s, cool summers

Terrain: marshy, lowlands

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

Natural resources: shale oil (kukersite), peat, phosphorite,
amber, cambrian blue clay, limestone, dolomite

Land use:
arable land: 25%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 11%
forests and woodland: 44%
other: 20% (1996 est.)

Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding occurs frequently in the spring

Environment--current issues: air heavily polluted with sulfur
dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast;
contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products,
chemicals at former Soviet military bases; Estonia has more than
1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in
agricultural areas are heavily affected by organic waste; coastal
sea water is polluted in many locations

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

People

Population: 1,408,523 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 130,883; female 126,112)
15-64 years: 67% (male 455,112; female 491,819)
65 years and over: 15% (male 66,700; female 137,897) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.82% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 9.05 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 14.21 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 13.83 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.65 years
male: 62.61 years
female: 75 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.28 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian

Ethnic groups: Estonian 65.1%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%,
Byelorussian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.8% (1998)

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian
Orthodox, others include Baptist, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist,
Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Seventh Day Baptist,
Judaism

Languages: Esto