Unless you live in the northeast corner of Europe, you probably don’t know much about Estonia. Still, let’s go over some notable facts about this mysterious little country:
- Estonia is small, but it is not the smallest country in Europe. It is bigger than Slovenia, Holland, Denmark and Switzerland. It is about the same size as New Hampshire and Massachusetts combined.
- Despite its small size, it feels big because only 1.3 million people live here. It makes Estonia one of the least dense countries in Europe, with only 32 Estonians per square kilometer.
- Suur Munamägi, at just 318 meters (about 1,000 feet), is the highest mountain in the country.
- The relative flatness of Estonia makes it a great place for Nordic ski training. An Estonian woman won two gold medals at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and Estonians bought every pair of skis available in stores the next day.
- Out of nearly 200 countries in the world, Estonia ranks second in adult literacy with a rate of 99.8 percent.
- Estonian forests continue to grow, perhaps due to population decline.
- In 1990, 22,304 babies were born; today it is almost half that amount. With the death rate slightly increasing, you can understand why the Estonian population is decreasing.
- Only 46 percent of the population is male. However, before single men book a flight to Estonia, consider that the main reason for this disparity is that men die quickly: their average life expectancy is only 65 years.
- Estonia is the most libertarian country in the world, according to a meta-poll.
- Estonia adopted the euro on January 1, 2011 with its government finances in better shape than all other eurozone countries!
The capital of Estonia, Tallinn, has the most picturesque and adorable old town in Eastern Europe. Go visit!