Data from Statistics Estonia shows that Estonia's population currently stands at 1,374, 678, up from 1,313,271 a decade ago. However, in 2024, there were fewer babies and young children in Estonia than at the beginning of 2014. The number of children under the age of one fell from 13,581  in 2014 to 10,988 at the start of last year. There were also just over 60,000 children aged between one and four years in 2014, while now there are 5,000 fewer.

The number of older children is higher than a decade ago, with over 2,600 more five to nine-year-olds in Estonia than in 2014, and 78,607 10-14 year-olds, an increase of more 17,000 over the course of a decade.

The 15-19 age group also saw a significant change, with more than 76,000 children last year, an increase of over 15,000 from 2014.

In the 20-24 age group, however, things have moved in the opposite direction. There are now over 66,000 people aged 20-24 in Estonia, while a decade ago there 19,000 more than that. The gap is even greater for 25-29 year olds, who totaled nearly 97,500 in 2014, compared to just 69,600 today.

The number of 30-39 year olds is higher than a decade ago. In 2014, there were nearly 182,000 people aged 30-39, while in 2024 there were almost 204,000. There are now also more people in their forties and fifties, with the current total exceeding 286,000 – an increase of 17,000 from 2014. At the same time, the number of people aged 55-59 is 5,600 fewer than 10 years previously.

There are now more people in the 60-74 age group, and the number of people aged 85 and over has also increased. There are however a few thousand fewer people aged 75-79 than a decade ago.

Population declined most in Ida-Viru County

According to the Population Register, Ida-Viru County and the south east of Estonia are the regions where the populations fell the most, said Heidi Kukk, head of media relations at Statistics Estonia. Kukk added that the agency will have more precise regional information available in May, when the revised population figures are due to be published.

"In terms of the bigger picture, there was no change from norm - the population increased in Harju and Tartu counties, was stable or close to it on the islands and fell elsewhere. The biggest drop was in Ida-Viru County. South-east Estonia also saw some pretty big declines in terms of population share," said Kukk.

More accurate statistics regarding the different age groups will be available in the spring, when the exact population figures are finalized.

Immigration brought 26,399 people to Estonia last year, while 12,543 went in the other direction. Of the new arrivals, 45 percent had Ukrainian citizenship and nearly 38 percent were Estonian citizens who returned home.

"Next in terms of size are citizens of Russia, Latvia, Finland and Germany, each of which is between three and four percent. I would like to stress that this is the citizenship of immigrants. In other words, this does not answer the question of what the main countries of origin are of the people who came to Estonia last year but rather which countries' citizens came," Kukk explained.

The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) are unable to say exactly how many Ukrainian refugees are currently in Estonia. PPA spokesperson Martin Raid said they do not collect data on internal border crossings, nor keep records of how many people have left.

"Ukrainian citizens can also stay in Estonia without applying for temporary protection or international protection," Raid said.

As of Wednesday, January 15, The number of Ukrainians receiving temporary or international protection in Estonia was 6,378. More than 4,600 are men and over 1,700 are women. Most are of working age, though over 100 are children under the age of four. Only 27 are aged 70 and above.

Raid pointed out that there are also other Ukrainians in Estonia who have long-term residence permits or other forms of temporary residence permit, such as for business, family migration, permanent residency or work.

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