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Genetik/Peoples/Estonians

Estonians

Эстонцы · Q173302

language area per Glottologcensus counts
932,603
Estonia, census 2026 (ethnicity / nationality)
946,552
sum of censuses in 9 countries, 2001-2026
Uralic
language family (Glottolog)

In brief

The largest documented number lives in Estonia: 932,603 people in the 2026 census.

Official figures exist for 9 countries; together they add up to 946,552. This is not an estimate of the world total: the censuses were held in different years (2001-2026) and define belonging differently, and countries without such data are not counted.

In Russia's 2020 census (reference date 1 October 2021), 7,859 people identified with the nationality "Эстонцы" (Estonians)1. That is less than 0.01% of the 130,587,364 residents who stated a nationality.

Rosstat also assigns 2 other self-designations to this nationality (listed in Russian in the source table).

Main language: Estonian. Glottolog classifies it in the Uralic family.

Where they live: census figures

Each figure comes from the country's official census. Censuses define belonging differently (self-identification, citizenship, mother tongue, ancestry); the type is given on each row.

Estonia2026 · ethnicity / nationality · «Estonian» · [2]
932,603
Russia2021 · ethnicity / nationality · «Эстонцы» · [1]
7,859
Ukraine2001 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Estonian» · [3]
2,868
Latvia2021 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Estonian» · [4]
1,587
Kazakhstan2021 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Estonian» · [5]
1,090
Belarus2019 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Estonian» · [6]
261
Lithuania2021 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Estonian» · [7]
233
Moldova, Republic of2014 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Estonian» · [8]
41
Tajikistan2010 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Estonian» · [9]
10
Sum across 9 countries946,552

In detail: Russia, 2021 census

Sex, urban and rural, Russian regions

Sex

Men 3,485 · 44.3%Women 4,374 · 55.7%

Urban and rural

Urban 5,174 · 65.8%Rural 2,685 · 34.2%

Where: the 10 regions with the largest numbers

Omsk Oblast
964
Krasnoyarsk Krai
873
Saint Petersburg (city)
845
Moscow (city)
586
Novosibirsk Oblast
361
Pskov Oblast
339
Leningrad Oblast
323
Tomsk Oblast
295
Krasnodar Krai
278
Moscow Oblast
200

Groups counted within this nationality

Setos234

Source [1]: Rosstat, 2020 census, vol. 5, table 1

Languages and their lineage

Estonian

  1. Uralicural1272
  2. Finnicfinn1317
  3. Coastal Finniccoas1319
  4. Nevaneva1234
  5. Central Finniccent2329
  6. Estonianesto1258

People-to-language links: Wikidata (properties P103 and P2936), checked against ISO 639-3 codes. Language classification: Glottolog 5.3.

Peoples of the same language family

HungariansMari peopleUdmurtsKomi peopleKomi-PermyaksErzyasNenetsKareliansKhanty peopleMountain MariMansi peopleMokshasFinnsVepsiansSelkup peopleBesermyanNganasan peopleIngrian FinnsLivoniansSetosIzhoriansEnetsMeadow–Eastern Mari peopleVotes

Sources

  1. Rosstat. National composition of the population of the Russian Federation. Results of the 2020 All-Russian Population Census (reference date 1 October 2021), vol. 5, table 1. Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx (archived copy)
  2. Statistics Estonia (Statistikaamet). There are people of 224 different ethnic nationalities living in Estonia (Statistics Estonia news; population-register based, NOT the 2021 census). https://stat.ee/en/news/there-are-people-of-224-different-ethnic-nationalities-living-in-e…
  3. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Ukraine, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  4. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Latvia, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  5. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Kazakhstan, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  6. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Belarus, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  7. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Lithuania, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  8. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Republic of Moldova, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  9. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Tajikistan, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  10. Hammarström H., Forkel R., Haspelmath M., Bank S. (2026). Glottolog 5.3. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. glottolog.org (CC BY 4.0)