Rapla County

Rapla County (Estonian: Rapla maakond or Raplamaa) is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in the north-western part of the country and borders Järva County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, Lääne County to the west, and Harju County to the north. In 2022 Rapla County had a population of 33,529 – constituting 2.5% of the total population of Estonia.^[1]

Rapla County Raplamaa
County
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 59°15′N 26°20′E
Country	Estonia
Capital	Rapla
Government
• Governor	Tiit Leier
Area
• Total	2,979.7 km2 (1,150.5 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	33,529
• Rank	7th
• Density	11/km2 (29/sq mi)
Ethnicity
• Estonians	94%
• other	6%
GDP [2]
• Total	€540 million (2022)
• Per capita	€15,985 (2022)
ISO 3166 code	EE-71
Vehicle registration	L
Website	www.raplamv.ee

History

The first written records of Rapla date back to the 1241 Danish census (Liber Census Daniae).

County government

The County Government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) is led by a governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2015, the Governor position is held by Tõnis Blank.

Municipalities

Municipalities of Rapla County after 2017 administrative reform

The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are 4 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Rapla County:

Rank	Municipality	Type	Population (2018)[3]	Area km2[3]	Density[3]
1	Kehtna Parish	Rural	5,605	512	10.9
2	Kohila Parish	Rural	7,096	230	30.9
3	Märjamaa Parish	Rural	7,739	1,174	6.6
4	Rapla Parish	Rural	13,334	849	15.7

Religion

The congregations of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church in the county are Hageri St. Lambertus, Juuru St.Michael's, Järvakandi St. Paul's, Märjamaa of Blessed Virgin Mary, Rapla Mary Magdalene's, Vahastu and Vigala of Blessed Virgin Mary^[4]. 

The Orthodox congregations in the county include the Ascension of the Lord congregation in Kohila rural municipality, the Holy Trinity congregation in Lelle and the St. John the Baptist congregation in Velise, which are under the administration of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church ^[5]. 

The Baptist congregations operate in Rapla and Märjamaa and the Adventist congregations operate in Rapla and Valgu.^[6] There is a congregation of Moravian Church in Hageri.^[7] There is  a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in the county.

Religious affiliations in Rapla County, census 2000–2021*^[8]

Religion	2000		2011		2021
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Christianity	7,747	26.1	5,144	17.6	4,370	15.7
—Orthodox Christians	775	2.6	912	3.1	740	2.7
—Lutherans	6,439	21.7	3,761	12.8	2,980	10.7
—Catholics	68	0.2	50	0.1	240	0.8
—Baptists	232	0.7	155	0.5	140	0.5
—Jehovah's Witnesses	58	0.1	72	0.2	80	0.2
—Pentecostals	95	0.2	37	0.1	30	0.1
—Old Believers	4	0.01	7	0.01	-	-
—Methodists	36	0.1	13	0.02	-	-
—Adventists	40	0.1	29	0.1	-	-
—Other Christians	-		108	0.3	160	0.55
Islam	9	0.02	11	0.02	-	-
Buddhism	-	-	15	0.02	60	0.2
Other religions**	177	0.6	232	0.8	340	1.2
No religion	11,739	39.6	19,695	67.5	19,660	70.6
Not stated***	9,860	33.2	4,091	14.0	3,330	11.9
Total population*	29,632		29,187		27,820
*The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.[8] ".[8]

Geography

Natural resources found in Rapla county include limestone, dolomite, peat, and clay.

Miscellaneous topics

The church of Rapla was built in 1901. However, much of the interior dates back to several hundred years earlier and is of high structural quality and historical value. In the churchyard there are several crosses remaining from the 17th century.

Gallery

• 
  Porkuni Castle gate tower
• 
  Palmse manor
• 
  Rakvere Castle
• 
  Mõdriku manor
• 
  Malla manor
• 
  Vihula windmill
• 
  Laekvere pine
• 
  Lake Neeruti Tagajärv
• 
  View from tower on the hill of Emumägi
• 
  Toolse Castle
• 
  Vainupea Chapel
• 
  Vihula Manor
• 
  Altja river
• 
  Sagadi manor
• 
  Viru bog in Lahemaa National Park
• 
  Mähu boulders in Lahemaa National Park
• 
  Rapeseed field near Laekvere