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. The Roman historian Tacitus in 98 A.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. Estonian and Finnish languages are very closely related, belonging to the same Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric language family. The two languages are mutually intelligible to native speakers. Both Estonian and Finnish are distantly related to the Ugric Hungarian language. The Roman historian Tacitus in his book Germania mentions a Aesti or Aestii people. ... The term Germanic peoples may refer to: the Germanic tribes that in the first millennium were seen as a barbarian threat by the Roman Empire and its successors; the Germanic Christianity that in the second millennium came to dominate much of Northern Europe, politically organized in the Holy Roman Empire... Vistula river basin Vistula (Polish Wisła), is the longest river in Poland. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Events Roman emperor Nerva succeeded by Trajan Tacitus finished his Germania (approximate date) Births Deaths January 27: Nerva, Roman emperor Apollonius of Tyana, Greek/Roman philosopher and mathematician (b. ... Scandinavia is the cultural and historic region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ... Finnic peoples (Fennic, sometimes Baltic-Finnic) refers to a group of related ethnic groups and nations speaking Finnic languages (also known as Balto-Finnic languages). ... Approximate geographical distribution of areas where indigenous Finno-Ugric languages are spoken. ... Ugric languages or Ugrian languages are generally held to be a branch of Finno-Ugric languages. ...

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. 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. Overview map of the region. ... Events January 21 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manzs mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. ...

Written with the Latin alphabet, Estonian is the language of the Estonian people and the official language of the country. 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 Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... State motto: Kõigi maade proletaarlased, ühinege (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Official language Estonian, Russian (de facto) Capital Tallinn Chairman of the Supreme Council Arnold Rüütel (at the time of regaining independence) Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until July 21, 1940 August 6, 1940 August 20, 1991...

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. 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. 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Modern Estonia is, as a whole, multicultural, but geographically a largely ethnically homogeneous country. 13 of Estonia's 15 counties are over 80 percent ethnic Estonian, the most homogeneous being Hiiumaa, where Estonians account for 98.4% of the population. In the counties of Harju (including the capital city, Tallinn) and Ida-Viru, however, Estonians make up 60% and 20% of the population, respectively. Ethnic Russians make up 25.7% of the total population, but account for 36% of the population in Harju county, and 70% of the population in Ida-Viru county. Tahkuranna the northern most part of Hiiumaa, Estonia Hiiumaa (Swedish, German: Dagö) is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. ... Capital Tallinn Governor Värner Lootsmann Area 4,333 km² (2nd) Population (as of 2004)  - Density 521,410 (1st) 120. ... County Harju County Mayor Jüri Ratas Area 159. ... Capital Jõhvi Governor Ago Silde Area 3,364 km² (5th) Population (as of 2004)  - Density 174,809 (2nd) 52/km² (2nd) ISO 3166-2 EE-44 Ida-Viru County (est: Ida-Viru maakond), or Ida-Virumaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. ...

Population

• 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)

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ...

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 18% (male 129,204; female 124,269)
• 15-64 years: 68% (male 466,960; female 503,233)
• 65 years and over: 14% (male 67,781; female 140,024) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate

• -0.59% (2000 est.)

Birth rate

• 8.45 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

• 13.55 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate

• -0.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio

• at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

12.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

• total population: 69.45 years
• male: 63.4 years
• female: 75.79 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.19 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality

• noun: Estonian(s)
• adjective: Estonian

Ethnic groups

Estonian 68.6%, Russian 25.7%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.2%, Finn 0.8%, other 1.6% (2006)

Religion

Traditional religion of the Estonians is the Christian belief in the form the Evangelical Lutheran confession (as in many other countries in Scandinavia). The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ...

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 heathen 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
• 13.9 % Orthodox
• ca. 10,000 Muslims
• ca. 6,000 Baptists
• ca. 3,500 Roman-Catholics

There are also a number of smaller Protestant and Jewish groups.

Languages

Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Literacy

• age 7 and over can read and write
• total population: 100% (1998 est.)

See also : Estonia

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Category:Demographics of Estonia