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GDP: US$9 billion
GDP per head: US$6450
Annual growth: 5.5%
Inflation: 10%
Major industries: Food, clothing, oil shale, metals, woodworking
Major trading partners: Finland, Sweden, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania
Member of EU: no

Events

Two of Estonia's major festivals only come around every few years. Tallinn's July Baltika Folk Festival is a week of music, dance, exhibitions and parades focusing on Baltic and other folk traditions. The All-Estonian Song Festival, which climaxes with a choir of up to 30,000 people singing traditional Estonian songs on a vast open-air stage to an audience of 100,000, is held every five years.

Summers are packed with events. Estonians celebrate their folk culture in mid-June during Memme-taadi Days, held in Tallinn. The night of 23 June is the eve of Jaanipäev, the climax of midsummer events. It's considered a night of magical powers and the traditional way of celebrating it is to head out into the countryside to dance, sing and make merry around bonfires, and seek the mystical fern flower which is said to only bloom that night and bring luck to anyone who finds it. Many Estonians take a holiday during the week around Jaanipäev. The Viru Säru folk festival is held at Lahemaa National Park during the first weekend in July in even numbered years.

Estonia's most famous ghost, Haapsalu, is said to appear at August's White Lady Festival. Later in the month a new king of the traditional Setu kingdom is appointed during the Day of the Setu Kingdom. It gets very quiet during November's Time of Spirits, when Estonians remember their past and their dead, and spirits roam freely through the land.

Traveling Guidelines

Visas: Estonia requires visas from all nationalities except citizens of most northern, central and eastern European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA
Health risks: None
Time: GMT/UTC plus 2 hours
Electricity: 220V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric
Tourism: 2.5 million visitors a year

Ideal Time to Visit

Given the severity of Estonian winters (December to March) and the dampness of its autumns, the best time to visit the country is in the late spring (April and May) and summer (June to early September). July and August are the warmest months, with daily highs reaching 30°C (86°F). If you're keen on skiing, skating or ice fishing, though, winter is a great time to go. Besides the cold, the main drawback to visiting during winter is the limited number of daylight hours.