Demography of Estonia. Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands

The name "Eesti," or Estonia, could be derived from the word "Aestii," the name given by the ancient Germanic people to the peoples living northeast of the Vistula River. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region The Aesti (or Aestii) were a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his treatise Germania (ca The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic The Roman historian Tacitus in 98 A. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. Year 98 was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. D. was the first to mention the "Aestii" people, and early Scandinavians called the land south of the Gulf of Finland Eistland, and the people eistr. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken Estonian and Finnish are very closely related, belonging to the same Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric language family. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside The Baltic-Finnic languages, spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 7 million people are a branch of Finnic languages belonging to the Finno-Ugric group Finno-Ugric (ˌfɪnoʊˈjuːgɹɪk is a grouping of languages in the Uralic language family comprising Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian and Although closely related, the two languages are not really mutually intelligible, although educated native speakers can read the other language with a greater or lesser degree of understanding. Both Estonian and Finnish are distantly related to the Ugric Hungarian language. Ugric or Ugrian languages ˈjuːɡrɨk ˈjuːɡriən are a branch of the Finno-Ugric Language family. Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe.

Estonians have strong ties to the Nordic countries and Germany stemming from the strong cultural and religious influences gained over centuries during Danish, German and Swedish rule and settlement. Estonians ( Estonian: eestlased, previously maarahvas) are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting primarily the country The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe called the Nordic region, consisting of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. This highly literate society places strong emphasis upon education, which is free and compulsory until age 16. The first known book in Estonian was printed in 1525.

Written with the Latin alphabet, Estonian is the language of the Estonian people and the official language of the country. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 One-third of the standard vocabulary is derived from adding suffixes to root words. The oldest known examples of written Estonian originate in 13th century chronicles. During the Soviet era, the Russian language was imposed in parallel to, and often instead of, Estonian in official use. The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (Eesti Nõukogude Sotsialistlik Vabariik Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика Estonskaya Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages

Between 1945 and 1989 the share of ethnic Estonians in the population resident within currently defined boundaries of Estonia dropped from 96% to 61%, caused primarily by the Soviet program promoting mass immigration of urban industrial workers from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, as well as by wartime emigration and Stalin's mass deportations and executions. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party In the decade following the reconstitution of independence, large scale emigration by ethnic Russians and the removal of the Russian military bases in 1994 caused the proportion of ethnic Estonians in Estonia to increase from 61% to 69% in 2006. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Modern Estonia is a fairly ethnically heterogeneous country, but this heterogeneity is not a feature of much of the country as the non-Estonian is concentrated in two of Estonia's counties. 13 of Estonia's 15 counties are over 80 percent ethnic Estonian, the most homogeneous being Hiiumaa, where Estonians account for 98. Hiiumaa is the second largest Island (989 km² belonging to Estonia. 4% of the population. In the counties of Harju (including the capital city, Tallinn) and Ida-Viru, however, ethnic Estonians make up 60% and 20% of the population, respectively. Harju County (Harju maakond or Harjumaa, ( Latin: Harria) nowadays one of 15 counties of Estonia. Tallinn (historically known by the German, Swedish and Danish name Reval or the Polish name Rewal, among other names Ida-Viru County (Ida-Viru maakond or Ida-Virumaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. Russians make up 25. The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries 6% of the total population, but account for 36% of the population in Harju county, and 70% of the population in Ida-Viru county.

Population

• 1,342,409 (official, January 1, 2007)
• 1,408,556 (July 2003 estimate)
• 1,431,471 (July 2000 estimate)
• 1,376,743 (last census March 31, 2000)
• 1,356,045 (official, January 1, 2003)

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 15. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. 2% (male 103,367 female 97,587)
• 15-64 years: 67. 6% (male 427,043; female 468,671)
• 65 years and over: 17. 2% (male 75,347; female 152,318) (2006 est. )

Population growth rate

• -0. 64% (2006 est. )

Births and deaths

Net migration rate

• -3. 2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est. )

Sex ratio

• at birth: 1. 06 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1. 06 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 0. 91 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0. 5 male(s)/female
• total population: 0. 84 male(s)/female (2006 est. )

Infant mortality rate

• 7. 73 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est. )

Life expectancy at birth

• total population: 72. 04 years
• male: 66. 58 years
• female: 77. 83 years (2006 est. )

Total fertility rate

• 1. 4 children born/woman (2006)

Nationality

• noun: Estonian(s)
• adjective: Estonian

Ethnic groups

Estonian 68. 6%, Russian 25. 6%, Ukrainian 2. 1%, Belarusian 1. 2%, Finn 0. 8%, other 1. 6% (2007)

The below table was taken from 2000 census. [1]

Religion

Less than a third of the population define themselves as believers, of those the majority are Lutheran, whereas the Russian minority is Eastern Orthodox. Ancient equinoctial traditions are held in high regard. Today, about 32 % of the population are members of a church or religious group, thereof:

• 14. 8 % Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
• 13. The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Estonian Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik) is a Christian Protestant church following the teachings of the German theologian 9 % Estonian Orthodox Church
• ca. 10,000 Muslims
• ca. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. 6,000 Baptists
• ca. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. 3,500 Roman Catholics

There are also a number of smaller Protestant, Jewish, and Buddhist groups. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices

Languages

Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Võro, English, Finnish, German, other

Literacy

• age 7 and over can read and write
• total population: 100% (1998 est. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. The Võro language ( võro kiil) is a language belonging to the Baltic-Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric languages. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. )

See also

• Estonisation

• Baltic Germans
• Estonian Swedes
• History of Russians in Estonia
• Võros