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General Information
Area: 45,227 sq km (17,462 sq miles).
Population: 1,439,197 (2000).
Population Density: 31.8 per sq km.
Capital: Tallinn. Population: 408,329 (2000).
GEOGRAPHY: 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.
Government: Republic since 1918. Regained independence in 1991. Head of State: President Arnold Rüütel since 2001. Head of Government: Prime Minister Siim Kallas since 2002.
Language: Estonian is the official language. Most people also speak Russian, which is the mother tongue of around 28 per cent of the population. However, since independence the indiscriminate use of Russian could on occasion cause offence. Apart from Russian, English, Finnish and German are the most common foreign languages.
Religion: Predominantly Protestant (Lutheran).
Time: GMT + 2.
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style two-pin plugs are in use.
Telephone
IDD service is available. Country code: 372. To make international calls, dial 8, wait for the long tone and then dial 00. An English directory enquiries service is available (tel: 8 1182). Public telephones, which are plentiful, are operated by phonecards, available from kiosks.
Mobile telephone
GSM 900 and 1800 networks cover the whole country. Main operators include AS EMT (website: www.emt.ee), Radiolinja Eesti (website: www.radiolinja.ee) and TELE2 (website: www.qgsm.ee).
Fax
Services are available at telephone offices and some post offices, as well as in hotels.
Internet
Public access is available at Internet cafes and libraries in main towns and cities. There is free Internet access at Tallinn Airport. Local ISPs include Sünerkom (website: www.zzz.ee) and Delfi Online (website: www.delfi.ee).
Post
Post to Western Europe takes up to six days. Post office hours are Mon-Fri 0900-1800, Sat 0930-1500. Poste Restante is available at the central post office in Tallinn.
Press
Newspapers are published in Estonian, the most popular being SL Ōhtuleht, Postimees and Eesti Ekspress. The English-language newspaper The Baltic Times is published in Latvia and available weekly. There is a growing number of lively city guides published in English.
BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.
BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice):
Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov):
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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