Soomaa National Park joins distinguished list of European wilderness areas

Soomaa National Park, the so-called kingdom of bogs, last week became the first Estonian nature preserve to make it into the PAN Parks Network, which includes Europe’s finest natural areas. This is an acknowledgment of quality that will increase the international notoriety of this unique natural locale. The bogs, which are almost completely untouched by [...]

More births than deaths registered this year

The number of births registered in Estonia during the first nine months of this year was bigger by 48 than the number of deaths, it appears from figures made available by the Interior Ministry.
From January through April the monthly number of deaths was still bigger than that of births. During the four-month period vital statistics [...]

Sustainability has both positive and negative trends

According to Statistics Estonia, during the last decade Estonia experienced a fast progress towards economic welfare, but the same cannot be said in regard to social coherence, ecological balance and developments in the cultural space. Nevertheless, both negative and positive trends can be witnessed in all these spheres.

The Estonian National Strategy on Sustainable Development targets [...]

Tartu University among top 5% of the world’s leading universities

For the first time ever, Tartu University (TU) appeared on the renowned list of the top 600 world universities, “Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings”.
“We can’t say our exact position, because places 501-600 are represented as one big group of universities,” explained the director of Tartu University’s foreign relations department Virve-Anneli Vihman to BNS.
“Being among [...]

Estonians among most fluent in foreign languages

Estonia is one of the European Union member states having the largest percentage of residents speaking at least two foreign languages, it appears from a report by the EU statistical office Eurostat.
Of Estonian residents of ages 25-64, 55.9% said they spoke two or more foreign languages. By this criterion Estonia ranks fifth among EU nations.
One [...]

Average life expectancy 74 years

The average life expectancy in Estonia this year is 74 years, the highest level in the past 50 years.
The average lifespan for women was a record 79.23 years last year, while for men it was 68.59 years, according to data published on the webpage of Statistics Estonia.
A year earlier the average expected lifespan in Estonia [...]

Population growth rate positive in Tallinn

The growth rate of the population in the Estonian capital continued to be positive in August, as the number of registered births was higher than that of deaths.
In August the Tallinn registrar’s office registered 492 births and issued 372 certificates of death, the press service of the city government said.
Compared with July, eight children more [...]

142 000 children begin school year

The start of the new school year on 1 September 1 saw 141 640 students either start or continue their education in Estonian schools, which is about 6 000 less than last year and a projected 3 000 more than will begin in 2010.
The number of first graders, which is 12 900 this fall, is [...]

Tallinn reopens Freedom Square after reconstruction

The Vabaduse (Freedom) Square of the Estonian capital Tallinn was opened during a ceremony late on Thursday after massive reconstruction costing around 280 million kroons (EUR 18 mln).  “The Freedom Square ensemble is the biggest and most substantial monument of the independent Estonian state,” Mayor Edgar Savisaar was quoted by spokespeople for the city government [...]

Estonia lost football match with Brazil 0:1

The Estonian national football team lost 0:1 in a friendly with Brazil, called the match of the century, at Tallinn’s Lilleküla Stadium on Wednesday.
The only goal struck under the eyes of an audience of 8 500 was by Luis Fabiano in the 43rd minute.
The Estonian team remained one man short in the 87th minute when [...]