1,462,130 (1997).

32.3 per sq km.

Tallinn

420,500 (1996).

Estonia is the most northerly of the three Baltic Republics and is bordered to the north and west by the Baltic Sea, to the east by the Russian Federation and to the south by Latvia. The country is one of great scenic beauty with many forests, more than 1400 lakes and 1500 islands. Smaller than Lithuania and Latvia, it has nevertheless the longest coastline of all the Baltic States.

Republic since 1991. Head of State: Lennart Meri since 1992. Head of Government: Mart Siimann since 1997.

Estonian is the official language and is spoken by approximately 90% of the population. Around 98% of the population also speaks Russian. The Government has pledged to provide all non-ethnic Estonians with one year's free tuition in the Estonian language. Since independence the indiscriminate use of Russian could on occasion cause offence. Finnish, English and German are the most common forgin languages.

Predominantly Protestant (Lutheran).

GMT + 2.

220 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style 2-pin plugs are in use