| Pärnu County | |
| Native Name: | Estonian: Pärnumaa |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Flag Size: | 125px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Estonia |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Pärnu |
| Area Total Km2: | 4806.68 |
| Population Total: | 85705 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Rank: | 4th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Estonians |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 89.5% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Russians |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 6.8% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | other |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 3.3% |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | €1.587 billion (2022) |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | €18,334 (2022) |
| Registration Plate: | F |
| Iso Code: | EE-68 |
Pärnu County (Estonian: Pärnu maakond or Pärnumaa; German: Kreis Pernau) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to the east, and Latvia to the south. In 2022, Pärnu County had a population of 85,705 – constituting 6.4% of the total population of Estonia.[2]
Pärnu County is the largest county of Estonia in terms of land area.
In Pärnu county, there is the oldest known human settlement in Estonia, which is the town of Sindi, and it is 2km (01miles) up the Pärnu River, near the village of Pulli. It dates back to 8500 BCE in the Mesolithic historical period.
The administrative reform in Estonia abolished county governments by the end of 2017. Before that, counties were led by a governor, who was appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years.
Previous county governors:
The city of Pärnu is a popular holiday resort for Estonians and increasingly for non-Estonians, e.g., from Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Russia.
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality (Estonian: linnad – towns) and six rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Pärnu County.
| Rank | Municipality | Type | Population (2018)[3] | Area km2 | Density | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rural | 4,985 | 494 | 10.1 | ||
| 2 | Rural | 702 | 17 | 41.3 | ||
| 3 | Rural | 5,494 | 1,352 | 4.1 | ||
| 4 | Rural | 8,435 | 1,013 | 8.3 | ||
| 5 | Urban | 51,649 | 855 | 60.4 | ||
| 6 | Rural | 4,722 | 1,065 | 4.4 | ||
| 7 | Rural | 11,694 | 611 | 19.1 |
| Religion | 2000 | 2011 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | ||
| 17,466 | 23.7 | 13,425 | 19.2 | 12,850 | 17.8 | ||
| —Orthodox Christians | 5,473 | 7.4 | 5,008 | 7.2 | 5,030 | 7.0 | |
| —Lutherans | 10,899 | 14.8 | 7,274 | 10.4 | 6,590 | 9.2 | |
| —Catholics | 208 | 0.2 | 157 | 0.2 | 170 | 0.2 | |
| —Baptists | 323 | 0.4 | 219 | 0.3 | 180 | 0.2 | |
| —Jehovah's Witnesses | 159 | 0.2 | 198 | 0.2 | 170 | 0.2 | |
| —Pentecostals | 216 | 0.2 | 151 | 0.2 | 140 | 0.1 | |
| —Old Believers | 9 | 0.01 | 14 | 0.02 | - | - | |
| —Methodists | 71 | 0.09 | 54 | 0.07 | 90 | 0.1 | |
| —Adventists | 108 | 0.1 | 77 | 0.1 | 60 | 0.08 | |
| —Other Christians | - | - | 273 | 0.3 | 420 | 0.5 | |
| 28 | 0.03 | 32 | 0.05 | 150 | 0.2 | ||
| Buddhism | - | - | 81 | 0.1 | 150 | 0.2 | |
| Other religions** | 359 | 0.4 | 576 | 0.2 | 1,020 | 1.4 | |
| No religion | 30,849 | 42.0 | 45,062 | 64.7 | 49,220 | 68.4 | |
| Not stated*** | 24,785 | 33.7 | 10,412 | 14.9 | 8,510 | 11.8 | |
| Total population* | 73,487 | 69,587 | 71,950 | ||||
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