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The following is a list of the 47 cities and towns in Estonia. Before the Republic of Estonia became an independent nation in 1918, many of these locations were known in the rest of the world by their German language names which were occasionally quite different from the ones used in the Estonian language. During the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation of Estonia, placenames were transliterated into Russian (Cyrillic alphabet) in the Soviet central government's documents, which in turn led to the use of several incorrect back-transliterations from Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet into English (and other Latin alphabets) in some English-language maps and texts during the second half of the 20th century (for example, incorrect Pyarnu, Vilyandi, Pylva, instead of the correct Pärnu, Viljandi, Põlva).
Tallinn is the capital and the most populous city of Estonia. There are 46 other linn, i.e. cities and towns in Estonia (as of 2022). The Estonian word linn means both "a city" or "a town". More than 70% of the country's population lives in the cities and towns.
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,435. It is 186 kilometres southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the two largest lakes in Estonia, Lake Võrtsjärv and Lake Peipus. From the 13th century until the end of the 19th century, Tartu was known in most of the world by variants of its historical name Dorpat.
Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 53,626 inhabitants Narva is Estonia's third largest city after capital Tallinn and Tartu.
Pärnu is the fourth-largest city in Estonia and third in terms of the ethnic Estonian population. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located 128 kilometres (80 mi) south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and 176 kilometres (109 mi) west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga, which is a part of the Baltic Sea. In the city, the Pärnu River drains into the Gulf of Riga.
Counties are the state administrative subdivisions of Estonia. Estonian territory is composed of 15 counties, including 13 on the mainland and 2 on islands. County governments were abolished at the end of 2017, with their duties split between state authorities and local governments, and nowadays counties have no noteworthy independent competences. Counties are composed of municipalities of two types: urban municipalities and rural municipalities, which are by law required to cooperate in development of their county.
A municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision of Estonia. Each municipality is a unit of self-government with its representative and executive bodies. The municipalities in Estonia cover the entire territory of the country.
Valga is a town in southern Estonia and the capital of Valga County and Valga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of Valka in northern Latvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 square kilometres and that of Valka is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the Schengen Agreement.
Harju County, is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla County to the south, and Lääne County to the southwest. The capital and largest city of Estonia, Tallinn, is situated in Harju County. Harju is the largest county in Estonia in terms of population, as almost half (45%) of Estonia's population lives in Harju County.
Ida-Viru County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is the most north-eastern part of the country. The county contains large deposits of oil shale - the main mineral mined in Estonia. Oil shale is used in the production of shale oil and in thermal power plants. The capital of the county is the town of Jõhvi which is administratively united with the Jõhvi Parish; nevertheless, Narva is the largest town in the county in terms of population and at the same time the third largest city in Estonia after Tallinn and Tartu.
Pärnu County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to the east, and Latvia to the south. In 2022, Pärnu County had a population of 85,705 – constituting 6.4% of the total population of Estonia.
Tapa is a town in Tapa Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia, located at the junction of the country's Tallinn–Narva (west–east) and Tallinn–Tartu–Valga (north–south) railway lines. It is an important centre of transit for freight as well as rail passengers, a home to soldiers since the 1930s. Tapa also plays an important role in training young men and women in the Estonian Defense Forces, being nearby to Keskpolügoon. The Valgejõgi River passes Tapa on its northeastern side.
Kohtla-Järve is a city and municipality in northeastern Estonia, founded in 1924 and incorporated as a town in 1946. The city is highly industrial, and is both a processor of oil shales and is a large producer of various petrochemical products. During the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation, large numbers of immigrant workers from Russia and other parts of the former USSR were brought in to populate the rapidly growing city. The population in the Kohtla-Järve area which had been, as of 1934 census, over 90% ethnic Estonian, became overwhelmingly non-Estonian in the second half of the 20th century. According to more recent data 21% of the city's population are ethnic Estonians; most of the rest are Russians. Kohtla-Järve is the fifth-largest city in Estonia in terms of population.
Ivangorod is a town in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the east bank of the Narva river which flows along the Estonia–Russia international border, 159 kilometers (99 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, 218 kilometers (135 mi) east of Tallinn, Estonia. The town's population was recorded as 9,854 (2010 Russian census); 11,206 (2002 Census); 11,833 (1989 Soviet census).
Russians in the Baltic states is a broadly defined subgroup of the Russian diaspora who self-identify as ethnic Russians, or are citizens of Russia, and live in one of the three independent countries — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — primarily the consequences of the USSR's forced population transfers during occupation. As of 2023, there were approximately 887,000 ethnic Russians in the three countries, having declined from ca 1.7 million in 1989, the year of the last census during the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation of the three Baltic countries.
In Estonia, the population of ethnic Russians is estimated at 296,268, most of whom live in the capital city Tallinn and other urban areas of Harju and Ida-Viru counties. While a small settlement of Russian Old Believers on the coast of Lake Peipus has an over 300-year long history, the large majority of the ethnic Russian population in the country originates from the immigration from Russia and other parts of the former USSR during the 1944–1991 Soviet era of Estonia.
Türi is a town in Järva County, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Türi Parish. Since 2000, Türi is known as the "spring capital" of Estonia. It has a railway station on the Tallinn - Viljandi railway line operated by Elron.
Mõisaküla is a town in southern Estonia, part of Mulgi Parish of Viljandi County, just next to the border of Latvia. It is considered to be the smallest town in Estonia.
Kilingi-Nõmme is a town in Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saarde Parish. It is located on the intersection of Valga–Uulu and Tartu–Viljandi–Kilingi-Nõmme roads, about 11 km (7 mi) from the Estonian border with Latvia.
The official language of Estonia is Estonian, a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, which is related to Finnish. It is unrelated to the bordering Russian and Latvian languages, both of which are Indo-European.
Audru is a small borough in Pärnu municipality, Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. Before the administrative reform in 2017, Audru was the administrative centre of Audru Parish. At the 2011 Census, the settlement's population was 1,492.
Pärnu is an urban municipality of Estonia, in Pärnu County. It comprises the town of Pärnu and settlements of former parishes of Audru, Paikuse and Tõstamaa.
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