Republic of Estonia

NB! The facts below represent the year 2007

total population	1,344,684
citizenship	1,170,879 of whom 1,138,198 live in Estonia and 32,681 abroad
ethnic makeup	69% Estonians, 26% Russian, 2% Ukrainians, 1% Byelorussians, 0.8% Finns, 1.2 % others
naturalisation	147,241 new citizens naturalised between 1992 – 2007
stateless persons	115 672 (approx. 9% of population) down from 500,000 in 1992
legal status of national minority	47% Estonian citizens, 23% citizens of the Russian Federation, 28% stateless, 2% other
liberalisation of citizneship policy	In 2002 all long-term residents were granted the right to vote at the local elections. Children born after 1992 whose both parents are stateless are eligible for Estonian citizenship
unemployment	4,7% of overall labour force, 6,9% of Russian-speakers (down from 18% in 2000)
language proficiency	52% of Russian-speakers fluent in Estonian (up from 14% in 1989)
programming	State Integration Programme and a related National Action Plan for 2000- 2007 came to and end in 2007.The new programme will cover the years 2008-2013
co-ordination	The office for the Minister for Population and Ethnic Affairs co-ordinates national integration policy and programming. Each line ministry contributes to the national integration programme. The Non-Estonian Integration Foundation is the primary agency managing integration related projects.
cultural funding	National minorities have organised themselves into more than 200 cultural societies that receive state funding. In 2007, the state funding totalled 4.7 million EEK
citizenship courses	Free citizenship courses are available for 3,000 potential citizens per year. Individuals can participate in courses offered at local training centres. Courses can also be ordered for delivery in a company or school. Courses are usually requested in Estonian, but are available in Russian.
language courses	Courses are provided by the private sector. People passing the citizenship exam, which includes a language component, can apply for a 6,000 EEK rebate for costs incurred during language training. The rebate programme is considered a great success.
education	Russian is the language of instruction in 16% general schools (100 schools). 23% of pupils in Estonia attend Russian medium schools. As of September 2007 Russian medium high-schools (63 schools) will start transition to partial teaching in Estonian. The first subject taught in Estonian is Estonian literature.
language immersion programme	Language immersion is a multilingual form of teaching, where pupils learn some subjects in Estonian and some subjects in Russian. Language immersion programme assists Russian-speaking children to learn Estonian and to preserve their mother tongue at a high level, receive good education lat the same time, which is the base for successful integration in Estonian society. 30 schools have joined the immersion programme.
Russian language media	There are 34 newspapers and 20 journals published in Russian. There are programmes in Russian on TV channels and 6 Russian medium radio stations.