Estonia (2005) | Western Sahara (2003) | |
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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 (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.5% (male 106,300/female 100,446)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 429,843/female 472,034) 65 years and over: 16.8% (male 74,037/female 150,233) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
Airports | 29 (2004 est.) | 11 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (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: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined | about the size of Colorado |
Background | 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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
Birth rate | 9.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.622 billion
expenditures: $4.601 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Tallinn | none |
Climate | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 3,794 km | 1,110 km |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1992 | - |
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: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | - | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
Death rate | 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.373 billion (2004 est.) | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
none |
Disputes - international | in 1996, the Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both states have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting that Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian groups pressing for realignment of the boundary based more closely 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties have rejected other proposals; Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years; Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds |
Economic aid - recipient | $108 million (2000) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization and the European Union, has transitioned effectively to a modern market economy with strong ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and is greatly influenced by developments in Finland, Sweden, and Germany, three major trading partners. The current account deficit remains high; however, the state budget enjoyed a surplus of $130 million in 2003. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.358 billion kWh (2002) | 83.7 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1.562 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.301 billion kWh (2002) | 90 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | sparse water and lack of arable land |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census) | Arab, Berber |
Exchange rates | krooni per US dollar - 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003), 16.612 (2002), 17.478 (2001), 16.969 (2000) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Arnold RUUTEL (since 8 October 2001)
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; 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 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 |
none |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | Finland 23.1%, Sweden 15.3%, Germany 8.4%, Latvia 7.9%, Russia 5.7%, Lithuania 4.4% (2004) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
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 | - |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 28.9% services: 67% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,300 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 59 00 N, 26 00 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Highways | total: 55,944 km
paved: 13,874 km (including 99 km of expressways) unpaved: 42,070 km (2002) |
total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1998) |
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; 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 | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Finland 22.1%, Germany 12.9%, Sweden 9.7%, Russia 9.2%, Lithuania 5.3%, Latvia 4.7% (2004) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) |
Independence | 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2004 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | 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, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) | - |
Labor force | 660,000 (2004 est.) | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 11%, industry 20%, services 69% (1999 est.) | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
Land boundaries | total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.04%
permanent crops: 0.45% other: 83.51% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census) | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | - |
Legislative branch | 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: 71.77 years
male: 66.28 years female: 77.6 years (2005 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Merchant marine | total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 212,998 GRT/177,488 DWT
by type: cargo 17, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 6 (Norway 6) registered in other countries: 51 (2005) |
- |
Military branches | Estonian Defense Forces: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Staff, 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 | $155 million (2002 est.) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (2002 est.) | NA% |
National holiday | 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: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud | phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 859 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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 | none |
Population | 1,332,893 (July 2005 est.) | 261,794 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA (2000) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.65% (2005 est.) | NA% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kopli, Kuivastu, Muuga, Tallinn, Virtsu | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 958 km
broad gauge: 958 km 1.520-m/1.524-m gauge (132 km electrified) (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | 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) | Muslim |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.84 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | 475,000 (2002) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 881,000 (2002) | 0 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (2001) | NA |
Terrain | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.6% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 500 km (2003) | none |