Estonia ⁱ/ɨsˈtoʊniə/ (Estonian: Eesti), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and the Russian Federation (338.6 km). Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km² (17,462 sq mi), and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. The Estonians are a Finnic people, and the official language, Estonian, is closely related to Finnish.

Estonia is a democratic parliamentary republic divided into 15 counties. The capital and largest city is Tallinn. With a population of 1.29 million, it is one of the least-populous members of the European Union, Eurozone and NATO. Estonia has the highest GDP per person among former Soviet republics. Estonia is listed as a "High-Income Economy" by the World Bank and as an "advanced economy" by the International Monetary Fund; the country is an OECD member. The United Nations lists Estonia as a developed country with a Human Development Index of "Very High". The country is also ranked highly for press freedom, economic freedom, democracy and political freedom and education.

Birgit Õigemeel (born 24 September 1988 in Estonia) is an Estonian singer. In 2007 she also played the role of Sylvia in the stage play "Two Gentlemen of Verona" (written by William Shakespeare and directed by a well known Estonian director/actor Lembit Peterson) at the Estonian theatre Theatrum.

Birgit is also the first winner of Estonian Idol Eesti otsib superstaari.

In 2007, at the Italian culture festival "L'Olivo d'Oro" (Golden Olive) Birgit was the first non-Italian to receive the "golden olive branch" award.