urrent issues:

air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants
in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air
have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in
1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies
in 2000 was one-20th the level of 1980; in connection with the
start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of
wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and
manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be
monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie
more than 1,500 islands

People
Estonia

Population:

1,307,605 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 14.9% (male 100,143/female 94,450)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 420,896/female 462,072)
65 years and over: 17.6% (male 76,171/female 153,873) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 39.6 years
male: 36.2 years
female: 43.2 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

-0.632% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

10.28 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

13.35 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-3.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 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 (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 7.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 72.56 years
male: 67.16 years
female: 78.3 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.42 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

1.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

7,800 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

fewer