The Republic of Estonia with its population of 1.4 million inhabiting the 45,000 sq. km territory on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea is an EU candidate country.
Its low population density leaves ample space for wilderness forests, wetlands, reedy costal areas rich in nesting birds, and picturesque small islands.
At the same time, small schools in the most remote villages have been equipped with the computers, also over 60% of home computers have internet access, and every second Estonian has mobile phone.

Geography and Nature

Estonia is situated in northern Europe on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Estonia is situated south of Finland, east of Sweden, west of Russia, north of Latvia. covers. Though Estonia is the smallest (45,215 sq km) of the Baltic States, it is still larger than Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland or Belgium.

The highest point of Estonia is Suur Munamägi on southeast, which is 318 meters above sea level. The average elevation of Estonia is only about 50 m. In Estonia there are abundant swamps and marshes (20% of the territory). Fascinating nature spots are waterfalls (Jägala, Keila) and Karst areas. Forests cover 40% of the territory of Estonia. The pine, the birch, the spruce, the alder and the aspen predominate. Forests are rich in wild animals like elk, boar and roe deer. There are also wolves, bears and lynxes. The largest forests are in the eastern part of the country, near the biggest lake of Estonia and one of the largest in Europe, Lake Peipsi.

Population and Language

The population of Estonia is approximately 1.5 million, about 75% live in towns and a third of the whole population have their residence in the capital - in Tallinn. Other bigger cities are Tartu, Pärnu, Narva and Kohtla-Järve. Due to its historical and geographical regions there are many Russians (around 60%) living in Estonia. Deep political, economic and social changes in recent years have caused major changes in the demographic behaviour of people. There has been a sharp fall in the birth rate since 1990. In recent years more people die than are born.
The official language is Estonian, which is a member of the Finno-Ugric linguistic family and is very close to Finnish. The language won't be a problem for foreigners because most people talk English and Russian. In northern Estonia Finnish can be spoken by most people.

Climate

Estonia's climate is influenced by the Baltic Sea. The highest daytime temperature occasionally rises close to 30 degrees Celsius in summer and min -20 degrees Celsius during the wintertime. Usually the average temperatures are accordingly around 20 degrees Celsius and -5 to -10 degrees Celsius. First snow usually falls in the end of November and has totally melted by the end of March. In mild winters, there is often no lasting snow cover, but in colder winters it can be even half a metre in depth. The most troublesome season is autumn with its darkness and mud and the temperature between 3 to 7 degrees Celsius. In contrast, spring is always waited. Midsummer is famous for very short nights: it gets dark for only several hours.

Political System

On august 20, 1991, Estonia regained its independence. In 1992, the new Constitution was adopted by referendum decision. In 1992 also the State Assembly and the President were elected.
Head of State - the President (Arnold Rüütel has been elected in 2001 by the State Assembly)
Legislative power - State Assembly (Riigikogu). The 101 members are elected by the people.
Executive power - the Government (is comprised of the Prime Minister and ministers)
Judicial power - the Supreme Court and lower courts.
The highest power in Estonia belongs to the nation.

Money

Estonian monetary unit is the Estonian kroon (it was introduced in 1992), which is dividable into 100 cents. There are 500, 100, 50, 25, 10, 5, 2 and 1 kroon notes and 1 kroon and 50, 20, 10-cent coins. The fixed exchange rate is DEM 1=EEK 8.

National Holidays

The national holidays are January 1, February 24 (Independence Day), Good Friday, May 1, June 23 (Victory Day), June 24, August 20, December 24 and 26.

Tallinn University of Technology ( TUT )