Estonia's population growth is stagnant and expected to continue a decline. Its population today is about 1.28 million, which is expected to drop to 1.1 million by 2030 and 860,000 by 2060. Estonia was recently ranked as the 23rd fastest-shrinking country in the world with a 2050 population forecast at 1.22 million, a decline of more than 8%.
| Estonia Population (as of 11/25/2023) | 1,321,341 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2023) | 1,322,765 |
| Births per Day | 36 |
| Deaths per Day | 43 |
| Migrations per Day | -3 |
| Net Change per Day | -10 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | -3,290 |
Net decrease of 1 person every 144 minutes
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 40 minutes | |
| One death every 33.48 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 480 minutes | |
| Net loss of one person every 144 minutes |
City | Population |
|---|---|
| Tallinn | 394,024 |
| Tartu | 101,092 |
| Narva | 66,980 |
| Kohtla-Jaerve | 46,060 |
| Paernu | 44,192 |
| Viljandi | 20,309 |
| Rakvere | 16,736 |
| Sillamaee | 16,672 |
| Maardu | 16,630 |
| Kuressaare | 14,921 |
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 1,168,276 | 1.17% | 27.56 | 133 | 124 |
| 1960 | 1,218,064 | 0.84% | 28.73 | 134 | 125 |
| 1965 | 1,292,004 | 1.19% | 30.48 | 135 | 127 |
| 1970 | 1,361,999 | 1.06% | 32.13 | 138 | 134 |
| 1975 | 1,424,044 | 0.9% | 33.59 | 140 | 135 |
| 1980 | 1,476,983 | 0.73% | 34.84 | 143 | 140 |
| 1985 | 1,525,782 | 0.65% | 35.99 | 145 | 146 |
| 1990 | 1,570,674 | 0.58% | 37.05 | 147 | 152 |
| 1995 | 1,452,775 | -1.55% | 34.27 | 149 | 160 |
| 2000 | 1,396,877 | -0.78% | 32.95 | 150 | 164 |
| 2005 | 1,354,662 | -0.61% | 31.96 | 153 | 172 |
| 2010 | 1,331,535 | -0.34% | 31.41 | 154 | 175 |
| 2015 | 1,314,657 | -0.26% | 31.01 | 156 | 179 |
| 2017 | 1,317,549 | 0.12% | 31.08 | 156 | 180 |
| 2018 | 1,322,148 | 0.35% | 31.19 | 156 | 179 |
| 2019 | 1,327,039 | 0.37% | 31.31 | 156 | 179 |
| 2020 | 1,329,444 | 0.18% | 31.36 | 156 | 180 |
| 2022 | 1,326,062 | 0.13% | 31.28 | 157 | 180 |
| 2023 | 1,322,765 | 0.01% | 31.20 | 157 | 180 |
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,322,765 | 0.01% | 31.20 | 157 | 180 |
| 2024 | 1,319,041 | -0.12% | 31.12 | 157 | 180 |
| 2025 | 1,314,900 | -0.22% | 31.02 | 157 | 181 |
| 2030 | 1,289,441 | -0.39% | 30.42 | 160 | 185 |
| 2035 | 1,259,966 | -0.46% | 29.72 | 161 | 187 |
| 2040 | 1,230,997 | -0.46% | 29.04 | 161 | 189 |
| 2045 | 1,202,180 | -0.47% | 28.36 | 161 | 190 |
| 2050 | 1,171,695 | -0.51% | 27.64 | 163 | 194 |
| 2055 | 1,138,706 | -0.57% | 26.86 | 163 | 195 |
| 2060 | 1,102,954 | -0.64% | 26.02 | 165 | 196 |
| 2065 | 1,065,276 | -0.69% | 25.13 | 165 | 197 |
| 2070 | 1,027,177 | -0.73% | 24.23 | 165 | 198 |
| 2075 | 989,986 | -0.73% | 23.35 | 167 | 200 |
| 2080 | 954,428 | -0.73% | 22.52 | 168 | 202 |
| 2085 | 921,225 | -0.71% | 21.73 | 168 | 202 |
| 2090 | 891,067 | -0.66% | 21.02 | 169 | 202 |
| 2095 | 863,132 | -0.64% | 20.36 | 171 | 202 |
43.7
Total
40.4
Male
47
Female
There are people over age 18 in Estonia.
Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 1989 | 12 January 1989 |
| 2000 | 31 March 2000 |
| 2012 | 31 March 2012 |
| 2021 | 2021 |
Tallinn is the largest city and capital with almost 395,000 people. The next largest city is Tartu with 97,000 people.
Estonians are Finnic people who speak Estonian, which is closely related to Finnish. The ethnic breakdown is currently 69% Estonian, 25% Russian, 2% Ukranian, 1% Belarusians, 0.8% Finns and 1.6% other. Before WW2, ethnic Estonians made up 88% of the total population, at which time the largest minority groups were Germans, Russians, Swedes, Jews, Latvians, Poles, Finns and Ingrians. This has changed quite a bit.
Between 1945 and 1989, the percentage of ethnic Estonians in the country dropped to only 61% due to a Soviet program promoting the mass immigration of workers from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and Stalin's deportations and executions. By the 1980's, this was seen as a national catastrophe. After the reconstitution of independence, large-scale emigration of ethnic Russians occurred and ethnic Estonians in the country rose to 69%.
Today, Estonia is an ethnically heterogeneous country, with one county having 99% Estonians. 13 out of the country's 15 counties are more than 80% ethnic Estonian.