Literal English translation[6]
Metrical English translation[7]
I
Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm,
kui kaunis oled sa!
Ei leia mina iial teal
see suure, laia ilma peal,
mis mul nii armas oleks ka,
kui sa, mu isamaa!
II
Sa oled mind ju sünnitand
ja üles kasvatand;
sind tänan mina alati
ja jään sull' truuiks surmani,
mul kõige armsam oled sa,
mu kallis isamaa!
III
Su üle Jumal valvaku
mu armas isamaa!
Ta olgu sinu kaitseja
ja võtku rohkest õnnista,
mis iial ette võtad sa,
mu kallis isamaa!
1
[mu ˈi.sɑ̝.mɑ̝ː mu ɤnʲ jɑ̽ rɤːm ǀ]
[kui̯ ˈkɑ̝u̯.nis ˈo.let̬ sɑ̝ ǁ]
[ei̯ ˈlei̯.ɑ̽ ˈmi.nɑ̝ ˈiː.ɑ̽l teɑ̝̯l]
[se̞ː ˈsuː.re̞ ˈlɑ̽i̯.ɑ̽ ˈil.mɑ̝ peɑ̝̯l ǀ]
[mis mul niː ˈɑ̝r.mɑ̝s ˈo.leks kɑ̝ ǀ]
[kui̯ sɑ̝ː mu ˈi.sɑ̝.mɑ̝ː ǁ]
2
[sɑ̝ ˈo.let̬ mint̬ ju̟ ˈsÿn.ni.tɑ̝nt̬]
[jɑ̽ ˈÿ.les ˈkɑ̝s.ʋɑ̝.tɑ̝nt̬ ǁ]
[sint̬ ˈtæ̈.nɑ̝n ˈmi.nɑ̝ ˈɑ̝.lɑ̝.ti]
[jɑ̽ jæ̈ːn sulʲ ˈtru̟ː.iks ˈsur.mɑ̝.ni ǀ]
[mul ˈkɤi̯.k̬e̞ ˈɑ̝rm.sɑ̝m ˈo.let̬ sɑ̝ ǀ]
[mu ˈkɑ̝l.lis ˈi.sɑ̝.mɑ̝ː ǁ]
3
[su ˈÿ.le̞ ˈju̟.mɑ̝l ˈʋɑ̝l.ʋɑ̝.ku]
[mu ˈɑ̝r.mɑ̝s ˈi.sɑ̝.mɑ̝ː ǁ]
[tɑ̝ ˈol.k̬u ˈsi.nu ˈkɑ̽i̯t.se.jɑ̽]
[jɑ̽ ˈʋɤt.ku ˈrox.kest ˈɤn.nis.tɑ̝ ǀ]
[mis ˈiː.ɑ̽l ˈet.te̞ ˈʋɤ.tɑ̝t̬ sɑ̝ ǀ]
[mu ˈkɑ̝l.lis ˈi.sɑ̝.mɑ̝ː ǁ]
I
My fatherland, my joy and happiness,
How beautiful you are!
I shall not find such ever
In this huge wide world
Which would be so dear to me
As you, my fatherland!
II
You have given me birth
And raised me up;
I shall thank you always
And remain faithful to you ’til death,
To me most beloved are you,
My precious fatherland!
III
May God watch over you,
My precious fatherland!
Let Him be your defender
And provide bountiful blessings
For whatever you undertake,
My precious fatherland!
I
My native land, my joy – delight,
How fair thou art – how bright!
For nowhere in the world around
Can ever such a place be found
So well belov'd, from sense profound,
My native country dear!
II
My tiny crib stood on thy soil,
Whose blessings eased my toil.
May my last breath be thanks to thee,
For true to death I'll ever be,
O worthy, most belov'd and fine,
Thou, dearest country mine!
III
May God in Heaven thee defend,
My own beloved land!
May He be guard, may He be shield,
For ever bless and guardian wield
Protection for all deeds of thine,
My own, my dearest land!
Republic of Estonia
Eesti Vabariik (Estonian)
Anthem:
(English: "My fatherland, my happiness and joy")
Capital
and largest city
Official language
Ethnic groups (2023)
Religion (2011[1])
58.4% No religion
26.7% Christianity
12.7% Undeclared
2.2% Other
Unitary parliamentary republic
Legislature
Independence from Russia and Germany
23–24 February 1918
• Joined the League of Nations
22 September 1921
• German and Soviet occupations/annexation
1940–1991
20 August 1991
• Joined the European Union
1 May 2004
• Total
45,339 km2 (17,505 sq mi) (129thd)
• Water (%)
4.6
• 2023 estimate
1,365,884[2]
• 2021 census
1,331,824[3]
• Density
30.6/km2 (79.3/sq mi) (148th)
2023 estimate
• Total
• Per capita
GDP (nominal)
2023 estimate
• Total
• Per capita
Gini (2021)
30.6[5]
medium
HDI (2021)
0.890[6]
very high · 31st
Currency
Time zone
• Summer (DST)
right
Estonia,[a] officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,200 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea,[7] covering a total area of 45,339 square kilometres (17,505 sq mi). The capital city Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas of the country. The Estonian language is the indigenous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, as well as the world's second most spoken Finnic language.
The land of what is now modern Estonia has been inhabited by Homo sapiens since at least 9,000 BC. The medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last pagan civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following the Papal-sanctioned Livonian Crusade in the 13th century.[8] After centuries of successive rule by the Teutonic Order, Denmark, Sweden, and the Russian Empire, a distinct Estonian national identity began to emerge in the mid-19th century. This culminated in the 24 February 1918 Estonian Declaration of Independence from the then warring Russian and German Empires. Democratic throughout most of the interwar period, Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II, but the country was repeatedly contested, invaded and occupied, first by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany in 1941, and was ultimately reoccupied in 1944 by, and annexed into, the USSR as an administrative subunit (Estonian SSR). Throughout the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation,[9] Estonia's de jure state continuity was preserved by diplomatic representatives and the government-in-exile. Following the bloodless Estonian "Singing Revolution" of 1988–1990, the nation's de facto independence from the Soviet Union was restored on 20 August 1991.
Estonia is a developed country, with a high-income advanced economy, ranking very highly (31st out of 191) in the Human Development Index.[10] The sovereign state of Estonia is a democratic unitary parliamentary republic, administratively subdivided into 15 maakond (counties). With a population of just about 1.4 million, it is one of the least populous members of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the Schengen Area, and NATO. Estonia has consistently ranked highly in international rankings for quality of life,[11] education,[12] press freedom, digitalisation of public services[13][14] and the prevalence of technology companies.[15]
The coat of arms of Estonia is a golden shield which includes a picture of three left-facing blue lions with red tongues in the middle, with golden oak branches placed on both sides of the shield. The insignia derive(s) from the coat of arms of Denmark, which ruled northern Estonia in the 13th-14th centuries and parts of western Estonia in the 16th-17th century.
COUNTRY IN EUROPE