Estonia

Geography

Bogs in Lahemaa National Park. Estonia's terrain is marshy lowlands, with flat regions in the north and hills in the south.

Old Town in Tallinn, northern Estonia. The population is fairly evenly distributed, with urban areas drawing larger and denser populations.

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: 45,228 sq km

Land: 42,388 sq km

Water: 2,840 sq km

Note: Includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea

Country comparison to the world: 133

Area Comparative: About twice the size of New Jersey

Land Boundaries

Total: 657 km

Border countries (2): Latvia 333 km, Russia 324 km

Coastline: 3,794 km

Maritime Claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Exclusive economic zone: Limits as agreed to by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Russia

Climate

Maritime; wet, moderate winters, cool summers

Terrain

Marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south

Elevation

Mean elevation: 61 m

Lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m

Highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m

Natural Resources

Oil shale, peat, rare earth elements, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud

Land Use

Agricultural land: 22.2% (2011 est.)

Arable land: 14.9% (2011 est.)

Permanent crops: 0.1% (2011 est.)

Permanent pasture: 7.2% (2011 est.)

Forest: 52.1% (2011 est.)

Other: 25.7% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (2012)

Population Distribution

A fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Natural Hazards

Sometimes flooding occurs in the spring

Current Environmental Issues

Air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amounts of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen dramatically and the pollution load of wastewater at purification plants has decreased substantially due to improved technology and environmental monitoring; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations

Notes

The mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded;
Offshore lie more than 1,500 islands