The demographics of Estonia in the 21st century are the result of historical trends over more than a thousand years, just as for most European countries, but have been disproportionately affected by events in the last half of the 20th century. Impact from the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, including the annexation and eventual independence of Estonia, has had a major effect on Estonia's ethnic makeup and educational achievement.

Languages spoken in Estonia are largely reflective of the ethnic groups composing the country, and thus have changed with historical trends affecting the ethnic makeup of the country. Religion plays a small part in the lives of most Estonians, largely as a result of the Soviet occupation from 1944–1991.

Overall, the quality of life indices for Estonia are reflective of a modern industrial state, with one major exception: The population of Estonia is shrinking. While there are other European countries like Estonia with a birthrate that is at less than replacement levels, Estonia lacks the immigration found, for example, in Germany. As such, the population is on a slow downward trend.

[edit] Historical ties

Estonians have strong ties to the Nordic countries and Germany stemming from the strong cultural and religious influences gained over centuries during Danish, German and Swedish rule and settlement. This highly literate society places strong emphasis upon education, which is free and compulsory until age 16. The first known book in Estonian was printed in 1525.^{[citation needed]}

In the 20th century, Estonia's ethnic makeup was altered radically by policies implemented by the Soviet government. Large numbers of ethnic Russians were incentivized to move into the non-Russian republics, including Estonia.^{[citation needed]} The population was further altered by Stalin's mass deportations and executions.^{[citation needed]} And some people simply left as a result of World War II.

[edit] Ethnic groups

Today, Estonia is a fairly ethnically heterogeneous country, but this heterogeneity is not evenly distributed across the country. In 2008, thirteen of Estonia's fifteen counties were over 80% ethnic Estonian. The counties with the highest percentage Estonians are Hiiu County (98.4%) and Saare County (98.3%). However, in Harju County (which includes the national capital, Tallinn) and Ida-Viru County, ethnic Estonians make up only 59.6% (55.0% in Tallinn) and 19.7% of the population, respectively. In those two counties, Russians account for 32.4% (36.4% in Tallinn) and 71.2% of the population, respectively. In the nation as a whole, Russians make up 25.6% of the total population.^[1]

As a result of the aforementioned Soviet policies, between 1945 and 1989 the share of ethnic Estonians in the population resident within currently defined boundaries of Estonia dropped from 97%^{[citation needed]} to 61.5%.^[2] But in the decade following the reconstitution of independence, large scale emigration by ethnic Russians, as well as ethnic groups of other former Soviet countries, and the removal of the Russian military bases in 1994 caused the proportion of ethnic Estonians in Estonia to increase from 61.5% in 1989 to 68.7% in 2008. In the same period the proportion of ethnic Russians decreased from 30.0% to 25.6%, the proportion of ethnic Ukrainians decreased from 3.1% to 2.1%, and the proportion of ethnic Belorussians decreased from 1.8% to 1.2%.^[1][2]

As of 2008, the largest ethnic groups in Estonia are Estonians (68.7%), Russians (25.6%), Ukrainians (2.1%), Belorussians (1.2%), and Finns (0.8%). These five groups made up 98.4% of Estonia's population.^[1] For a more detailed look on every known ethnic group represented in Estonia per the 2000 census, see the Appendix below.

[edit] Languages

Many languages are spoken in Estonia, including Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Võro, Seto, English, Finnish, German and others.

Estonian and Finnish are very closely related, belonging to the same Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric language family. Although closely related, the two languages are not really mutually intelligible, although educated native speakers can read the other language with a greater or lesser degree of understanding. Both Estonian and Finnish are distantly related to the Ugric Hungarian language.

Written with the Latin alphabet, Estonian is the language of the Estonian people and the official language of the country. One-third of the standard vocabulary is derived from adding suffixes to root words. The oldest known examples of written Estonian originate in 13th century chronicles. During the Soviet era, the Russian language was imposed in parallel to, and often instead of, Estonian in official use.

[edit] Religion

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,^[3] 16% of Estonian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 54% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 26% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". This, according to the survey, would have made Estonians the most non-religious people in the then 25-member European Union. Historically, however, Estonia used to be a stronghold of Lutheranism due to its strong links to the Nordic countries.

