Officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by the Russian Federation (338.6 km). The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km2 (17,462 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. The Estonians are a Finnic people, and the Estonian language is closely related to Finnish. The modern name of Estonia is thought to originate from the Roman historian Tacitus, who in his book Germania (ca. 98 AD) described a people called the Aestii. Similarly, ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, close to the Danish, German, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian term Estland for the country. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia. Esthonia was a common alternate English spelling prior to independence. Estonia is a democratic parliamentary republic and is divided into fifteen counties. The capital and largest city is Tallinn. With a population of only 1.34 million, Estonia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union. Estonia was a member of the League of Nations from 22 September 1921, has been a member of the United Nations since 17 September 1991, and of NATO since 29 March 2004, as well as the European Union since 1 May 2004. Estonia has also signed the Kyoto protocol. The settlement of modern day Estonia began around 8500 BC, immediately after the Ice Age. Over the centuries, the Estonians were subjected to Danish, Teutonic, Swedish and Russian rule. Foreign rule in Estonia began in 1227. In the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade the area was conquered by Danes and Germans. From 1228–1562, parts or most of Estonia were incorporated into a crusader state Terra Mariana, that became part of the Ordensstaat, and after its decline was formed the Livonian Confederation. During the era economic activities centered around the Hanseatic League. In the 1500s Estonia passed to Swedish rule, under which it remained until 1710/1721, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire. The Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840) led to a national awakening in the mid-19th century. In 1918 the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued, to be followed by the Estonian War of Independence (1918–1920), which resulted in the Tartu Peace Treaty recognizing Estonian independence in perpetuity. During World War II, Estonia was occupied and annexed first by the Soviet Union and subsequently by the Third Reich, only to be re-occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944. Estonia regained its independence on 20 August 1991. It has since embarked on a rapid programme of social and economic reform. Today, the country has gained recognition for its economic freedom, its adaptation of new technologies and was one of the world's fastest growing economies for several years. However, Estonia's economy was second worst hit of all 27 European Union members in the 2008–2009 economic crisis, contracting sharply in the first quarter of 2009. History Please go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Estonia Geography Please go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Estonia Other Info Oficial name: Eesti Vabariik Independence: Declared 24 February 1918 - Recognised 2 February 1920 - Occupied by USSR 16 June 1940 - Re-declared 20 August 1991 Area: 43.698 km2 Inhabitants: 1.700.000 Languages: Eesti kaal Estonian [est] 953,032 in Estonia (1989 census). Population total all countries: 1,075,497. Ethnic population: 963,281 (1989 census). Also spoken in Australia, Canada, Finland, Latvia, Russia (Europe), Sweden, United Kingdom, USA. Alternate names: Eesti, Viro. Dialects: Tallinn (Reval), Tartu (Dorpat), Mulgi, Vôru (Werro), Seto (Setu). Dialects are grouped into three: Northeastern Coastal Estonian (between Tallinn and Narva), North Estonian (island, western, central, and eastern dialects), and South Estonian (Mulgi, Tartu, Vôru). Vôru, Setu (a subdialect of Vôru), and Island are clearly distinct from standard Estonian. All the other dialects are assimilated into standard Estonian. North and South Estonian may be separate languages. Classification: Uralic, Finnic Capital city: Tallinn Meaning country name: From the Latin version of the Germanic word Estland, which could originate from the Germanic word for "eastern (way)", or from the name Aestia, first mentioned in ancient Greek texts. Palaeogeographers have not located Aestia exactly: the name may have instead referred to modern Masuria, in Poland. Chud (Old East Slavic): originally derived from the Gothic for "people" (see "Deutschland" under the heading "Germany"); more recent folk-etymology has also linked the name to the Slavic root for "weird". Lake Peipus still bears the name of "Chudskoe Lake" in Slavic languages. Igaunija (Latvian): from the ancient Ugaunian tribe in southeastern Estonia. Viro (Finnish variant): from the ancient Vironian tribe in northern Estonia. Description Flag: The national flag of Estonia is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white. The normal size is 105 × 165 cm. In Estonian it is colloquially