Pärnu County

County of Estonia
County in Estonia
Pärnu County
Pärnumaa
County
Coat of arms of Pärnu County
Coat of arms
Location of Pärnu County
CountryEstonia
CapitalPärnu
Area
 • Total4,806.68 km2 (1,855.87 sq mi)
Population
 (2022[1])
 • Total85,705
 • Rank4th
 • Density18/km2 (46/sq mi)
Ethnicity
 • Estonians89.5%
 • Russians6.8%
 • other3.3%
GDP
 • Total€1.587 billion (2022)
 • Per capita€18,334 (2022)
ISO 3166 codeEE-68
Vehicle registrationF
Websitewww.parnumaa.ee

Pärnu County (Estonian: Pärnu maakond or Pärnumaa; German: Kreis Pernau) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to the east, and Latvia to the south. In 2022 Pärnu County had a population of 85,705 – constituting 6.4% of the total population of Estonia.[1]

Pärnu County is the largest county of Estonia in terms of land area.

History

In Pärnu county there is the oldest known human settlement in Estonia, which is the town of Sindi, and it is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) up the Pärnu River, near the village of Pulli. It dates back to 8500 BCE in the Mesolithic historical period.

County government

The administrative reform in Estonia abolished county governments by the end of 2017. Before that, counties were led by a governor, who was appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years.

Previous county governors:

Tourism

The city of Pärnu is a popular holiday resort for Estonians and increasingly for non-Estonians, e.g., from Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Russia.

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality (Estonian: linnad – towns) and six rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Pärnu County.

Rank Municipality Type Population
(2018)[3]		 Area
km2[3]		 Density[3]
1 Häädemeeste Parish Rural 4,985 494 10.1
2 Kihnu Parish Rural 702 17 41.3
3 Lääneranna Parish Rural 5,494 1,352 4.1
4 Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish Rural 8,435 1,013 8.3
5 Pärnu Urban 51,649 855 60.4
6 Saarde Parish Rural 4,722 1,065 4.4
7 Tori Parish Rural 11,694 611 19.1
Municipalities of Pärnu County (since 2017)

Religion

Religion in Pärnu County (2021) [1]

  Unaffiliated (80.2%)
  Lutheran (9.2%)
  Orthodox (7.0%)
  Others Christians (1.7%)
  Others Religions or Unknown (1.9%)
Religious affiliations in Parnü County, census 2000–2021*[4]
Religion 2000 2011 2021
Number % Number % Number %
Christianity 17,466 23.7 13,425 19.2 12,850 17.8
—Orthodox Christians 5,473 7.4 5,008 7.2 5,030 7.0
—Lutherans 10,899 14.8 7,274 10.4 6,590 9.2
—Catholics 208 0.2 157 0.2 170 0.2
—Baptists 323 0.4 219 0.3 180 0.2
—Jehovah's Witnesses 159 0.2 198 0.2 170 0.2
—Pentecostals 216 0.2 151 0.2 140 0.1
—Old Believers 9 0.01 14 0.02 - -
—Methodists 71 0.09 54 0.07 90 0.1
—Adventists 108 0.1 77 0.1 60 0.08
—Other Christians - - 273 0.3 420 0.5
Islam 28 0.03 32 0.05 150 0.2
Buddhism - - 81 0.1 150 0.2
Other religions** 359 0.4 576 0.2 1,020 1.4
No religion 30,849 42.0 45,062 64.7 49,220 68.4
Not stated*** 24,785 33.7 10,412 14.9 8,510 11.8
Total population* 73,487 69,587 71,950
*The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.[4]
".[4]

Geography

Gallery

References

  1. ^ a b "Population by sex, ethnic nationality and County, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  2. ^ "GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT BY COUNTY". stat.ee.
  3. ^ a b c "Elanike demograafiline jaotus maakonniti". Kohaliku omavalitsuse portaal. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Official census data from Statistics Estonia:
    • 2000 Census:
      • "2000 Census: RL229: Population by religion".
      • "2000 Census: RL231: Population by religion and ethnicity".
    • 2011 Census:
      • "2011 Census: RL0451: Population by religion".
      • "2011 Census: RL0454: Population by religion and ethnicity".
    • 2021 Census:
      • "2021 Census: RL21451: Population by religion".
      • "2021 Census: RL21454: Population by religion and ethnicity".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pärnu County.
  • Pärnu County Official website
  • Pärnu County Government (in Estonian)
  • Town of Pärnu Official website
  • v
  • t
  • e
Coat of arms of Pärnu County Municipalities of Pärnu County
Urban municipalities
  • Pärnu
Coat of arms of Pärnu County
Rural municipalities
  • v
  • t
  • e
Coat of arms of Estonia

58°25′N 24°35′E / 58.417°N 24.583°E / 58.417; 24.583

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