Tensions remained high in Estonia in 2015 as Russiacontinued to attempt to assert its influence over theformer Soviet republic. In August Estonian securi-

ty officer Eston Kohver was sentenced to 15 years inprison by a Russian court in what Western officials char-acterized as a show trial. Kohver, who had been investi-gating cross-border smuggling by Russian officials, wasdetained by Russian security services under highly dis-puted circumstances in September2014. NATO, the U.S., and the EUreaffirmed their collective defensecommitments to Estonia, and U.S.troops, tanks, artillery, and close-air-support aircraft deployed toEstonia as part of OperationAtlantic Resolve, a series of jointtraining exercises between the U.S.and its allies in eastern Europe.

Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 pop-ulation (2013): 10.7(world avg. 19.5).

Death rate per 1,000population (2013): 11.6(world avg. 8.1).

Life expectancy at birth(2012): male 71.4 years;female 81.2 years.

Adult population (ages15–49) living with HIV(2009): 1.2% (worldavg. 0.8%).

DemographyPopulation (2015): 1,311,000.Density (2015)2: persons per sq mi80.1, persons per sq km 30.9.

Sex distribution (2012): male46.45%; female 53.55%.

Population projection: (2020)1,284,000; (2030) 1,208,000.

Major cities (20153): Tallinn413,782; Tartu 97,332;Narva 58,375; Pärnu 39,784;Kohtla-Järve 36,622.

Urban-rural (2014):

Estonia

Official name: Eesti Vabariik (Republic ofEstonia).

Form of government: unitary multiparty repub-lic with a single legislative house (Riigikogu,or Parliament [101]).

Head of state: President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.Head of government: Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas.

Capital: Tallinn.Official language: Estonian.Official religion: none.Monetary unit: euro (>)1; valuation (Sept. 1,2015) 1 U.S.$ = >0.89; 1 £ = >1.36.

Ethnic composition (2011):

Age breakdown (2011):

Religious affiliation (2011)7:

Area and population area population

20143

Counties Capitals sq mi sq km estimate

Harju Tallinn 1,673 4,333 572,103Hiiu Kärdla 395 1,023 8,589Ida-Viru Jõhvi 1,299 3,364 149,483Järva Paide 950 2,460 30,425Jõgeva Jõgeva 1,005 2,604 31,145Lääne Haapsalu 920 2,383 24,323Lääne-Viru Rakvere 1,401 3,628 59,583Pärnu Pärnu 1,856 4,807 82,829Põlva Põlva 836 2,165 27,641Rapla Rapla 1,151 2,980 34,676Saare Kuressaare 1,128 2,922 31,756Tartu Tartu 1,156 2,993 152,188Valga Valga 789 2,044 30,176Viljandi Viljandi 1,321 3,422 47,476Võru Võru 890 2,305 33,426TOTAL 16,769 4, 5, 6 43,4324, 5, 6 1,315,819

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National economyBudget (2011). Revenue: >5,889,600,000 (tax revenue 74.0%, of which

social security contributions 30.6%, VAT 22.8%; grants/nontaxrevenue 26.0%). Expenditures: >6,164,600,000 (allocations77.0%; operating expenses 16.8%).

Public debt (external, outstanding; 2008): U.S.$918,000,000.Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry,fishing (2012): wheat 485,000, barley 340,500, rapeseed157,816, potatoes 138,872, oats 78,400, pork 65,070, rye 57,300,carrots and turnips 17,083, cabbages and other brassicas16,804; livestock (number of live animals) 358,707 pigs,261,400 cattle; roundwood (2013) 7,488,000 cu m, of whichfuelwood 26%; fisheries production 67,545 (from aquaculture,negligible). Mining and quarrying (2011): oil shale 17,900,000;peat 960,000. Manufacturing (value added in U.S.$’000,000;

2009): food products 294; wood products (excluding furniture) 171;fabricated metal products 171; sawn wood 125; furniture 113; printingand publishing 74. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2011) 11,570,000,000 (7,103,000,000), by source (2012): fossil fuels86.9%; renewable energy 13.0%, of which biomass 8.8%, wind 3.8%,hydroelectric 0.4%; hard coal (metric tons; 2011) none (70,000); lig-nite (metric tons; 2011–1211) 18,500,000 ([2011] 13,000); crude petrole-um, none (none); petroleum products (metric tons; 2011) none(840,000); natural gas (cu m; 2011) none (600,000,000).