called the "sinimustvalge" (literally "blue-black-white") , after the colours of the bands. Blue: mirrors the sky, the lakes and the sea of Estonia and symbolises the loyalty to the nationalist ideas; black: the colour of the homeland's soil, the national coat and symbolises the hardships of the Estonian people; white: the peoples' happiness and light.' Coat of arms: Coat of Arms of Estonia. The current coat of arms of Estonia is a golden shield which includes three slim, blue leopards (or lions passant guardant) in the middle, with oak branches along the side of the shield. The insignia was copied from the coat of arms of Denmark, which ruled Northern Estonia in the 13th century. The Riigikogu (the state assembly) of the independent Republic of Estonia officially adopted the coat of arms on June 19, 1925. However, the coat of arms were officially banned following the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940, and replaced with the Soviet-inspired Coat of arms of the Estonian SSR. Soviet officials persecuted and jailed anyone using the coat of arms or the national colors of Estonia. The readoption of the national symbols marked the completion of the struggle for independence which was finally achieved on August 7, 1990, and regulated by the Law on State Coat of Arms of April 6, 1993. National Anthem: Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm, ("My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy" Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm, kui kaunis oled sa! Ei leia mina iial teal see suure, laia ilma peal, mis mul nii armas oleks ka, kui sa, mu isamaa! Sa oled mind ju sünnitand ja üles kasvatand; sind tänan mina alati ja jään sull' truuiks surmani, mul kõige armsam oled sa, mu kallis isamaa! Su üle Jumal valvaku mu armas isamaa! Ta olgu sinu kaitseja ja võtku rohkest õnnista, mis iial ette võtad sa, mu kallis isamaa! English My fatherland, my joy and happiness, How beautiful you are! I shall not find such ever In this huge wide world Which would be so dear to me As you, my fatherland! You have given me birth And raised me up; I shall thank you always And remain faithful to you 'til death, To me most beloved are you, My precious fatherland! May God watch over you, My precious fatherland! Let Him be your defender And provide bountiful blessings For whatever you undertake, My precious fatherland! Internet Page: www.eesti.ee www.visitestonia.com estonia in diferent languages eng | arg | ast | bre | cym | eus | glg | ina | ita | jav | lin | lld | mlg | pol | roh | ron | rup | scn | sco | spa | sqi | swa | tpi: Estonia afr | dan | fao | nld | nor | swe: Estland crh | gag | kaa | uzb: Estoniya / Эстония cat | oci | srd: Estònia deu | ltz | nds: Estland / Eſtland tgl | tur | zza: Estonya cor | hat: Estoni est | vor: Eesti fra | fur: Estonie hrv | slv: Estonija ind | msa: Estonia / استونيا kin | run: Estoniya aze: Estoniya / Естонија bam: Ɛsitoni bos: Estonija / Естонија ces: Estonsko csb: Estóńskô dsb: Estniska epo: Estonujo; Estonio fin: Viro; Eesti frp: Èstonie fry: Estlân gla: Eastòinia gle: An Eastóin / An Eastóin glv: Yn Estaan hsb: Estiska hun: Észtország ibo: Estọnia isl: Eistland jnf: Estonnie kal: Estlandi kmr: Êstonî / Естони / ئێستۆنی kur: Estonya / ئەستۆنیا lat: Estonia; Esthonia lav: Igaunija lim: Esland lit: Estija liv: Ēstimō mlt: Estonja mol: Estonia / Естония mri: Etonia nrm: Estonîn por: Estónia / Estônia que: Istunya rmy: Estoniya / एस्तोनिया slk: Estónsko slo: Estonia / Естониа sme: Estlánda; Estteeana smg: Estėjė smo: Esitonia szl: Estůńja tet: Estónia ton: ʻEsitōnia tuk: Estoniýa / Эстония vie: E-xtô-ni-a vol: Lestiyän wln: Estoneye wol: Estooni abq | alt | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | rus | tyv | udm: Эстония (Ėstonija) che | chv | oss: Эстони (Ėstoni) bak: Эстония / Estoniya bel: Эстонія / Estonija bul: Естония (Estonija) chm: Эстоний (Ėstonij) kaz: Эстония / Estonïya / ەستونيا kbd: Эстоние (Ăstonie) mkd: Естонија (Estonija) mon: Эстони (Ästoni) srp: Естонија / Estonija tat: Эстония / Estoniä tgk: Эстония / استانیه / Estonija ukr: Естонія (Estonija) xal: Эстонь (Ėston') ara: إستونيا (Istūniyā) fas: استونی (Estonī) prs: استونیا (Estōniyā) pus: اسټونيا (Isṫoniyā); استونيا (Istoniyā); اېسټونيا (Esṫoniyā) uig: ئېستونىيە / Éstoniye / Эстония urd: ایسٹونیا (Æsṫoniyā); اسٹونیا (Isṫoniyā) div: އެސްޓޯނިއާ (Esṫōni'ā) syr: ܐܣܬܘܢܝܐ (Estōniyā) heb: אסטוניה (Esṭônyah) lad: איסטוניה / Estonia yid: עסטלאַנד (Estland) amh: ኤስቶኒያ (Estoniya) ell-dhi: Εσθονία (Esṯonía) ell-kat: Ἐσθονία (Esṯonía) hye: Էստոնիա (Ēstonia) kat: ესტონეთი (Estoneṭi) hin: एस्टोनिया (Esṭoniyā); इस्तोनिया (Istoniyā) nep: इस्टोनिया (Isṭoniyā) ben: এস্তোনিয়া (Estoniyā) pan: ਐਸਤੋਨੀਆ (Æstonīā); ਈਸਟੋਨੀਆ (Īsṭonīā) sin: එස්තෝනියාව (Estōniyāva) kan: ಎಸ್ಟೋನಿಯ (Esṭōniya); ಎಸ್ತೋನಿಯ (Estōniya) mal: എസ്റ്റോണിയ (Esṟṟōṇiya) tam: எஸ்தோனியா (Estōṉiyā); எஸ்டோனியா (Esṭōṉiyā) tel: ఎస్టోనియా (Esṭōniyā) zho: 愛沙尼亞/爱沙尼亚 (Àishāníyà) jpn: エストニア (Esutonia) kor: 에스토니아 (Eseutonia) mya: အက္စတုိးနီးယား (Eʿsátònìyà) tha: เอสโตเนีย (Ēttōniya) lao: ເອັດສະໂຕເນັຽ (Etsatōniẏa) khm: អេស្តូនី (Estūnī); អេស្តូនៀរ (Estūnier)