| Lääne-Viru County | |
| Native Name: | Estonian: Lääne-Virumaa |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Flag Size: | 125px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Estonia |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Rakvere |
| Area Total Km2: | 3695.72 |
| Population Total: | 58709 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Rank: | 5th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Estonians |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 87.3% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Russians |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 9.2% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | other |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 3.6% |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | €1.074 billion (2022) |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | €18,150 (2022) |
| Registration Plate: | R |
| Iso Code: | EE-60 |
Lääne-Viru County (Estonian: Lääne-Viru maakond or Lääne-Virumaa) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. In Estonian, lääne means western and ida means east or eastern. Lääne-Viru borders Ida-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south, and Järva and Harju counties to the west. In January 2013, Lääne-Viru County had a population of 58,806: 4.5% of the population in Estonia.[2]
In prehistoric times, Lääne-Virumaa was settled by Estonians of the Vironian tribe.
The County Government (Estonian: maavalitsus) is led by a governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia. Since 2014, the governor position has been held by Marko Torm. The county seat is Rakvere.
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality (Estonian: linnad – towns) and seven rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Lääne-Viru County.
| Rank | Municipality | Type | Population (2018)[3] | Area km2 | Density | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rural | 4,389 | 547 | 8.0 | ||
| 2 | Rural | 4,958 | 355 | 14.0 | ||
| 3 | Rural | 5,566 | 296 | 18.8 | ||
| 4 | Urban | 15,613 | 11 | 1,419.4 | ||
| 5 | Rural | 11,252 | 479 | 23.5 | ||
| 6 | Rural | 6,919 | 1,013 | 6.8 | ||
| 7 | Rural | 5,981 | 311 | 19.2 | ||
| 8 | Rural | 6,016 | 683 | 8.8 |
| Religion | 2000 | 2011 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | ||
| 10,764 | 19.9 | 8,429 | 16.7 | 8,040 | 15.9 | ||
| —Orthodox Christians | 2,152 | 4.0 | 2,777 | 5.5 | 3,040 | 6.1 | |
| —Lutherans | 7,498 | 12.9 | 4,755 | 9.4 | 3,730 | 7.5 | |
| —Catholics | 162 | 0.3 | 98 | 0.2 | 120 | 0.2 | |
| —Baptists | 294 | 0.5 | 166 | 0.3 | 190 | 0.4 | |
| —Jehovah's Witnesses | 234 | 0.4 | 187 | 0.3 | 170 | 0.3 | |
| —Pentecostals | 135 | 0.2 | 102 | 0.2 | 170 | 0.3 | |
| —Old Believers | 10 | 0.01 | 20 | 0.03 | - | - | |
| —Methodists | 136 | 0.2 | 77 | 0.1 | 40 | 0.08 | |
| —Adventists | 143 | 0.2 | 76 | 0.1 | 160 | 0.3 | |
| —Other Christians | - | - | 171 | 0.3 | 420 | 0.8 | |
| 23 | 0.03 | 26 | 0.05 | 20 | 0.04 | ||
| Buddhism | - | - | 30 | 0.05 | 50 | 0.1 | |
| Other religions** | 237 | 0.4 | 361 | 0.7 | 680 | 1.3 | |
| No religion | 24,820 | 46.0 | 35,239 | 69.8 | 35,790 | 72.3 | |
| Not stated*** | 10,249 | 19.0 | 6,444 | 12.7 | 4,910 | 9.9 | |
| Total population* | 53,957 | 50,425 | 49,490 | ||||
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