Today, we continue on our virtual backpacking trip through Europe, and our next stop is... Estonia! I knew very little about Estonia before I started researching, and this is one of those instances that remind me how happy I am to be pursuing this project, because I am so excited about everything I am learning. What a fun country! Let's dig in...
Estonia is a very green country. Just about 50% is covered by forests.
Related to all the forests, the air is consistently ranked as extremely clean.
This is also one of the least crowded and least populated countries in Europe.
Located somewhat in the Baltic and somewhat in the Nordic regions, in addition to its mainland, the country includes more than 2,000 islands.
This country has led the way in employing creative political solutions in recent history, being the first with a flat income tax, starting in 1994, and the first to allow for online voting in 2005.
Estonia is the second most literate nation in the world, with a rate of 99.8%.
The nation also boasts one of the highest rates of multi-linguilism in Europe, as most residents fluently speak Estonian; Russian; Finnish; English and German.
The landscape is extremely flat with the highest point reaching barely higher than 1,000 feet above sea level.
One very sad fact is that Estonia was very negatively affected during World War II, with 7.3% of its population being killed during the war, and another 10% deported to Soviet labor camps at that time.
In 1975, Paul Keres, a beloved chess grandmaster passed away after many years of success. Approximately 100,000 Estonians (or about 10% of the population of the country) attended his funeral.
Estonia is the homeland of Skype and of Hotmail.
The country boasts the largest recorded collection of folk music in the world.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the people of Estonia staged the successful 'Singing Revolution' during which many protests occurred that featured patriotic songs and folk music. This ultimately resulted in freeing the country from the Soviet Union.
Estonia is often touted as one of the most digitally advanced society in the world. All schools were connected to the internet very early; and there are WiFi hotspots all over the country - even in the woods.
Residents of the capital city of Tallinn enjoy free public transportation.
The people are statistically among the tallest in Europe.
In recent history, the country is generally not very religious, with only 14% of the population expressing that religion is important to them and regularly attending religious services.
Estonia is one of a small number of countries across the world that welcome more tourists each year than its total residential population.
This is a women's country: for every 100 women, there are only 84 men; and women generally have the reputation of being among the most beautiful in the world.
On the other hand, 'Wife Carrying' is a popular competitive sport!
The people of Estonia have also developed another unique competitive sport called 'kiiking' during which a player is strapped to a large metal swing that rotates 360 degrees. The sport involves the player using certain body movements to increase the momentum of the swing.
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