Estonian phenomenon

Estonia is a small country in northern Europe that feels and would like to be nordic, but actually belongs to the baltic countries south of the baltic sea. Due to its size and since just about 1.4 million people live there (for reference: New York has 8.4 million inhabitants) , somthing that has been dubbed the "estonian phenomenon" can be witnessed here. The term describes that everyone practically knows everyone or at least someone who knows them. This makes gossip equally more interesting and more dangerous, since the person you are gossiping about will almost certainly hear about it. Sometimes Estonia feels like a big family gathering of a country where even someone who seems to be a random stranger has most likely some kind of relation to you.

"Oh hey, I know the girl who just delivered our food... that was an awkward interaction"
"How do you know her?"

"Its just a case of estonian phenomenon, my classmate used to work at her families store and she used to play soccer with my second cousin. Did you know that she broke up with her Boyfriend?"