Estonia
Background
After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic co-ordinates
59 00 N, 26 00 E
Map references
Europe
Area
Total: 45,226 sq km ; land: 43,211 sq km ; water: 2,015 sq km ; note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Area- comparative
Slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined
Climate
Maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers
Terrain
Marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south
Natural resources
Oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud
Natural Hazards
Sometimes flooding occurs in the spring
Nationality
Noun: Estonian(s) ; adjective: Estonian
Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Estonia ; conventional short form: Estonia ; local long form: Eesti Vabariik ; local short form: Eesti ; former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Capital
Name: Tallinn ; geographic coordinates: 59 25 N, 24 45 E ; time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ; daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative division
15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru) ; note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses
National holiday
Independence Day, 24 February (1918)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens
Flag
Industries
Engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications
Currency code
Estonian kroon (EEK)
Internet code
.ee
Ports and terminals
Kopli, Kuivastu, Muuga, Tallinn, Virtsu
Ethiopia
Background
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia.
Location
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Geographic co-ordinates
8 00 N, 38 00 E
Map references
Africa
Area
Total: 1,127,127 sq km ; land: 1,119,683 sq km ; water: 7,444 sq km
Area- comparative
Slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Climate
Tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Terrain
High plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley
Natural resources
Small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower
Natural Hazards
Deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management
Nationality
Noun: Ethiopian(s) ; adjective: Ethiopian
Country name
Conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ; conventional short form: Ethiopia ; local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik ; local short form: Ityop'iya ; former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa ; abbreviation: FDRE
Capital
Name: Addis Ababa ; geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E ; time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative division
9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples)
National holiday
National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Flag
Industries
Food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement
Currency code
Birr (ETB)
Internet code
.et
European Union
Background
Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since.In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to 15.A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - and in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined, bringing the current membership to 27. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gave member states two years to ratify the document before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Referenda held in France and the Netherlands in May-June 2005 rejected the proposed constitution. This development suspended the ratification effort and left the longer-term political integration of the EU in limbo.
The evolution of the European Union (EU) from a regional economic agreement among six neighboring states in 1951 to today's supranational organization of 25 countries across the European continent stands as an unprecedented phenomenon in the annals of history. Dynastic unions for territorial consolidation were long the norm in Europe. On a few occasions even country-level unions were arranged - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were examples - but for such a large number of nation-states to cede some of their sovereignty to an overarching entity is truly unique. Although the EU is not a federation in the strict sense, it is far more than a free-trade association such as ASEAN, NAFTA, or Mercosur, and it has many of the attributes associated with independent nations: its own flag, anthem, founding date, and currency, as well as an incipient common foreign and security policy in its dealings with other nations. In the future, many of these nation-like characteristics are likely to be expanded. Thus, inclusion of basic intelligence on the EU has been deemed appropriate as a new, separate entity in The World Factbook. However, because of the EU's special status, this description is placed after the regular country entries.
Location
Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east
Map references
Europe
Area
Total: 4,324,782 sq km
Area- comparative
Less than one-half the size of the US
Climate
Cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south
Terrain
Fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas
Natural resources
Iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish
Natural Hazards
Flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic
Capital
Name: Brussels (Belgium) ; geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 20 E ; time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ; daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October ; note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg
National holiday
Europe Day 9 May (1950)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Flag
Industries
Among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism
Currency code
EUR
Internet code
.eu
Ports and terminals
Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Braila (Romania), Bremen (Germany), Burgas (Bulgaria), Constanta (Romania), Copenhagen (Denmark), Galati (Romania), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia), Tulcea (Romania), Varna (Bulgaria)