68.14% (male 466,823; female 503,032) 65 years and over: 14.78% (male 68,802; female 141,496) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.1% (male 33,302/female 32,257)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 99,513/female 96,886) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 15,723/female 19,056) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, fruits, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish | potatoes, green vegetables, mutton, dairy products, fish |
Airports | 32 (2000 est.) | 98 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
24 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 93
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 61 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
45,226 sq km land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
total: 103,000 sq km
land: 100,250 sq km water: 2,750 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
Background | After centuries of Swedish 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. | Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards. |
Birth rate | 8.7 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.37 billion expenditures: $1.37 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $4.154 billion
expenditures: $4.058 billion, including capital expenditures of $467 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Tallinn | Reykjavik |
Climate | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers | temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers |
Coastline | 3,794 km | 4,988 km |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1992 | 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Estonia conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lydhveldidh Island local short form: Island |
Currency | Estonian kroon (EEK) | - |
Death rate | 13.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000 est.) | $3.073 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Melissa WELLS embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James I. GADSDEN
embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik mailing address: US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, FPO AE 09728-0340 telephone: [354] 562-9100 FAX: [354] 562-9118 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sven JURGENSON chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Helgi AGUSTSSON
chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December 1996 which has not been signed nor ratified by Russia as of February 2001 | Iceland disputes Denmark's alignment of 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 |
Economic aid - donor | - | $NA |
Economic aid - recipient | $137.3 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | In 2000, Estonia rebounded from the Russian financial crisis by scaling back its budget and reorienting trade away from Russian markets into EU member states. After GDP shrank 1.1% in 1999, the economy made a strong recovery in 2000, with growth estimated at 6.4% - the highest in Central and Eastern Europe. Estonia joined the World Trade Organization in November 1999 - the second Baltic state to join - and continues its EU accession talks. For 2001, Estonians predict GDP to grow around 6%, inflation of between 4.2%-5.3%, and a balanced budget. Substantial gains were made in completing privatization of Estonia's few remaining large, state-owned companies in 2000, and this momentum is expected to continue in 2001. Estonia hopes to join the EU during the next round of enlargement tentatively set for 2004. | Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 8% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. Growth had been remarkably steady in 1996-2001 at 3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an environment of global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and estimates call for strong growth until 2007, slowly dropping until the end of the decade. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.807 billion kWh (1999) | 7.692 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 530 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 7.782 billion kWh (1999) | 8.271 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.72% hydro: 0.09% nuclear: 0% other: 0.19% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m (at Vatnajokull glacier) |
Environment - current issues | air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at former Soviet military bases; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas are heavily affected by organic waste; coastal sea water is polluted in many locations | water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Estonian 65.1%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Byelorussian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.8% (1998) | homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6% |
Exchange rates | krooni per US dollar - 16.663 (January 2001), 16.969 (2000), 14.678 (1999), 14.075 (1998), 13.882 (1997), 12.034 (1996); note - krooni are tied to the German deutsche mark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1 | Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 70.192 (2004), 76.709 (2003), 91.662 (2002), 97.425 (2001), 78.616 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Lennart MERI (since 5 October 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Mart LAAR (since 29 March 1999) 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, 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 August-September 1996 (next to be held in the fall of 2001); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Lennart MERI reelected president by an electoral assembly after Parliament was unable to break a deadlock between MERI and RUUTEL; percent of electoral assembly vote - Lennart MERI 61%, Arnold RUUTEL 39% |
chief of state: President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Halldor ASGRIMSSON (since 15 September 2004); note - Former Prime Minister David ODDSSON switched positions with former Foreign Minister Halldor ASGRIMMSON cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by parliament elections: president, which is largely a ceremonial post, elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 June 2004 (next to be held June 2008); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister election results: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON wins with 85.6% of the vote, Baldur AGUSTSSON 12.5%, Astthor MAGNUSSON 1.9% |
Exports | $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 0 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 24%, wood products 20%, textiles 17%, food products 9%, metals, chemical products (1999) | fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite |
Exports - partners | Finland 19.4%, Sweden 18.8%, Russia 9.2%, Latvia 8.7%, Germany 7.5%, US 2.5% (1999) | UK 19.1%, Germany 17.2%, Netherlands 11.5%, US 9.8%, Spain 6.8%, Denmark 4.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white | blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $14.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.6% industry: 30.7% services: 65.7% (1999) |
agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 9.6% services: 79.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 59 00 N, 26 00 E | 65 00 N, 18 00 W |
Geography - note | - | strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe |
Highways | total:
30,300 km paved: 29,200 km (including 75 km of expressways); note - these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather unpaved: 1,100 km (2000) |
total: 13,004 km
paved/oiled gravel: 4,331 km unpaved: 8,673 km (2004) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.2% highest 10%: 28.5% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; synthetic drug production growing, trafficked to Russia, Baltics, Finland | - |
