Rural population in Estonia
Estonia: Rural population was 400,092 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Estonia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Estonia recorded 400,092 for rural population in 2025.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Estonia peaked at 513,806 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 396,914, in 2021.
That places Estonia 156th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Estonia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 513,806 | — |
| 1961 | 504,482 | -1.8% |
| 1962 | 495,481 | -1.8% |
| 1963 | 491,559 | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 489,035 | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 486,070 | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 483,468 | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 479,881 | -0.7% |
| 1968 | 476,913 | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 475,776 | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 473,648 | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 474,400 | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 471,980 | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 468,712 | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 465,335 | -0.7% |
| 1975 | 461,706 | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 457,655 | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 453,682 | -0.9% |
| 1978 | 449,553 | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 446,213 | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 443,324 | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 441,348 | -0.4% |
| 1982 | 439,944 | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 439,855 | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 440,803 | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 441,678 | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 442,868 | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 445,006 | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 446,625 | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 447,955 | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 450,830 | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 453,470 | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 451,751 | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 447,691 | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 446,062 | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 445,944 | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 446,654 | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 447,846 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 448,391 | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 452,697 | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 455,619 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 452,628 | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 449,543 | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 446,386 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 443,274 | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 440,193 | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 436,963 | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 434,249 | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 432,285 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 430,583 | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 428,671 | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 426,406 | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 423,753 | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 420,542 | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 417,147 | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 414,621 | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 411,526 | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 408,479 | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 406,107 | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 403,659 | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 400,431 | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 396,914 | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 398,053 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 401,809 | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 402,122 | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 400,092 | -0.5% |
Estonia compared with similar countries
- Estonia's 400,092 is below the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 88% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Estonia's 400,092 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.49 million, 27% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 489,647 | 475,776 | 513,806 | 10 |
| 1970s | 462,288 | 446,213 | 474,400 | 10 |
| 1980s | 442,941 | 439,855 | 447,955 | 10 |
| 1990s | 449,134 | 445,944 | 453,470 | 10 |
| 2000s | 442,172 | 430,583 | 455,619 | 10 |
| 2010s | 416,091 | 403,659 | 428,671 | 10 |
| 2020s | 399,904 | 396,914 | 402,122 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Estonia
More agriculture & rural data for Estonia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 1.64 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0165 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 566.81 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5048 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2928 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 6.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Estonia?
- Rural population in Estonia was 400,092 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 513,806 in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 396,914 in 2021.
- How does Estonia rank for rural population?
- Estonia ranks 156th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Estonia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Estonia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.