Estonia, full name of the Republic of Estonia, is a small country located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, with a land area of only 45,339 square kilometers, about the size of a small prefecture-level city on the mainland, and as of January 2022, Estonia's population is only 1.33 million.
Estonia is a troubled country that was occupied by Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union. Russia ruled the longest, starting in 1710 and Estonia was ruled by the Russian Empire for more than 200 years. Estonia's independence movement did not stop from the day it was occupied until 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Estonia declared its independence from the Soviet Union, ushering in relatively long-term independence. Throughout the history of Estonia, it is a history of foreign aggression.
Estonia ranks first in the world for air quality, known as the "Forest Lung Washing Mecca", with a forest coverage rate of up to 48%, and legend has it that Estonia's air is sweet.
Although a small country, Estonia is classified as a high-income country by the World Bank. In 2021, Estonia's per capita GDP was 19,269 euros, equivalent to about 141,904.6236 yuan.
There are not many tourist attractions in Estonia, and they generally travel to Tallinn. Tallinn dates back to the 13th century, when a crusader knight of the Teutonic Order discovered the castle, which is now more than 800 years old and is one of the best-preserved medieval old towns in Europe.
Estonia's internet development is a world leader. Estonia was the first country in the world to realize electronic office of administrative services. According to the United Nations E-Government Survey Report 2020, Estonia ranks first in the world in the index of digital participation of citizens. Due to the high degree of digitalization, administrative costs in Estonia are very low.
In 2008, Estonia became the first country in the world to vote online for parliament. If voters repented of voting online, they could go to the polls and cast their paper ballot again.
In 2003, the global free instant messaging software Skype was born in Estonia. In 2011, Skype was acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion, becoming a separate division of Microsoft. In March 2013, Microsoft shut down its instant messaging app MSN worldwide and replaced it with Skype.
Estonia is a country with more men than women, Estonia has a male-to-female ratio of 0.86:1, and there are about 100,000 more women than men, which also leads to many unmarried single women in Estonia.
Estonia's social welfare is very high, health care and education are basically free, and Estonian citizens are free to use public transport (except by plane). Due to its small population, Estonia strongly encourages childbearing, with 600 days of maternity for women giving birth, of which 475 days are paid leave. In addition, until the child reaches the age of 18, the state will pay an annual childcare allowance of 500-800 euros.
Estonia attaches great importance to education and insists on providing a fair learning environment for every student, believing that investing in children is the smartest investment for a country