Estonia is a democracy with unicameral Parliament. Executive power is in hands of the President, who is elected for five years. Estonia has joined both NATO and the European Union in the spring of 2004.
Economy in Estonia
Estonia has a modern, market-based economy, including strong cooperation with western countries. It benefits most of all from strong electronics and information technology (IT) sectors and is greatly influenced by development in Finland, Sweden and Germany, three major trading partners. The Estonian economy is growing quickly, on one hand because of Scandinavian companies that relocate their routine operations to Estonia, and on the other due to Russian oil transit using Estonian ports.
Estonia is nearly energy independent, supplying over 90% of its electricity needs with locally mined oil shale. Alternative energy sources such as wood, peat, and biomass make up approximately 9% of primary energy production.
Industry and agriculture in Estonia
The industries in Estonia that play a significant role in the economy are engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textiles, information technology and telecommunications. In 2006, the industrial production growth rate amounted 8%.
Agriculture does not play a very significant role in the Estonian economy, as only 3.2% of GDP is generated by this particular sector. The most common agricultural products include potatoes, vegetables, fish livestock and dairy products.
Foreign trade in Estonia
Estonia's liberal foreign trade regime, which contains few tariff or non-tariff barriers, is nearly unique in Europe. The country also boasts a national currency which is freely convertible at a fixed exchange rate and conservative fiscal and monetary policies. Estonia has free trade regimes with European Union, EFTA countries and Ukraine.
Estonia exports machinery and equipment (33% of all exports annually), wood and paper (15%), textiles (14%), food products (8%), furniture (7%), and metals and chemical products. Estonia also exports 1.562 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
On the other hand Estonia imports machinery and equipment (33.5% of all imports annually), chemical products (11.6%), textiles (10.3%), food products (9.4%), and transportation equipment (8.9%). Estonia imports 200 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
In 2006, Estonian exports reached the level of € 7.62 billion f.o.b,, while imports amounted to
€ 9.96 billion f.o.b.
Infrastructure in Estonia
The railway infrastructure in 2006 in Estonia was only 986 km and the highway length amounted 56,856 km. There are 19 airports of which 12 are paved.
Furthermore with population of 1.35 million in 2006, Estonia had about 1.7 million cellular telephones, 0.5 million fixed phones, and 0.8 million of internet users.
GENERAL DATA
Area: 45,226 sq km
Population: 1.35 million
Capital city: Tallinn
Language: Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other
Ethnic groups: Estonian 68.6%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.2%, Finn 0.8%, other 1.5% (2007)
Land boundaries: Latvia, Russia
MACRO DATA
GDP (real growth): 11.4%
GDP (PPP): € 10.97 billion
GDP per capita: € 8,125.9
Inflation: 4.4%
Unemployment: 4.5%
Export: € 7.62 billion f.o.b.
Import: € 9.96 billion f.o.b.
* 2006 est. source: CIA The World Factbook
USEFUL DATA
Currency: Estonian kroon (EEK)
Exchange rate
(2006 avg.): €/EEK 15.65
Time zone: GMT +2
Area code: +372
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