international: fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and
Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international
switches are located in Tallinn (2001)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios:
1.01 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
3 (2001)
Televisions:
605,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.ee
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
38 (2001)
Internet users:
429,700 (2002)
Transportation Estonia
Railways:
total: 968 km
broad gauge: 968 km 1.520-m/1.524-m gauge (132 km electrified)
note:: gauge being increased from 1.520-m to 1.524-m to reduce wear
on wheels and rail as lines are modernized (2002)
Highways:
total: 51,411 km
paved: 10,334 km (including 94 km of expressways)
unpaved: 41,077 km (2000)
Waterways:
320 km (perennially navigable) (2002)
Pipelines:
gas 859 km (2003)
Ports and harbors:
Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn
Merchant marine:
total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 200,807 GRT/169,899 DWT
note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of
convenience: Liberia 1 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 5, petroleum tanker 2,
roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 5
Airports:
38 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 24 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 6 (2002)
Military Estonia
Military branches:
Estonia Defense Forces (including Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force),
Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Volunteer
Defense League (Kaitseliit), Maritime Border Guard, Coast Guard
note: Border Guards and Ministry of Internal Affairs become part of
the Estonian Defense Forces in wartime; the Coast Guard is
subordinate to the Ministry of Defense in peacetime and the Estonian
Navy in wartime
Military manpower - military age:
18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15–49: 360,440 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15–49: 283,278 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 11,123 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$155 million (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2% (2002 est.)
Transnational Issues Estonia
Disputes - international:
Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint December
1996 technical border agreement with Estonia
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia
and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western
Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to
Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible
precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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@Ethiopia
Introduction Ethiopia
Background:
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy
maintained its freedom from colonial rule, one exception being the
Italian occupation of 1936–41. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg,
deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and
established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings,
wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was
finally toppled by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991. A
constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty
elections were held in 1995. A two and a half year border war with
Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000. Final
demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian
objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to
surrender sensitive territory.
Geography Ethiopia
Location:
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 38 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 1,127,127 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km,
Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Terrain:
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift
Valley
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Denakil Depression −125 m
highest