Compare Estonia (2006) - Southern Ocean (2006)

Compare Estonia (2006) z Southern Ocean (2006)

	Estonia (2006)	Southern Ocean (2006)

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	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 15.2% (male 103,367/female 97,587) 15-64 years: 67.6% (male 427,043/female 468,671) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 75,347/female 152,318) (2006 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish	-
Airports	24 (2006)	-
Airports - with paved runways	total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2006)	-
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: 20.327 million sq km note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined	slightly more than twice the size of the US
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.	A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
Birth rate	10.04 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $4.91 billion expenditures: $4.7 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	-
Capital	name: Tallinn geographic coordinates: 59 25 N, 24 45 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	-
Climate	maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers	sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline	3,794 km	17,968 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	-
Death rate	13.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Debt - external	$11.03 billion (2005 est.)	-
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	-
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Juri LUIK chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York	-
Disputes - international	in 2005, Russia refuses to sign the 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia when Estonia prepares a unilateral declaration referencing Soviet occupation and territorial losses; Russia demands better accommodation of Russian-speaking population in Estonia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules	Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient	$735 million (2004-06)	-
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 is essentially in balance, and public debt is low.	Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Electricity - consumption	6.26 billion kWh (2004)	-
Electricity - exports	2.141 billion kWh (2004)	-
Electricity - imports	347 million kWh (2004)	-
Electricity - production	10.304 billion kWh (2004)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m	lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench highest point: sea level 0 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	increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
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	the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing) note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups	Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census)	-
Exchange rates	krooni per US dollar - 12.584 (2005), 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003), 16.612 (2002), 17.478 (2001), note - the krooni is pegged to the euro	-
Executive branch	chief of state: President Toomas Hendrik ILVES (since 9 October 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); if a candidate does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 23 September 2006 (next to be held fall of 2011); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Toomas Hendrik ILVES elected president on 23 September 2006 by a 345-member electoral assembly; ILVES received 174 votes to incumbent Arnold RUUTEL's 162; remaining 9 ballots left blank or invalid	-
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	-
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001)	-
Exports - partners	Finland 26.5%, Sweden 12.9%, Latvia 8.8%, Russia 6.5%, Germany 6.2%, Lithuania 4.8% (2005)	-
Fiscal 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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 4% industry: 29.4% services: 66.6% (2005 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	10.5% (2005 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	59 00 N, 26 00 E	60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
Geography - note	the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands	the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Heliports	1 (2006)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.9% highest 10%: 28.5% (2000)	-
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	54,000 bbl/day (2004)	-
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001)	-
Imports - partners	Finland 19.8%, Germany 13.8%, Russia 9.4%, Sweden 8.8%, Lithuania 6.1%, Latvia 4.7% (2005)	-
Independence	20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	-
Industrial production growth rate	9.7% (2005 est.)	-
Industries	engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 7.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4.1% (2005 est.)	-
International organization participation	Australia Group, BA, 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, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	-
Irrigated land	40 sq km (2003)	-
Judicial branch	National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life)	-
Labor force	670,000 (2005 est.)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 11% industry: 20% services: 69% (1999 est.)	-
Land boundaries	total: 633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km	-
Land use	arable land: 12.05% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 87.6% (2005)	-
Languages	Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)	-
Legal system	based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	-
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 March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party of Estonia 25.4%, Res Publica 24.6%, Estonian Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%; seats by party - Res Publica 26, Center Party 20, Reform Party 19, Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, Social Democrats (formerly People's Party Moodukad) 6, non-affiliated (Social Liberals and independents) 10	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.04 years male: 66.58 years female: 77.83 years (2006 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.)	-
Location	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia	body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references	Europe	Antarctic Region
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states	-
Merchant marine	total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 388,723 GRT/98,393 DWT by type: cargo 7, passenger/cargo 26, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Norway 2) registered in other countries: 72 (Antigua and Barbuda 12, Bahamas 1, Belize 3, Cyprus 6, Dominica 11, Isle of Man 2, Liberia 1, Malta 4, Norway 1, Panama 3, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 25, Slovakia 1, Vanuatu 1) (2006)	-
Military branches	Estonian Defense Forces: Land Force, Navy, Air Force, Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit, KL) (2006)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$155 million (2002 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2% (2002 est.)	-
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	-
Natural hazards	sometimes flooding occurs in the spring	huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources	oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud	probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes
Net migration rate	-3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Pipelines	gas 859 km (2006)	-
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]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR, chairman]; Social Liberals (group of eight parliamentarians, former Center Party members) [Peeter KREITZBERG]; Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica (Isamaa je Res Publica Liit) [Tonis LUKAS and Taavi VESKIMAGI, co-chairman]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	1,324,333 (July 2006 est.)	-
Population below poverty line	Below $2.15 per day (PPP) 5% (2003)	-
Population growth rate	-0.64% (2006 est.)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001)	-
Railways	total: 958 km broad gauge: 958 km 1.520 m/1.524-m gauge (2005)	-
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)	-
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: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.84 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens	-
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 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	442,000 (2005)	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.445 million (2005)	-
Television broadcast stations	3 (2001)	-
Terrain	marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south	the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate	1.4 children born/woman (2006 est.)	-
Transportation - note	-	Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate	7.8% (2005)	-
Waterways	500 km (2005)	-

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