Estonia is a country in Northern Europe. Its capital is Tallinn.
Europe and its surrounding regions. The dot marks Tallinn; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.
Natural Earth · locator mapEstonia is a low-lying Baltic country with forests, lakes, wetlands and a deeply indented coast. Glaciers shaped its subdued relief and left many shallow basins. Offshore islands, including Saaremaa, form an important part of the country.
Peat bogs create open, waterlogged landscapes within otherwise wooded regions. Rocky or limestone shores and low coastal meadows provide another contrast. The highest areas remain modest compared with the mountains of many European countries.
Baltic maritime influence meets colder continental air. Winters can be cold, while summers are milder; coastal and inland conditions differ.
Bogs accumulate partly decomposed plant material in wet conditions. They store carbon and support specialized vegetation. Cold winters, spring thaw and long summer daylight create strong seasonal changes in forests and wetlands.
Three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white
Wetland pools and vegetation form part of Estonia’s lowland landscape.
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pine woodland borders the Baltic on the island of Saaremaa.
Photo: KalervoK · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Estonian is the official language. It belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family and is closely related to Finnish.
Russian is widely spoken by a substantial minority, alongside Ukrainian and other community languages. Võro and Seto also form part of southern Estonia’s regional linguistic heritage.
Estonia declared independence in 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire. Soviet occupation began in 1940, followed by Nazi occupation and renewed Soviet rule. Independence was restored in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Services, information technology, manufacturing and trade support the economy. Digital public services are well developed. Wood products, electronics and business services are important exports.
food, engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textiles; information technology, telecommunications
Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.
Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.
Sources: World Bank · Population
| Year | People | Millions of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1,360,076 | 1.360 |
| 1980 | 1,477,219 | 1.477 |
| 1990 | 1,569,174 | 1.569 |
| 2000 | 1,396,985 | 1.397 |
| 2010 | 1,331,475 | 1.331 |
| 2020 | 1,329,522 | 1.330 |
| 2025 | 1,366,475 | 1.366 |
Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.
Sources: World Bank · Real GDP
| Year | Constant 2015 US$ | Billions of constant 2015 US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 14,658,008,310 | 14.658 |
| 1991 | 13,485,390,301 | 13.485 |
| 1992 | 10,630,714,503 | 10.631 |
| 1993 | 10,020,459,395 | 10.020 |
| 1994 | 9,855,880,444 | 9.856 |
| 1995 | 10,302,024,947 | 10.302 |
| 1996 | 10,811,255,303 | 10.811 |
| 1997 | 12,222,126,358 | 12.222 |
| 1998 | 12,752,545,573 | 12.753 |
| 1999 | 12,698,344,019 | 12.698 |
| 2000 | 13,979,307,069 | 13.979 |
| 2001 | 14,801,394,596 | 14.801 |
| 2002 | 15,827,575,405 | 15.828 |
| 2003 | 17,029,885,802 | 17.030 |
| 2004 | 18,188,037,435 | 18.188 |
| 2005 | 19,920,094,036 | 19.920 |
| 2006 | 21,864,807,422 | 21.865 |
| 2007 | 23,520,174,236 | 23.520 |
| 2008 | 22,314,692,031 | 22.315 |
| 2009 | 19,050,002,927 | 19.050 |
| 2010 | 19,516,680,413 | 19.517 |
| 2011 | 21,001,309,333 | 21.001 |
| 2012 | 21,772,481,344 | 21.772 |
| 2013 | 22,154,913,628 | 22.155 |
| 2014 | 22,891,074,857 | 22.891 |
| 2015 | 23,311,847,751 | 23.312 |
| 2016 | 24,032,887,680 | 24.033 |
| 2017 | 25,387,062,190 | 25.387 |
| 2018 | 26,326,306,711 | 26.326 |
| 2019 | 27,307,395,871 | 27.307 |
| 2020 | 26,519,903,137 | 26.520 |
| 2021 | 28,709,089,435 | 28.709 |
| 2022 | 28,357,067,289 | 28.357 |
| 2023 | 27,578,887,219 | 27.579 |
| 2024 | 27,554,054,399 | 27.554 |
| 2025 | 27,715,055,072 | 27.715 |
The Human Development Index combines health, education and income. Scores range from 0 to 1.
The latest values refer to 2023. All historical scores use the same report edition. HDI does not describe every aspect of inequality or quality of life.
Sources: UNDP · Human Development Report 2025
Parliamentary republic. The Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) has one chamber (a unicameral legislature).
Three questions about Estonia.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile
Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.
Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.
