Estonia:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Estonia:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

Location	Definition Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic coordinates	Definition 59 00 N, 26 00 E
Map references	Definition Europe
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 45,226 sq km land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Area - comparative	Definition slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined
Land boundaries	Definition total: 633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km
Coastline	Definition 3,794 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states
Climate	Definition maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers
Terrain	Definition marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m
Natural resources	Definition oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 12.05% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 87.6% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 40 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 21.1 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 1.41 cu km/yr (56%/39%/5%) per capita: 1,060 cu m/yr (2002)
Natural hazards	Definition sometimes flooding occurs in the spring
Environment - current issues	Definition air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one-20th the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; 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
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands

Estonia: Geography

Estonia:
Geography