Imports | $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 15,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 31%, chemical products 13%, foodstuffs 11%, metal products 8%, textiles 8% (1999) | machinery and equipment, petroleum products; foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Finland 22.8%, Russia 13.5%, Sweden 9.3%, Germany 9.3%, Japan 4.7% (1999) | Germany 12.3%, US 9.9%, Norway 9.7%, Denmark 7.9%, UK 7.2%, Sweden 6.7%, Netherlands 6% (2004) |
Independence | 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 8.8% (2004 est.) |
Industries | oil shale, shipbuilding, phosphates, electric motors, excavators, cement, furniture, clothing, textiles, paper, shoes, apparel | fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 12.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 3.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (1999 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 28 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1996 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) | Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice) |
Labor force | 785,500 (1999 est.) | 158,100 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 20%, agriculture 11%, services 69% (1999 est.) | agriculture, fishing and fish processing 10.3%, industry 18.3%, services 71.4% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total:
633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
25% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 44% other: 20% (1996 est.) |
arable land: 0.07%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.93% (2001) |
Languages | Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Center Party 28, Union of Pro Patria (Fatherland League) 18, Reform Party 18, Moderates 17, Country People's Party (Agrarians) 7, Coalition Party 7, UPPE 6 |
unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 33.7%, Social Democratic Alliance 31.0%, Progressive Party 17.7%, Left-Green Alliance 8.8%, Liberal Party 7.4%; seats by party - Independence Party 22, Social Democratic Alliance 20, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 5, Liberal Party 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.73 years male: 63.72 years female: 76.05 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 80.19 years
male: 78.13 years female: 82.34 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1998 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.9% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia | Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK |
Map references | Europe | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total:
44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 253,460 GRT/219,727 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 19, combination bulk 1, container 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 10, short-sea passenger 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,341 GRT/6,019 DWT
by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1 registered in other countries: 30 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy/Coast Guard, Air and Air Defense Force (not officially sanctioned), Maritime Border Guard, Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Security Forces (internal and border troops) | no regular armed forces; Icelandic National Police, Icelandic Coast Guard (Islenska Landhelgisgaeslan) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $70 million (FY99) | 0 |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
359,677 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
282,418 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
11,164 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 was the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 6 September 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union | Independence Day, 17 June (1944) |
Nationality | noun:
Estonian(s) adjective: Estonian |
noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic |
Natural hazards | flooding occurs frequently in the spring | earthquakes and volcanic activity |
Natural resources | shale oil (kukersite), peat, phosphorite, amber, cambrian blue clay, limestone, dolomite, arable land | fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite |
Net migration rate | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 420 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party or K [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Christian People's Party [Aldo VINKEL]; Coalition Party and Rural Union or KMU [Andrus OOBEL, chairman]; Estonian Democratic Party (formerly Estonian Blue Party) [Jaan LAAS]; Estonian Independence Party [leader NA]; Estonian National Democratic Party or ENDP [leader NA]; Estonian Pensioners and Families Party [Mai TREIAL]; Estonian Progressive Party [Andra VEIDEMANN]; Estonian Republican Party [leader NA]; Estonian Social-Democratic Labor Party [Tiit TOOMSALU]; Estonian Rural People's Union (1999 merger of Estonian Country People's Party and the Estonian Rural Union) [Arvo SIRENDI]; Party of Consolidation Today [leader NA]; People's Party Moderates (1999 merger of People's Party and Moderates) [Andres TARAND]; Reform Party or RE [Siim KALLAS, chairman]; Russian Party in Estonia [Nikolai MASPANOV]; Russian Unity Party [Igor SEDASHEV]; Union of Pro Patria or Fatherland League (Isamaaliit) [Mart LAAR, chairman]; United People's Party or UPPE [Viktor ANDREJEV, chairman] | Independence Party or IP [David ODDSSON]; Left-Green Alliance or LGP [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON]; Social Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List) or SDA [Ingibjorg Solrun GISLADOTTIR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,423,316 (July 2001 est.) | 296,737 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 8.9% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.55% (2001 est.) | 0.91% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn | Grundartangi, Hafnarfjordur, Hornafjordhur, Reykjavik, Seydhisfjordhur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3 (all AM stations inactive since July 1998), FM 82, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.01 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
1,018 km common carrier lines only; does not include dedicated industrial lines broad gauge: 1,018 km 1.520-m gauge (132 km electrified) (1995) |
- |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish | Lutheran Church of Iceland 85.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.1%, Roman Catholic Church 2%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.5%, other Christian 2.7%, other or unspecified 3.8%, unaffiliated 2.4% (2004) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; Internet services available throughout most of the country; about 150,000 unfilled subscriber requests domestic: local - the Ministry of Transport and Communications is expanding cellular telephone services to form rural networks; intercity - highly developed fiber-optic backbone (double loop) system presently serving at least 16 major cities (1998) international: fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn |
general assessment: extensive domestic service
domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links international: country code - 354; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 476,078 (yearend 1998) | 190,700 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 475,000 (yearend 2000) | 279,100 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 31 (plus five repeaters) (September 1995) | 14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | marshy, lowlands | mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords |
Total fertility rate | 1.21 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.7% (1999 est.) | 3.1% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 320 km (perennially navigable) | - |