ences: Europe

Area: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea water: Area -
comparative: slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined

Land boundaries: total: 633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia
294 km

Coastline: 3,794 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination
with neighboring states territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers

Terrain: marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur
Munamagi 318 m

Natural resources: oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand,
dolomite, arable land, sea mud

Land use: arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% other: 73% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: sometimes flooding occurs in the spring

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 4.6 times smaller than in 1980; the amount of unpurified
wastewater discharged to water bodies fell 20 times in 2000 compared to
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

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution,
Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded;
offshore lie more than 1,500 islands

People Estonia

Population: 1,415,681 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.4% (male 118,603; female 114,102) 15-64
years: 68.5% (male 466,882; female 502,343) 65 years and over: 15.1%
(male 70,085; female 143,666) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.52% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 8.96 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 13.44 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: