Economy

In the years that it was part of the Soviet Union, Estonia provided the USSR with gas and oil produced from its large supply of oil shale. It is still the world's second largest producer of oil shale. The majority of its workforce is involved in industry, which also includes shipbuilding, phosphate mining, and the manufacture of electronics and telecommunications equipment, electric motors, excavators, cement, furniture, and textiles and clothing. Its efficient agricultural sector employs some 20% of the labor force and produces meat (largely pork), dairy products, potatoes, flax, and sugar beets. Fishing is also important. Peat, limestone, dolomite, marl, clays (for cement and earthenware), sand (for the glass industry), phosphorite (for fertilizer), and timber are important natural resources.

The country began small-scale privatization in 1991 and during the 1990s auctioned off several larger industries; it has also actively sought foreign investment. The nation exports light industrial products, machinery, food, wood products, textiles, and electric power. In 1993 Estonia signed a free-trade agreement with its fellow Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania; the three nations became members of the European Union in 2004. Estonia's major trade partners include the countries of the European Union and Russia.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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