People have lived in Estonia since at least 9,000BC. The oldest known settlement in Estonia is thePulli settlement, which was on the banks of thePärnu River.
The foreignintelligence service warned in 2024 thatRussia intended to double the number of its troops stationed along its border. Estonia plans to spend more than 3% ofGDP ondefence.[17]
Average elevation reaches only50 metres (164ft). The country's highest point is theSuur Munamägi in the southeast at318 metres (1,043ft).
Estonia has manyforests, almost 50% of the land is covered withforests.[19] The most common tree species are pine, spruce and birch.[20] Estonia has over 1,400lakes and over 2,000islands. The longest rivers areVõhandu (162km or 101mi),Pärnu (144km or 89mi), andPõltsamaa (135km or 84mi).
Protected areas cover 18% of Estonian land and 26% of its sea territory. There are 5 national parks, 159 nature reserves, and many other protection areas.[25]
Since administrative reform in 2017, there are in total 79 local governments. This includes 15 towns and 64 ruralmunicipalities. All municipalities have equal legal status and form part of acounty, which is a state administrative unit.[26]
In June 2023, the Estonian government passed a bill legalisingsame-sex marriage and same-sexadoption in Estonia.[28] The bill went into effect on 1 January 2024, making Estonia the firstBaltic state and country formerly occupied by theSoviet Union to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption.[29][30]
↑Pesti, Cerlin; Randma-Liiv, Tiina (April 2018)."Estonia". In Thijs, Nick; Hammerschmid, Gerhard (eds.).Public administration characteristics and performance in EU28.Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. pp.252–255.doi:10.2767/74735.ISBN978-92-79-90453-0. Retrieved18 January 2020.
1.Transcontinental country/territory that is part of both Europe and Asia. 2. Territory or with territory geographically part of North America. 3. Partially recognized. 4. Not all dependent territories are listed. 5. Territory has some form of self-rule. 6. Territory or with territory geographically part of Africa. 7. Governed by theHoly See.
↑Estonia has beende facto independent in 1918–1940, and since 1991. Throughout foreign occupations in 1940–1991 the continuity ofde jure independence was preserved by Estonian diplomats and government-in-exile.
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![Location of Estonia (dark green)– on the European continent (green & dark grey)– in the European Union (green) — [Legend]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fsimple.wikipedia.org%2f%2fsimple.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEU-Estonia.svg)
