Where is the most densely populated square mile in Estonia?
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Geo-information Specialist, Statistics Estonia
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Communications Partner, Statistics Estonia
Comparing the changes that have taken place in the distribution of population in Estonia over the past 24 years, noteworthy patterns can be seen that reflect the overall evolution and movement of society.
The map series of Statistics Estonia is based on the 1 km x 1 km square map of population density in Estonia based on the 2000 Population and Housing Census, which is compared with the 1 km x 1 km square map of population distribution in 2024. Technically, this is a population density map, which shows the number of people living on each square kilometre.
The squares show that the people of Estonia like living in larger cities. On average, significantly more people lived in smaller settlements in 2000 than in 2024. When the people get tired of the life in the city, they move to the municipalities around the big cities. For example, over the past 24 years, population density has notably increased in the municipalities around Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu. While the general trend is that the number of people in rural areas is decreasing, in many places there are individual squares where population growth contradicts this tendency: in these individual squares the population has increased because of the rise in the number of residents in care homes.