
AREA and LOCATION
Estonia, officially Republic of Estonia (Eesti Vabariik) is a Baltic country located in Northern Europe. It is bordered by the Gulf of Finland to the north, the Baltic Sea to the west, Latvia to the south and the Russian Federation to the east. It extends over an area of 45,228 square km. Estonians are Finnic, their language is related to Finnish.
Since 2004, Estonia is a member of EU.
BORDERING COUNTRIES
Russian Federation (338 km), Latvia (343 km),
THE CAPITAL CITY and MAJOR CITIES
Tallinn, which is the largest city of Estonia has a population of 413,782 inhabitants. Other large cities include Tartu (101,169 inhabitants, Tartumaa Region); Narva (68,680 inhabitants, Ida-Virumaa Region) and Kohlta- Jarve (47,679 inhabitants, Ida-Virumaa Region);
CLIMATE
Estonia has a temperate seasonal climate.
AREA CODE
+372
CURRENCY
EURo, since 2011
DISTANCES
Tallinn is situated 386 km from Stockholm, 280 km from Riga,
89 km from Helsinki and 865 km from Moscow.
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
General emergency line 112
Police 110
Ambulance 112
Fire Service 112
Toll-free telephone numbers in Estonia begin with 800
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport
http://www.tallinn-airport.ee/
Tartu Airport
Kuressaare International Airport
http://www.kuressaare-airport.ee/
LANGUAGE
The official language is Estonian (Finnic language group). 25.6 % of the population is a Russian ethnic minority.
MOBILE OPERATORS
EMT http://www.emt.ee,
Elisa http://www.elisa.ee
Tele2 http://www.tele2.ee/
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS (2010)
1 Jan New Year’s Day, 24 Feb Independence Day, 2 Apr Good Friday, 1 May May Day, 24 May Whit Sunday (Pentecost), 23 Jun Võidupüha (Victory Day – anniversary of the Battle of Võnnu), 24 Jun Midsummer’s Day/Jaanipäev (St John’s Day), 20 Aug Restoration of Independence Day, 25 Dec – 26 Dec Jõulud (Christmas) and Boxing Day.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
Parliamentary republic, since May 1, 2004 – part of the European Union (independence from Russia – 20 August 1991)
POPULATION
1,340,021 (2010 est.)
POWER NETWORK
230 V/50 Hz, Two round pins plug
PRESIDENT
Alar Karis
RAIL TRANSPORT
Estonian Railways
http://www.evr.ee/?lang=en
ROAD TRANSPORT
BUS:
Go Bus
RENT A CAR:
Advantec Autorent
SMOKING
As of June 5, 2007 smoking in restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs and casinos is allowed only at outdoor terraces or in closed-off smoking rooms.
TAXIS
It is advisable to order taxis by phone to avoid overpricing.
Tallink yellow Mercedes and Audi cars
Tulika usually white Toyota Avensis
Taksopark black Mercedes
Sõbra
Marabu
Krooni highest rated taxi company (Oct.2009) according to Taksod.net
TIME
Standard time zone: Easter European Time (EET), UTC/GMT + 2 hours, Summer (DST) – EEST (UTC + 3)