About Estonia

Estonia stretches 350 km from east to west and 240 km from north to south. Sea islands form one tenth and lakes about one twentieth of Estonia's territory. Conversely, Estonia's population ranks amongst the smallest in the world: as of January 2000, an estimated 1 361 242 people live in Estonia - a density of only 30.2 people per sq. km.

Tallinn, with its medieval city centre, is Estonia's capital. Approximately a third of the nation (398 434 people) live in Tallinn and about 67% of the population reside in cities in general. The larger of these in descending order are: the university town of Tartu (101 140 inhabitants); the industrial border town of Narva (68 117); and the summer capital Pärnu (45 040) - the popular vacation destination on the southwestern coast, where summer air and water temperatures can reach those of the Mediterranean region. The closest major city to Tallinn is the Finnish capital Helsinki, located at a distance of 85 km on the opposite shore of the Gulf of Finland. Riga is only one day's drive away (307 km). It's also a relatively short trip to St Petersburg (395 km) and Stockholm (405 km). Property investment in Tallinn is becoming increasingly popular due to it's central location.

Estonia is situated on a busy trading route between East and West and has always had excellent ports; foreign trade and transit are therefore ever increasingly important to the Estonian economy. After the restoration of independence, the share of the financial sector grew considerably and stabilised. Estonian currency, the kroon, is pegged to the German Mark at the rate 1 DEM=8 kroons (1 Euro = 15.6466 EEK). Today, foreign investors are involved in approximately 90 per cent of the Estonian banking sector. This plays large support to the rental market, encouraging property investment in Estonia. In recent years, there has been a leap in information technology as well.