Baltic States

Interesting Facts for Kids

Here are some interesting Baltic States Facts for Kids.

The Baltic States include these three countries bordering the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Estonia

Latvia

Lithuania

These three states are situated in the northern part of Europe. All three countries of the Baltics border the Baltic Sea on their western coastline and they all border Russia.

Latvia and Lithuania border Belarus as well and Lithuania borders three countries Poland, Belarus as well as the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad to the country's southwest.

Map of the Baltic States

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, regained their independence from the former Soviet Union on 20 August 1991. Lithuania was the first of the three countries to declare independence on 11 March 1990.

All three countries are members of the European Union (EU) and NATO. They joined the EU and NATO in 2004. The currency of the three Baltic countries is the euro.

The three countries together are smaller than Greece or the state of Georgia/ USA and have a combined population of about 6.1 million people. Lithuania is the most populous of the Baltic States and Riga, the capital city of Latvia, is the largest city of the region.

Riga, capital city of Latvia

The Baltic States feature a diverse landscapes with mainly flat and have fertile plains. Lithuania is known for lakes and rolling hills, while Latvia and Estonia are renowned for their large primary forests as well as their many islands and lakes. 

Lithuania

The Baltic States are located along the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. The ocean transport routes and the extensive rail network connect the country to the other European countries.

The three countries together have a population of about six million people, but each country has a distinct cultural heritage. Estonians are Finnic people and celebrate unique folk music and folk dances. 

Folk dancers in Estonia - image by Ija Reiman

Latvians and Lithuanians are Indo European people and also have a rich tradition of folk songs, while Lithuania is known for its unique crafts and traditions such as straw decorations and dried flower arrangements or painted easter eggs.

For many centuries, the Baltic States were ruled by foreign rulers, including Swedish, Danish, Polish-Lithuanian, German, Russian, and Soviet rule.

Cēsis Castle in Latvia

Facts about Baltic Countries
Geo Superlatives

• The largest country of the Baltic States is Lithuania which covers a land area about as big as Sri Lanka in Asia.
• Estonia has the longest coastline among the three Baltic countries.
• The highest peak in the Baltic States is Sur Munamägi in Estonia with an elevation of 318 m/ 1,043 ft above sea level.
• The Daugava River is the longest river of the Baltic States. The river which enters the Baltic Sea in Latvia originates in Russia and also flows through Belarus.
• Lake Peipus in Estonia is the largest lake in the Baltics and is the fourth largest lake in Europe.
• The Venta Waterfall, also called Ventas Rumba in Kuldīga in Latvia is the widest waterfall in Europe with a width of 110 m/ 360 ft.
• Lithuania has some of the tallest sand dunes in Europe with dunes reaching a hight of up to 60 m/ 197 feet.

Country Facts about the Baltic States

Estonia

• Estonia is the northernmost of the three Baltic countries and borders Latvia and Russia.
• The smallest of the Baltic States is also the richest and most developed of the region in regards to digitalisation and technology. 
• The country houses about 1.4 million people.
• Estonia is about the size of Denmark or about double the size of the state of New Hampshire/ USA.
• Estonia has more than 2,000 islands and islets. Saaremaa and Hiiumaa are the two largest islands. The coastline is the longest of the Baltic countries and the northern coast has famous limestone cliffs.
• Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and has a population of about 460,000 people. 
• The official language is Estonian and the language is spoken by 84% of the population as mother tongue. Estonia language is a Finnic language and does not have Indo European roots. However, the Estonian language has many German loanwords.
• Estonia was the first country to implement online voting for national elections. In 2023, about 51% of the voters cast their votes electronically.

Latvia

• Latvia is the middle of the three Baltic country countries and borders four countries.
• Estonia lies to the north, Russia and Belarus to the east and Lithuania to the South of Latvia. The Baltic Sea is to the west and northwest of the country.
• Latvia is slightly smaller than Lithuania. The country is about double the size of Taiwan or about the size of the state of West Virginia/ USA.
• About 1.9 million people live in Latvia and of these, about 600,000 people live in the capital city Riga.
• Riga boasts many famous landmarks and attractions and houses over 800 buildings in Art Nouveau architectural style.
• The official language of Latvia is Latvian. About one third of the people in Latvia speak Russian as their mother tongue. 
• More than half of Latvia's land area is covered by forests. Kemeri National Park in Latvia with an extensive and diverse wetland system has one of the largest raised bogs in Europe. A raised bog is a dome-shaped mass of peat.

Lithuania

• Lithuania is the southernmost and the largest of the three Baltic States and the most densely populated nation.
• The country borders Belarus, Poland and Russia's enclave Kaliningrad.
• Lithuania is about the size of Sri Lanka or about the size of the state of West Virginia/ USA.
• Lithuania is home to about 2.8 million people and is the most densely populated country of the Baltic States.
• The capital city is called Vilnius and has a population of about 600,000 people.
• The geographical center of Europe is located near the village of Purnuškės, just north of Vilnius.

Resources for Baltic States Facts 

These are useful resources for Facts about the three Baltic countries:

• EAS. "Your Quick Guide to Estonian Culture." VisitEstonia. Last accessed 26 August 2024
• EAS. "How did Estonia carry out the world’s first mostly online national elections." e-Estonia.com. Last updated 7 March 2023. Last accessed 26 August 2024
• Latvia Tourism Board. "Interesting Facts about Latvia." LatviaTravel. Last accessed 26 August 2024
• Lithuania Tourism. "By the Baltic Sea." LithuaniaTravel. Last accessed 26 August 2024

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Images on Facts about Baltic States for Kids: shutterstock, sxc.hu, wikicommons and own images.

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