An Introduction to Estonia
The Estonian people and language are closely related to those of Finland.Estonia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union and has the highest GDP per person among former Soviet republics. Estonia's economy is rated as high income by the World Bank - it has been called 'the Baltic Tiger' - and it is highly ranked in indexes of freedom and human development. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Europe (Other)
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GOVERNMENT: democratic parliamentary republic
AREA: 45,227 sq km
POPULATION: 1,294,236 (2012 census)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: Estonian; recognised regional language Swedish
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The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Estonia
The Singing Revolution is a name coined in Estonia for events between 1987 and 1991 leading to restored independence for the three Soviet Baltic republics. It was first used in the week following the June 1988 spontaneous mass night-singing demonstrations at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. A series of mass demonstrations in 1987 began a cycle of spontaneous singing of national hymns and songs strictly forbidden under the Soviets, continuing at pop and traditional song festivals in 1988 and culminating in a massive song festival called 'Song of Estonia' in September, attended by around 300,000 people - more than a quarter of the population.
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The Estonian people and language are closely related to those of Finland.Estonia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union and has the highest GDP per person among former Soviet republics. Estonia's economy is rated as high income by the World Bank - it has been called 'the Baltic Tiger' - and it is highly ranked in indexes of freedom and human development.
Estonia was under Swedish and Russian rule before 1918 when it declared independence, and after fighting was recognised as a state in 1920-21. The Soviets occupied it in 1940, the Nazis between 1941 and 1944 and it was then part of the USSR until the latter's break-up. Formally independent again from 1991, it joined the EU in 2004. Estonia's relations with Russia have deteriorated while ties with the west and in particular with the Nordic states have grown closer.
GDP: $27.3bn (2012 est.) - $21,059 per capita
Religions Evangelical Lutheran 14.8%; Eastern Orthodox 13.9%; many not affiliated
Currency: Euro
Telephone Code: + 372
Research Industry
Estonia is the 61st largest research market in the world, and the 31st largest in Europe.Estonia has the lowest ratio of government debt to GDP among EU countries as 6.7 percent at the end of 2010. It has a flat-rate income tax, free trade regime and a balanced budget. The country is poor in resources. Food, construction, and electronic industries are all important. GDP slumped in 2008 but has picked up strongly again since, and long-term prospects are highly promising.
Exports of 12.0bn Euros in 2011 included machinery and equipment, wood and paper, and textiles, and went primarily to Finland (18.2%), Sweden (12.2%), Latvia (9.1%) and Russia (7.9%); imports of 12.6bn Euros came largely from Finland (18.4%), Russia (12.9%), Germany (12.3%) and Sweden (9.2%). Machinery and equipment (33%) and wood and paper (15%) also make up almost half of imports.
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