Pärnu County
Pärnu County
Pärnumaa | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Country | Estonia |
| Capital | Pärnu |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,806.68 km2 (1,855.87 sq mi) |
| Population (2022[1]) | |
| • Total | 85,705 |
| • Rank | 4th |
| • Density | 18/km2 (46/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Estonians | 89.5% |
| • Russians | 6.8% |
| • other | 3.3% |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €1.587 billion (2022) |
| • Per capita | €18,334 (2022) |
| ISO 3166 code | EE-68 |
| Vehicle registration | F |
| Website | www |
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
[edit]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
[edit]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:
- 1993–2009: Toomas Kivimägi
- 2010–2015: Andres Metsoja
- 2015–2017: Kalev Kaljuste
Tourism
[edit]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
[edit]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 |
Religion
[edit]Religion in Pärnu County (2021) [1]
| 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
[edit]Gallery
[edit]-
Pärnu-Jaagupi church -
Sindi railway station -
Laupa manor on the Pärnu river -
Monument to Estonian poet Lydia Koidula in Pärnu -
Pärnu mud baths and spa -
Liu lighthouse in Audru Parish -
Riisa bog in Soomaa National Park -
Downtown Pärnu at night -
Häädemeeste church -
Pärnu beach promenade -
Country road on the island of Kihnu -
Sauga river
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Population by sex, ethnic nationality and County, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT BY COUNTY". stat.ee.
- ^ a b c "Elanike demograafiline jaotus maakonniti". Kohaliku omavalitsuse portaal. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Official census data from Statistics Estonia:
- 2000 Census:
- 2011 Census:
- 2021 Census:
External links
[edit]
- Pärnu County Official website
- Pärnu County Government (in Estonian)
- Town of Pärnu Official website
| Urban municipalities | | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural municipalities | ||
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58°25′N 24°35′E / 58.417°N 24.583°E
| National | |
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| Geographic | |
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