Estonia

FOR MUCH OF ITS history, other countries have dominated Estonia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Republic of Estonia was able to establish its right to independence. Unfortunately, the transition from a state to a market economy signaled bitter divisions among the Estonian majority and Russians, who make up one-third of the population. The conflict resolution team from the Carter Center of Emory University, founded by former president Jimmy Carter, was called in to help Estonians and Russians establish new ways of building trust and communication and pave the way for political and economic reforms.

As an upper-middle-income nation with a per capita income of $14,300, Estonia has developed strong economic ties to Western nations. In 2004, Estonia joined both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. Almost 70 percent of the Estonian labor force are engaged in services, and 20 percent are involved in industries. Only 11 percent of the labor force work in agriculture. The Estonian economy has received a huge boost from the electronics and telecommunications sectors.

In 2003, the government announced a budget surplus of $130 million. Nevertheless, Estonia has a poverty rate of 18.9 percent and an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent. Approximately 18 percent of Estonians live on less than $4 a day, and four percent of the people are malnourished. Resources are not distributed evenly in posttransition Estonia. The poorest 20 percent of the population live on 20.62 percent of resources while the richest 20 percent share 44 percent. Estonia is ranked 37.2 percent on the Gini Index of Human Inequality.

The population of 1,332,893 experiences a life expectancy of 71.77 years. At 77.6 years, females survive an average of 11 years longer than Estonian males at 66.28 years. The median age in Estonia is 39.06 years. Some 15.5 percent of the population are under the age of 14, and nearly 17 percent are at least 65 years old. All Estonians have access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation. There are 313 physicians for every 100,000 residents, and only five percent of Estonians are unable to afford essential drugs.

According to estimates for 2005, the infant mortality rate is 7.87 deaths per 1,000 live births. At 9.06 deaths per 1,000 live births, male infants are less likely to survive than female infants at 6.67 deaths per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality has been more than halved since the 1970s. The mortality rate of children under the age of 5 is nine deaths per 1,000. That rate has been slashed by more than half since 1970. Six percent of all infants are underweight at birth. Childhood immunization rates are in the mid- to high 90s for all children from birth to 23 months.

Between 1970 and 2005, the total fertility rate in Estonia fell from 2.2 children per woman to 1.39 children per woman. The adolescent fertility rate is 28 per 1,000 births. About 70 percent of all Estonian women use some method of contraception, and trained medical staff attend all births. Modeled estimates for 2000 place maternal mortality at 63 deaths per 100,000 live births.

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