IN TIME
rubriik - Profimeedia
rubriik - Profimeedia
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glance<br />
Government<br />
official name: Republic of Estonia<br />
Type: parliamentary democracy<br />
head of state: President of the<br />
Republic Toomas Hendrik Ilves<br />
The unicameral parliament,<br />
Riigikogu, with 101 members,<br />
is elected every 4 years.<br />
Currency<br />
As from 2011 Estonia is the<br />
17th member of the euro-zone.<br />
Language<br />
The official language in Estonia is<br />
Estonian, a finno-ugric language<br />
closely related to finnish and distantly<br />
related to Hungarian. Also English,<br />
Russian, finnish and german are<br />
widely understood and spoken.<br />
Religion<br />
80% of all believers are Protestant<br />
Lutheran, but there are also greek<br />
Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Roman<br />
Catholics, baptists and Methodists.<br />
Main house<br />
of the<br />
university<br />
of Tartu.<br />
Education<br />
going to school is compulsory for 7-16<br />
year olds. Most of the 582 schools<br />
are state schools; 62 schools offer<br />
Russian-speaking instruction.<br />
The oldest of the universities, Tartu<br />
university was established in 1632 by<br />
gustav II Adolf, king of Sweden and is<br />
among the oldest in Northern Europe.<br />
Information<br />
society<br />
70 per cent of<br />
government<br />
population (15–74<br />
cabinet<br />
in Toompea.<br />
years) are Internet<br />
users, only<br />
approximately<br />
316 000 people in<br />
Estonia don’t use<br />
Internet.<br />
all Estonian<br />
schools are connected<br />
to the Internet.<br />
79 per cent of Estonian Internet users<br />
conduct their everyday banking via<br />
Internet.<br />
Nearly 90 per cent declare their<br />
incomes to the Tax board via Internet.<br />
In 2000 the government changed Cabinet<br />
meetings to paperless sessions<br />
using a web-based document system.<br />
Expenditures made in state budget<br />
can be followed on the Internet on-line.<br />
All of Estonia is covered with digital<br />
mobile phone networks.<br />
There are altogether 1155 wifi covered<br />
areas; most of them are free of charge.<br />
More at www.wifi.ee<br />
UsEfUl<br />
pHrasEs<br />
<strong>IN</strong> EsToNIaN<br />
National<br />
Holidays<br />
1 january – New Year’s day<br />
24 february – Independence day (1918)<br />
22 April – good friday<br />
1 May – Spring day<br />
23 june – Victory day<br />
24 june – Midsummer day<br />
20 August – day of Restoration<br />
of Independence (1991)<br />
24 december – Christmas Eve<br />
25 december – Christmas day<br />
old Thomas<br />
26 december – boxing day is the symbol<br />
of old Tallinn.<br />
kevad/spring 2011 I <strong>IN</strong><strong>TIME</strong> 7