Wealth

Estonia is the wealthiest of the 15 former Soviet Republics. It has a thriving electronics and telecoms sector and strong trade relations with Finland, Sweden and Germany. Like its Baltic neighbours, in the decade after independence Estonia made a rapid transformation to embrace the free market.

It joined the European Union in May 2004, which prompted an investment boom, but in 2008 its economy was hit by the global financial crisis. It had the EU's worst year for unemployment which soared to 15.6% in May 2009 from 3.9% the previous year.

The government adopted tough austerity measures and won plaudits for getting the economy back into shape ahead of entry to the European single currency in January 2011. The prime minister had aimed for eurozone membership in January 2007 but high inflation led the government to put back the target entry date.