Estonia's population increases for third year
According to preliminary data, the number of Estonian residents was 1,318,700 on Jan. 1, which is an increase by 3,070 people compared to a year ago. This is the third year in a row that Estonia's population sees a net increase, if only by 0.2 percent.
There was no natural increase of the population, as the number of deaths was higher than the number of new births registered. This means that there was a natural decrease of 1,960 people. At the same time, the population on the whole did increase due to the fact that more people came to live here than left.
This increase amounts to 0.2 percent, or 5,030. With it, 2017 was the third year in a row in which Estonia registered a population increase, Statistics Estonia reported on Tuesday.
13,520 children were born in 2017, some 400 less than in the previous year. As the number of women of childbearing age is decreasing, this means the average number of children per woman has not changed by much.
15,480 people died last year, which is roughly the same compared to previous years. As the average live expectancy is on the increase, the number of elderly people in Estonia is also rising.
10,470 people arrived in Estonia, 5,440 left. Migration statistics are the most difficult in preliminary data, as Statistics Estonia has to work with data from sourcers other than the population register also. Unregistered immigration will be added later.
Getting to the final result is more difficult technically as well as methodologically, which means that later numbers can significantly deviate from preliminary data.
According to Statistics Estonia, emigration numbers will likely increase because of Estonian citizens' unregistered leaving. The same category of people also exists in immigration statistics.
Cases of unregistered emigration are more common than of unregistered immigration, which means that emigration numbers can be expected to see the greatest adjustment.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: Statistics Estonia