Wobbly Blue MarbleThe planet, explained for curious children.

Country · Europe

Estonia

Republic of Estonia

Estonia is a country in Northern Europe. About 1.3 million people live there, in an area of 45 227 square kilometres. Its capital city is Tallinn.

Where is Estonia?

Estonia lies in Northern Europe, on the continent of Europe.

It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 6 568 km from the equator.

Its coastline is about 3 794 km long.

It shares a border with 2 countries: Latvia and Russia.

How big is Estonia?

Estonia covers 45 227 square kilometres.

That is about 17 times the size of Luxembourg.

Among the world's countries that makes it the 129th largest.

If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 29.2 people on every square kilometre.

That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.

Who lives in Estonia?

About 1.3 million people live in Estonia.

That is the 150th biggest population in the world.

People here speak Estonian.

They pay with the Euro (€).

On average, people born here can expect to live about 70 years.

The land of Estonia

The land of Estonia sits on average 61 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.

Its coast runs for about 3 794 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 190 days.

It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.

What makes Estonia different?

A dish the country is known for: sauerkraut stew.

Websites from here often end in .ee.

Estonia and the rest of the world

Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Estonia.

It takes up about 0.03 % of all the land that countries stand on.

Within Europe the country ranks 28th of 45 by size, and 35th by population.

Estonia and its neighbours

Russia, its largest neighbour, is about 378.1 times bigger.

Russia has more people: 144.5 million against 1.3 million.

Nature and animals

Of the animals on this site, 2 live wild in Estonia: Moose and Common crane. The highest mountain in the country is Suur Munamägi, at 318 metres. The longest river in the country is the Võhandu. The largest lake in the country is Lake Peipus.

Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.

How big is Estonia compared with the United States?

1 000 km
The United States (blue) and Estonia (orange), both drawn at their true size and the same scale. Islands and territories far from the main land are left out of the drawing; the area figures include them.
  • The United States is about 207 times as big as Estonia: 9 372 610 km² against 45 227 km².
  • The United Kingdom is about 5.4 times as big as Estonia: 242 900 km² against 45 227 km².

Compare it with any other country

Questions children ask

What is the capital of Estonia?

The capital of Estonia is Tallinn. It is the city where the country's government works from.

How many people live in Estonia?

About 1.3 million people live in Estonia, which makes it the 150th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)

Which countries border Estonia?

Estonia borders Latvia and Russia — 2 neighbours in total.

How big is Estonia?

Estonia covers 45 227 square kilometres, making it the 129th largest country in the world. That is about 17 times the size of Luxembourg.

What is the highest mountain in Estonia?

The highest mountain in Estonia is Suur Munamägi, 318 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.

What is the longest river in Estonia?

The longest river in Estonia is the Võhandu, about 166 kilometres long.

What is the largest lake in Estonia?

The largest lake in Estonia is Lake Peipus. The whole lake covers about 3 555 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.

Which continent is Estonia in?

Estonia is in Europe, in the part called Northern Europe.

Where these numbers come from

Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.

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