Less than a third of the population define themselves as believers, of those the majority are Lutheran, whereas the Russian minority is Eastern Orthodox. Ancient equinoctial traditions are held in high regard. Today, about 32% of the population are members of a church or religious group, thereof:

• 14.8 % Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
• 13.9 % Estonian Orthodox Church
• ca. 10,000 Muslims
• ca. 6,000 Baptists
• ca. 3,500 Roman Catholics

There are also a number of smaller Protestant, Jewish, and Buddhist groups.

[edit] Population

Population decline in Estonia

Population of Estonia (1970–2009). Data by Statistics Estonia (2009)^[4]

Population of Estonia (1960–2008). Data by NationMaster (based on data by the World Development Indicators database and the CIA World Factbook). The data by NationMaster is based on the de facto definition of population, which includes all residents, except for refugees not permanently settled in the country. The latter are considered to be part of the population of their country of origin.^[5]

Natural population increase of Estonia from 1945–2008. Data is taken from Statistics Estonia.^[6]

•      Number of births
•      Number of deaths
•      Natural population increase

According to data from Statistics Estonia, the population of Estonia is shrinking. While there are other European countries like Estonia with a birthrate that is at less than replacement levels, Estonia lacks immigration to compensate for this population decline. As such, the population is on a slow downward trend. The population increased from 1,351,640 in January 1970 to 1,570,599 in January 1990. In 1990 the population started decreasing to 1,340,415 in January 2009, which is even lower than the number of people living in Estonia in 1970.^[4] NationMaster uses different numbers (based on data provided by the World Development Indicators database and the CIA World Factbook) and has data from 1960–2008; the decline can be seen from 1990 onwards as well.^[5] The two line graphs of the total population show largely the same curve. The CIA World Factbook estimates the population growth rate for 2009 (which includes births and deaths, as well as total migration) to be -0.632%.^[7]

• 1,299,371 (July 2009; CIA World Factbook estimate)^[7]
• 1,340,415 (January 1, 2009; Statistics Estonia)^[4][8]
• 1,376,743 (March 31, 2000; last census)^[9]

[edit] Births and deaths

The downward population curve can largely be explained by the death and birth rate. From 1990 onwards the number of deaths outnumbered the number of births, although the line graph of the natural population increase shows the rate of population decrease is slowly diminishing. The crude birth rate of 2008 was 11.96 (16,028 births) and the crude death rate of 2008 was 12.44 (16,675 deaths), making the rate of natural increase -0.48 (-647).^[6] For more detailed historic data, see the table of birth and death rates below.

[edit] Migration

Not only is the number of deaths larger than the number of births; also, the number of emigrants is larger than the number of immigrants.^[10] The CIA World Factbook estimates the net migration rate for 2009 to be -3.26 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants.^[7]

[edit] CIA snapshot of Estonia

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[7]

Age structure

Age structure of Estonia from 1970–2009. Data is taken from Statistics Estonia.^[4]      Age: 0–14      Age: 15–64      Age: 65+

• 0–14 years: 14.9% (male 99,748; female 94,051)
• 15–64 years: 67.5% (male 417,816; female 459,246)
• 65 years and over: 17.6% (male 75,486; female 153,024) (2009 est.)

Sex ratio

Population pyramid of Estonia (in thousands) from 2009. Data is from January 1, 2009 and taken from Statistics Estonia.^[4]

• at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
• 15–64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.84 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

• 7.32 deaths/1,000 live births
• male: 8.48 deaths/1,000 live births
• female: 6.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

• total population: 72.82 years
• male: 67.45 years
• female: 78.53 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

• 1.42 children born/woman (2009)

[edit] Detail of ethnic makeup of Estonia

The below table was taken from 2000 census. [1]

[edit] Table of birth and death rates

The information below is taken from the CIA World Factbook.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Demographics of Estonia

• Estonianization
• Baltic Germans
• Estonian Swedes
• History of Russians in Estonia
• Võros
• Aging of Europe

[edit] References