Pärnu County
County of Estonia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pärnu County (Estonian: Pärnu maakond or Pärnumaa; ‹See Tfd›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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
 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 is the largest county of Estonia in terms of land area.
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.
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
The city of Pärnu is a popular holiday resort for Estonians and increasingly for non-Estonians, e.g., from Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Russia.
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 | 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] | ||||||
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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
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