Part 267

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: a dispute with Yemen over sovereignty of the Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea has been submitted to arbitration under the auspices of the ICJ ______________________________________________________________________

ESTONIA

@Estonia:Geography

Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 59 00 N, 26 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area: total : 45,226 sq km land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea

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 to be fixed in coordination with neighboring states territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: maritime, wet, moderate winters, 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

Land use: arable land : 27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 48% other : 18% (1993 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 : none of the selected agreements

@Estonia:People

Population: 1,436,558 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (male 141,814; female 136,895) 15-64 years: 67% (male 460,067; female 495,935) 65 years and over: 14% (male 65,302; female 136,545) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: -1.14% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 9.04 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 14.08 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)