Natural hazards: flooding occurs frequently in the spring
Environment - current issues: air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at former Soviet military bases; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas are heavily affected by organic waste; coastal sea water is polluted in many locations
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Estonia People
Population: 1,423,316 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.08% (male 123,997; female 119,166)
15-64 years: 68.14% (male 466,823; female 503,032)
65 years and over: 14.78% (male 68,802; female 141,496) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.55% (2001 est.)