Population economically active (2014): total 674,400; participation rates:ages 15–74, male 73.1%; female 63.4%; unemployed 7.4%, of whichyouth (ages 15–24) 15%.

Average household size (2004): 2.5.Gross national income (GNI; 2014): U.S.$24,338,000,000 (U.S.$18,530per capita); purchasing power parity GNI (U.S.$25,690 per capita).

Land use as % of total land area (2009): in temporary crops 10.0%,left fallow 0.7%, in permanent crops 0.2%, in pasture 7.7%, forestarea 52.5%.

MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2014):

5,75014 (army 92.2%, navy 3.5%, air force4.3%). Military expenditure as percentage ofGDP (2014): 2.0%; per capita expenditureU.S.$413.

Foreign trade10

Imports (2014): >13,733,000,000 (machinery andequipment 28.2%, mineral products 12.8%, agricul-tural products and foods 10.8%, transport equip-ment 8.6%, chemicals and chemical products8.1%). Major import sources:

Exports (2014): >12,090,000,000 (machinery andequipment 29.2%, mineral products 11.1%, agricul-tural products and foods 10.1%, wood and woodproducts 9.2%, metals and metal products 7.2%). Major export destinations:

Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads (20093): route length 571 mi,

919 km; passenger-km (2010) 248,000,000; metricton-km cargo (2010) 6,642,000,000. Roads (2008):total length 3,606 mi, 58,034 km (paved 29%);passenger-km (2006) 12,900,000,00012; metric ton-

km cargo 8,279,000,000. Vehicles (20093):passenger cars 551,830; trucks and buses87,642.

Education and healthLiteracy (2011): 99.8%.Health (20113): physicians 4,376 (1 per 298 per-sons); hospital beds 7,145 (1 per 179 persons);infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births(2011) 2.5; undernourished population(2006–08) less than 5% of total population.

1The euro (>) replaced the kroon (EEK) on Jan. 1, 2011, at an exchange rate of >1 = EEK 15.65. 2Basedon land area of 16,367 sq mi (42,390 sq km). 3January 1. 4Detail does not add to total given because ofrounding. 5Total includes 1,596 sq mi (4,133 sq km) of Baltic Sea Islands and the areas of small inlandlakes. 6The total area of Estonia, including the Estonian portion of Lake Peipus (590 sq mi [1,529 sqkm]), Lake Võrtsjärv, and Muuga harbour, is 17,462 sq mi (45,227 sq km). 7Age 15 and over. 8Net taxes.9Unemployed. 10Imports c.i.f.; exports f.o.b. 11May–April. 12Passenger cars 10,000,000,000; buses2,900,000,000. 13Subscribers. 14Other military groups include the Defence League (12,000) and theReserve (30,000).

Internet resources for further information:• Statistics Estonia www.stat.ee/en• Bank of Estonia www.eestipank.ee/en

Structure of gross domestic product and labour force2011

in value % of total labour % of labour>’000,000 value force force

Agriculture, fishing, forestry,and hunting 505.6 3.2 26,900 3.9

Mining and quarrying 192.4 1.2 6,100 0.9Manufacturing 2,477.8 15.5 121,000 17.4Public utilities 654.9 4.1 12,100 1.7Construction 883.7 5.5 59,000 8.5Trade, restaurants 1,761.5 11.0 100,500 14.4Transp. and commun. 1,922.0 12.0 65,000 9.3Finance, real estate 2,537.8 15.9 43,900 6.3Pub. admin., defense 954.9 6.0 40,300 5.8Services 2,032.1 12.7 134,400 19.3Other 2,050.58 12.88 86,8009 12.59

TOTAL 15,973.04 100.04 695,9004 100.0

Communications units unitsnumber per 1,000 number per 1,000

Medium date in ’000s persons Medium date in ’000s persons

TelephonesCellular 2014 2,06313 1,60713

Landline 2014 407 317

Internet users 2009 970 724Broadband 2014 35113 27413

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