PHC 2011: people of 192 ethnic nationalities live in Estonia
According to Statistics Estonia, there are permanent residents of 192 ethnic nationalities in Estonia, based on the preliminary results of the 2011 Population and Housing Census (PHC 2011). The biggest ethnic groups are Estonians, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Finns.
According to the preliminary data of PHC 2011, there are representatives of 192 ethnic nationalities living in Estonia. 68.7% of Estonia’s permanent population are Estonians (889,770), 24.8% are Russians (321,198) and 1.7% are Ukrainians (22,302). The share of Belarusians (12,419) and Finns (7,423) is less than 1%. In total, there are 37 ethnic nationalities that have more than a hundred representatives in Estonia.
Compared to the previous census of 2000, the share of Estonians has increased one percent, but the population of Estonians has decreased by 40,449 over 12 years. The share of Russians in the total population has decreased by about one percent, i.e. by 29,980. There has been a decrease in the populations of most of the larger ethnic groups.
On the other hand, the number of Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Swedes, Englishmen, US Americans, Italians, Frenchmen, Dutch and Chinese has increased, compared to the previous population census.
During the 2000 census, 142 ethnic nationalities were represented in Estonia.
| Ethnic nationality | males and females | males | females |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonian | 889,770 | 416,301 | 473,469 |
| Russian | 321,198 | 143,165 | 178,033 |
| Ukrainian | 22,302 | 10,531 | 11,771 |
| Belarusian | 12,419 | 5,258 | 7,161 |
| Finnish | 7,423 | 3,334 | 4,089 |
| Tatar | 1,945 | 869 | 1,076 |
| Jewish | 1,927 | 1,031 | 896 |
| Latvian | 1,716 | 726 | 990 |
| Lithuanian | 1,682 | 784 | 898 |
| Polish | 1,622 | 659 | 963 |
| German | 1,490 | 795 | 695 |
| Armenian | 1,402 | 791 | 611 |
More detailed data about ethnic nationalities have been published in the Statistical Database.
The 11th population census in Estonia was conducted from 31 December 2011 until 31 March 2012. Previous censuses were carried out in 1881, 1897, 1922, 1934, 1941, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989 and 2000. The next population census will be conducted in Estonia in 2020/2021.