Top 10 Facts you probably did not know about Estonia

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia (meaning “free state” in Estonian) is a republic of the Baltic countries, including the neighboring countries of Latvia and Lithuania. The country covers more than 1,500 islands in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, which lies between Estonia and Finland .

The islands make up about 10% of the country’s total area. From the 13th century to the 20th century Estonia was ruled by foreign men, first Danes and Germans, and from the 16th century Sweden. In 1721, Russia took over power over Estonia and ruled the country for almost 200 years.

After that, the country has been occupied by both the Soviet Union and Germany, and only in 1991, the country became again independent. But you have probably read this in school now, so now we go into ten facts that you may not know about the Baltic country, Estonia.

1. The women have a much longer life expectancy than men … The country has considerably more women than men. For every hundred women  in Estonia there are 84 men . On average, Estonian women live about ten years further than Estonian men do.
2. Finland’s remarkable sport has been infected with Estonia … The
   Estates are also skilled at the non-Olympic sport where one is to run with his wife on his back. Although it originates in Finland, Estonia has won World Cup gold in sport for ten consecutive years between 1998-2008 . The winner combines his frozen weight in beer , so it’s about having a powerful wife and a pair of strong muscles.
3. One of Europe’s most sparsely populated countries …
   Estonia is one of Europe’s most sparsely populated countries  , with a population density of 28.4 people per square kilometer. Only Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia can beat it. It is also the least populated country of all EU Member States (1.35 million).
4. 2 222 islands … The
   country has a total of 2 222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea. It’s a lot, but far less than the country that claims to have the most – Finland , with its  179,000 islands (who did all of them really count?).
5. Like Latvia and
   Lithuania , they have a tragic story … Estimately 7.3% of the country’s population died during World War II . A further 10% were also deported to labor camps in the Soviet Union.
6. stonian loves to sing …
   The events that led to the restoration of Estonian independence are usually called the singing revolution . The term was coined after a series of mass demonstrations where the singers sang national songs and patriotic visions, strictly forbidden during Soviet conditions.
7. You have been able to vote online for over ten years …
   Internet is important for the Baltic countries. Neighbors Latvia has the seventh fastest average rate on its internet in the world and Estonia was the first in the world to vote  online at municipal and parliamentary elections. This could be the esters already doing in 2005 !
8. 84 percentage points less religious than Indonesians … According
   to a Gallup survey, Estonia is at least religious throughout the world. Only 16% of respondents responded that religion was an important part of their lives, compared with 27% of the British , 65% of Americans and 100% of Bangladesh  and Indonesians .
9. They love chess …
   One of the biggest and most famous Estonian people throughout the ages was Paul Keres (in the middle of the picture below), a chess master from the 1930s until the mid 1960s. A total of 100,000 estates mourned and attended his funeral in 1974 , which represented almost 10% of the country’s population!
10. Tartu, Narva and Tallinn …
    Only three cities in the country have a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants – Tartu , Narva and the capital Tallinn . The capital is by far the largest with over 400,000 inhabitants .