Estonia (2001) | Yemen (2002) | |
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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 |
19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: there may be one additional governorate of the capital city of Sanaa |
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: 47% (male 4,468,928; female 4,317,648)
15-64 years: 50.1% (male 4,783,769; female 4,587,309) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 273,282; female 270,321) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, fruits, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 32 (2000 est.) | 49 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 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: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
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: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | 8.7 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.37 billion expenditures: $1.37 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Tallinn | Sanaa |
Climate | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 3,794 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1992 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
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 Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | Estonian kroon (EEK) | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 13.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000 est.) | $4.7 billion (2001) |
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 Edmund J. HULL
embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-161 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
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 Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
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 | demarcation of delimited boundary with Saudi Arabia involves nomadic tribal affiliations; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling |
Economic aid - recipient | $137.3 million (1995) | $176.1 million (1995) (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. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.807 billion kWh (1999) | 2.976 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 530 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7.782 billion kWh (1999) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.72% hydro: 0.09% nuclear: 0% other: 0.19% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
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 | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Estonian 65.1%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Byelorussian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.8% (1998) | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
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 | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 171.860 (December 2001), 168.678 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997) |
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 Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
Exports | $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 24%, wood products 20%, textiles 17%, food products 9%, metals, chemical products (1999) | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Finland 19.4%, Sweden 18.8%, Russia 9.2%, Latvia 8.7%, Germany 7.5%, US 2.5% (1999) | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $14.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.6% industry: 30.7% services: 65.7% (1999) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 40% services: 43% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 59 00 N, 26 00 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
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: 69,263 km
paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.2% highest 10%: 28.5% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1998) (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; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; synthetic drug production growing, trafficked to Russia, Baltics, Finland | - |
Imports | $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 31%, chemical products 13%, foodstuffs 11%, metal products 8%, textiles 8% (1999) | food and live animals, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Finland 22.8%, Russia 13.5%, Sweden 9.3%, Germany 9.3%, Japan 4.7% (1999) | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | oil shale, shipbuilding, phosphates, electric motors, excavators, cement, furniture, clothing, textiles, paper, shoes, apparel | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement |
Infant mortality rate | 12.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (1999 est.) | 10% (2001 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 | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 28 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1996 est.) | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 785,500 (1999 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 20%, agriculture 11%, services 69% (1999 est.) | most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
Land boundaries | total:
633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land:
25% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 44% other: 20% (1996 est.) |
arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other | Arabic |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary 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 |
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; seats by party as of January 2002: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.73 years male: 63.72 years female: 76.05 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 60.59 years
male: 58.81 years female: 62.46 years (2002 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: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Europe | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,002 GRT/23,752 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | establishement of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed |
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) | Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $70 million (FY99) | $482.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | 5.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
359,677 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
282,418 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 14 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
11,164 (2001 est.) |
males: 238,690 (2002 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 | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
Estonian(s) adjective: Estonian |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | flooding occurs frequently in the spring | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | shale oil (kukersite), peat, phosphorite, amber, cambrian blue clay, limestone, dolomite, arable land | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 420 km (1992) | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
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] | there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections which were held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,423,316 (July 2001 est.) | 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 8.9% (1995 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.55% (2001 est.) | 3.4% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3 (all AM stations inactive since July 1998), FM 82, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 1.01 million (1997) | 1.05 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) |
0 km |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 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: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 476,078 (yearend 1998) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 475,000 (yearend 2000) | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 31 (plus five repeaters) (September 1995) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | marshy, lowlands | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | 1.21 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.7% (1999 est.) | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 320 km (perennially navigable) | none |