ESTONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 2009

1. Population
Human life relies on both living and lifeless components of nature.
Demographic processes summon forth a string of changes in the environment.
Changes are caused by the population of a given area, population
density, habitat preferences, migration, demographic structure, and
size of a household, among other factors. For example, growth of the
population and suburban sprawl result in changes in the use of land and
traffic flows and occasion the need for roads, water supply and sewerage
in regions where they did not previously exist. Establishment of
infrastructure alone results in direct environmental impacts.
As of 1 January 2008, Estonia was home to 1,340,935
people (if migration is accounted for, as well, the figure is
1,325,408), making it one of Europe’s smallest countries
in terms of population as well as in terms of area. In the
European Union, only Cyprus, Malta and Luxembourg
have a smaller population. Similarly to Finland and
Sweden, Estonia’s population density is one of Europe’s
lowest – 31.2 per/km 2 (map 1.1).
Since independence was restored, the population of
Estonia has constantly decreased. The main reason for the
decrease is the low number of births from 1990–2000.
Estonia’s population will continue to shrink in the future,
according to various forecasts. The birth rate fell in the
early 1990s and started growing slightly from 1998. In
this century, the population decline has slowed, as in
the last five years, the birth rate is once more increasing
and the death rate has stabilized. One partial reason for
the rising birth rate is family planning – people are once
more having children after putting off having children
for a number of years. In recent years, more second and
third children have been born into families. Estonia’s total
birth coefficient was 1.64 in 2007 – equal to the average
for Europe (map 1.2).
The longer lifespan and low birth rate has resulted in
the ageing of the population. The share of the over-65
segment was already 17% in 2007. The lifespan of men
and women living in Estonia is more than ten years apart,
making it one of the biggest gaps in all of Europe. In 2007
men had a life expectancy of 67.1 years; and women, 78.7
years. In Europe, only Latvia and Lithuania have a shorter
male life expectancy.
The population is growing due to natural growth in
the Tallinn region, in the municipalities around Rakvere,
the surroundings of Paide, Tartu and Pärnu, and in the
city of Põlva.
As of 2007, Estonia’s urban settlements have a total
population of 930,936 and rural settlements, 409,999.
In recent years, the percentage of the population living
in rural settlements has stabilized at about 30–33%
(figure 1.2).
The local government units surrounding Estonia’s largest
cities have seen a population increase, as a number of
city residents have moved there, while retaining strong
ties to their respective cities (work, school, service). For
instance, the population has increased in the last five
years in Kiili, Viimsi, Harku, Rae, Kernu, Saku and Saue
rural municipalities (Tallinn region) and in Sauga (rural
municipality adjacent to the city of Pärnu) and Ülenurme
rural municipality (adjacent to the city of Tartu).
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