Census: Estonian population down 5.5 percent in twelve years
31.05.2012, 11:35According to the preliminary data of the 2011 Population and Housing Census, there are 1,294,236 permanent residents in Estonia.
Compared to the previous census held in 2000, the number of permanent residents in Estonia has decreased by 75,816 people or 5.5 percent.
Of the population, 693,884 were women and 600,352 were men.
68.7% of permanent residents defined themselves as Estonians and 24.8% as Russians. 4.9% of the enumerated permanent residents specified another ethnic nationality and 1.5% did not specify any ethnic nationality.
According to the international definition, a permanent resident is a person who has lived in the country for at least a year before the census moment (31 December 2012) or intends to live in the country for at least a year.
In 2000, the proportion of children (aged 0–14) in the population was 18%, whereas by 2011 their proportion had decreased to 15%. At the same time, the proportion of people aged 65 and over had increased to 18% (compared to 15% in 2000). The share of the working-age population (aged 15–65) had remained on the same level as in 2000 (67%).
Compared to the previous census, the populations of Harju and Tartu counties have increased and the populations of the other counties have decreased.
The number of residents of Harju county went up from 525,000 to 552,000 in twelve years, or about 5 percent.