Facts and Figures


Official name	Republic of Estonia
Short form	Estonia
National Day (Independence Day)	February 24, when Estonia declared its independence in 1918
NATO member State	Since 29 March 2004
European Union member State	Since 1 May 2004
Area	45,227 sq km Forests cover around half the country
Climate:	Humid - temperate
Average temperature	- 7.1C in January 2004 + 16.7C in July 2004
Number of islands	1521. Largest islands are Saaremaa, Hiiumaa & Muhu
Lakes	Estonia is a country of a thousand lakes, largest of these is Lake Peipsi & Lake Võrtsjärv
Highest point	Suur Munamägi (Great Egg Hill) 318 m
Population	1.351 million
Population density	30 inhabitants per sq km
Urban population	69.3% (2004)
Rural population	30.7% (2004)
Birth rate:	9.6 per 1000 residents
Mortality rate:	13.4 per 1000 residents
Citizenship (2004)	Estonian citizens: 1,146,000 Persons with undetermined citizenship: 142,000 Citizens of other countries: 103,000 Largest ethnic groups: Estonians (68%) Russians (26%) Ukranians (2%) Belarussians (1%) Finn’s (1%)