Estonia

Republic of Estonia Eesti Vabariik (Estonian)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm (English: "My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy"[1])
Location of Estonia (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Tallinn 59°25′N 24°45′E / 59.417°N 24.750°E / 59.417; 24.750
Official language	Estonian
Recognized languages	Võro Seto
Ethnic groups (2023[2])	67.8% Estonians 22.5% Russians 9.7% Others
Religion (2021[3])	58.4% no religion 26.7% Christianity 12.7% undeclared 2.2% other
Demonym(s)	Estonian
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	Alar Karis
• Prime Minister	Kaja Kallas
• President of the Parliament	Lauri Hussar
Legislature	Riigikogu
Independence  from Russia and Germany
• Declaration of independence	23–24 February 1918
• Joined the League of Nations	22 September 1921
• German and Soviet occupations	1940–1991
• Independence restored	20 August 1991
• Joined the European Union	1 May 2004
Area
• Total	45,335[4] km2 (17,504 sq mi) (129thd)
• Water (%)	4.6
Population
• 2024 estimate	1,373,101[5]
• 2021 census	1,331,824[6]
• Density	30.3/km2 (78.5/sq mi) (148th)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$60.997 billion[7] (113th)
• Per capita	$47,383[7] (41st)
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$41.799 billion[7] (102nd)
• Per capita	$33,018[7] (36th)
Gini (2021)	30.6[8] medium
HDI (2022)	0.899[9] very high (31st)
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+372
ISO 3166 code	EE
Internet TLD	.ee
^ Estonia regained its de facto independence in 1991. Throughout the 1940–1941 and 1944–1991 Soviet occupation, Estonia's de jure state continuity was preserved by diplomatic representatives and the government-in-exile.

Estonia,^[a] officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Europe. It is geographically located in Northern Europe but in some contexts it has also been classified as Central or Eastern Europe.^[b] It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipsi and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea,^[4] covering a total area of 45,335 square kilometres (17,504 sq mi). Tallinn, the capital city, and Tartu are the two largest urban areas of the country. The Estonian language is the indigenous and official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, the world's second-most spoken Finnic language as well as the third-most spoken Uralic language.

The land of what is now modern Estonia has been inhabited by humans since at least 9,000 BCE. The medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last pagan civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following the Papal-sanctioned Livonian Crusade in the 13th century.^[14] After centuries of successive rule by the Teutonic Order, Denmark, Sweden, and the Russian Empire, a distinct Estonian national identity began to emerge in the mid-19th century. This culminated in the 24 February 1918 Estonian Declaration of Independence from the then-warring Russian and German empires. Democratic throughout most of the interwar period, Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II, however the country was repeatedly contested, invaded, and occupied; first by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany in 1941, and was ultimately reoccupied in 1944 by, and annexed into, the USSR as an administrative subunit (Estonian SSR). Throughout the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation,^[15] Estonia's de jure state continuity was preserved by diplomatic representatives and the government-in-exile. Following the bloodless Estonian "Singing Revolution" of 1988–1990, the nation's de facto independence from the Soviet Union was restored on 20 August 1991.

Estonia is a developed country, with a high-income advanced economy, ranking 31st (out of 191) in the Human Development Index.^[16] The sovereign state of Estonia is a democratic unitary parliamentary republic, administratively subdivided into 15 maakond (counties). With a population of just around 1.4 million, it is one of the least populous members of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the Schengen Area, and NATO. Estonia has consistently ranked highly in international rankings for quality of life,^[17] education,^[18] press freedom, digitalisation of public services^[19][20] and the prevalence of technology companies.^[21]

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