Estonia’s population decreased by 7,041 according to preliminary data

Kadri Rootalu, the service manager of population and education statistics at Statistics Estonia, said that the demographic trends of recent years continued in 2025. “Last year, over 6,000 more people died than were born. Emigration remained at the level of 2024, but immigration decreased. Net migration was negative for the first time since 2014. The population of Estonia declined by 7,041 overall,” explained Rootalu.

The number of births was under 10,000 for the second time in history

9,092 children were born in 2025, which is 6% less than in 2024. “Compared with 2024, there were 600 fewer children born last year. The number of births started to decrease dramatically in 2022, and 2025 was the second time in history when the annual number of births remained below 10,000,” said Rootalu. She added that the decline in births in 2025 was not as sharp as in 2024. “The number of births in 2024 was down by more than 1,200 from 2023, which was almost 12%. These indicators improved last year,” she said.

The declining birth rate has been explained by the fall in the overall number of women in childbearing age, among other things. In 2025, the number of women aged 20–44 was 210,000 – this is 10,000 fewer than 10 years ago but the number has remained steady over the last three years.

Rootalu noted that there are similar trends in neighbouring countries. “According to preliminary data, the number of births also decreased significantly in Latvia and Lithuania. In Finland, the number of births increased a little based on the first nine months of 2025, but it was still low compared to historical data,” she said.

The number of deaths in Estonia in 2025 was down by 300 from 2024 and totalled 15,427. This number is similar to the average in the years 2010–2019.

More people are leaving Estonia than settling here

According to the data on registered migration, 11,298 people immigrated to Estonia and 12,004 people emigrated in 2025, meaning that departures outnumbered arrivals by 706. This is the first time since 2014 that net migration has been negative (i.e. emigration has exceeded immigration). 

“About 35% of the immigrants, or 4,000 people, were citizens of Ukraine. This number was smaller than in previous years. The number of Ukrainian citizens arriving in Estonia was 33,200 in 2022, 13,100 in 2023 and 7,000 in 2024,” said Rootalu. She added that, based on preliminary data, the net migration of Estonian citizens was also negative in 2025. “However, in the last ten years, the net migration of Estonian citizens has been balanced,” she admitted.

In the next few months, Statistics Estonia will supplement registered migration data with data on unregistered migration. The revised data will show conclusively whether net migration in 2025 was negative or not. 

The preliminary population figure is based on data on births, deaths and migration registered in the Population Register in the previous year. Statistics Estonia will publish the revised population figure on 21 April. The differences in methodologies are described in Statistics Estonia’s blog (in Estonian).

Data as at 14 January 2026 are published. The indicator values may change if there are any revisions made in the data sources after this date.

See also the population section on our website.

When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.

For further information:

Susann Kivi
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5696 6484

press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)

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