Pärnu County

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
Pärnumaa
County of Estonia
Flag of Pärnu County
Flag
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%
ISO 3166 codeEE-68
Vehicle registrationF
Websitewww.parnumaa.ee

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.

RankMunicipalityTypePopulation
(2018)[2]		Area
km2[2]		Density[2]
1Häädemeeste ParishRural4,98549410.1
2Kihnu ParishRural7021741.3
3Lääneranna ParishRural5,4941,3524.1
4Põhja-Pärnumaa ParishRural8,4351,0138.3
5PärnuUrban51,64985560.4
6Saarde ParishRural4,7221,0654.4
7Tori ParishRural11,69461119.1
Municipalities of Pärnu County (since 2017)

Religion

Religion in Pärnu County (2021)

  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*[3]
Religion 2000 2011 2021
Number  % Number  % Number  %
Christianity17,46623.713,42519.212,85017.8
—Orthodox Christians5,4737.45,0087.25,0307.0
—Lutherans10,89914.87,27410.46,5909.2
—Catholics2080.21570.21700.2
—Baptists3230.42190.31800.2
—Jehovah's Witnesses1590.21980.21700.2
—Pentecostals2160.21510.21400.1
—Old Believers90.01140.02--
—Methodists710.09540.07900.1
—Adventists1080.1770.1600.08
—Other Christians--2730.34200.5
Islam280.03320.051500.2
Buddhism--810.11500.2
Other religions**3590.45760.21,0201.4
No religion30,84942.045,06264.749,22068.4
Not stated***24,78533.710,41214.98,51011.8
Total population*73,48769,58771,950
*The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.[3]
".[3]

Geography

References
  1. "Population by sex, ethnic nationality and County, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  2. "Elanike demograafiline jaotus maakonniti". Kohaliku omavalitsuse portaal. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. Official census data from Statistics Estonia:
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58°25′N 24°35′E

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