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Geography of the Estonia

The Republic of Estonia is situated in the Baltic region, in the northern part of Europe. Spreading over 45,226 sq.m of land, the country borders Finland to the north, Sweden to the west, Latvia to the south and Russia to the east. A surprising fact is that the average elevation in Estonia is only 50 meters and the highest point in the country is Suur Munamagi, being 318 meters high. Generally, the land is flat to the north and hilly to the south. Estonia has more than 1,400 lakes on its territory, most of them small in size, and a great number of rivers.

Almost half of Estonia's territory is covered with oil shale and limestone deposits, while the 3,794-kilometre coastline is studded with bays, inlets and straits. The devastation of World War II and the occupation that followed resulted in large areas being closed for military use. This turned positive for the forest coverage, which increased to almost 50% of the country's territory. Due to that, Estonia enjoys rich fauna including wolves, bears, deer and elk, many rare birds and other wild animals.

Occupying the northern part of the temperate climate zone, Estonia has a maritime and continental climate. Regularly influenced by the Gulf Stream, the country is characterized by mild weather with cool summers and moderate winters. Situated in a humid area, Estonia has approximately 160-190 rainy days per year, while its snow coverage as a rule lasts from December to the end of March. Estonia has an average annual temperature of 5 degrees, though the temperatures drop to an of average minus 5 degrees during the coldest days of winter, and an average of 18 degrees during the warmest days in summer.

A democratic parliamentary republic, Estonia is comprised of fifteen administrative units called counties, with the capital being Tallinn. The republic has only 1.3 million residents and is one of the least populated countries in the European Union. The locals are very tolerant in terms of ethnic and cultural diversity. Actually, the different nationalities have always lived well together in Estonia. An exception to this rule was the period during World War II, when the Nazi occupation interrupted this natural development of ethnic relations. The Estonians are Finnic people and their language is very similar to Finnish. The official language in the country is Estonian, which is very influenced by German and has many Swedish words. The second widely spoken language in Estonia is Russian. Of course, many young people speak English in Estonia, and thus tourists have no problems getting directions or information.