Fact Sheet May 2008 Estonia Today POPULATION BY NATIONALITY

Key Facts

• Estonia’s population is 1,341 million people (as of 1.01.2008). • More than 100 different nationalities and ethnic groups are represented in Estonia. The largest ethnic groups as of 1.01.2007 are: Estonians 68.6%, Russians 24.9%, Ukrainians 2.1%, Belarusians 1.2%, Finns 0.8 %, Tatars 0.2%, Latvians 0.16%, Poles 0.15%, Lithuanians 0.15%, Jews 0.14%, Germans 0.14%, others 0.68%. • Altogether about 420 000 people, or 31.4% belong to various ethnic groups other than Estonians. • According to the 2000 census, altogether 109 languages are spoken in Estonia. 83.4% of Estonian citizens speak Estonian as their mother tongue, 15.3% - Russian and 1% speak other languages. • According to Population Censuses, in 1934 Estonians constituted 88.1% and other nationalities 11.9% of the population; By 1959 the share of Estonians had fallen to 74.6% and in 1989 the corresponding figure was 61.5%. • Of Estonian residents 83.8% are Estonian citizens, 8.1% are citizens of other countries and 8.1% - citizens with undetermined citizenship. The number of Estonian citizens who have become citizens through naturalization process (more than 148 000 persons) exceeds the number of residents of undetermined citizenship (110 000 persons).

Ethnic diversity, cultural diversity the percentage of ethnic Estonians in the total population decreased by 27 per cent. At the end of the 1980s, Estonians Different nationalities have always lived together in perceived their demographic change as a national Estonia. Tolerance and democracy are illustrated by the catastrophe. This was a result of the outrageous migration Law on the Cultural Autonomy for National Minorities, policies essential to the Soviet Nationalisation programme passed already in 1925, which was not only the first in aiming to russify Estonia - forceful administrative and military Europe at the time but also very progressive. immigration of non-Estonians from the USSR coupled with the mass deportations of Estonians to the USSR. During the purges Before the World War II, Estonia was a relatively 1941-1949 up to 60 000 Estonians were killed or deported. homogeneous society – national minorities constituted about 12% of the population. The largest minority groups in The migrant population has been brought predominantly 1934 were Russians, Germans, Swedes, Latvians, Jews, from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and from other regions of the Poles, Finns, and Ingrians. World War II along with Soviet USSR such as Tatarstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia etc. and Nazi occupations interrupted the natural development of inter-ethnic relations, deforming the inner features of Minorities other than Russians make up 6.5% of the total Estonian society. By 1989, minorities constituted more than population. Unlike the Russians, they did not have the support of one third of the population, the number of non-Estonians the authorities in preserving and practicing their culture and had grown almost 5-fold, while language until Estonia regained independence in 1991.

Nationality Census of 1934/per cent Census of 1989/per cent Census of 2000/per cent 1. Estonians 992 520 88.1 963 281 61.5 930 219 67.9 2. Russians 92 656 8.2 474 834 30.3 351 178 25.6 3. Ukrainians 92 0.008 48 271 3.083 29 012 2.1 4. Belarussians * * 27 711 1.769 17 241 1.3 5. Finns and Ingrians 1 088 0.1 16 622 1.061 12 195 0.89 6. Tatars 166 0.015 4 058 0.259 2 582 0.19 7. Latvians 5 435 0.5 3 135 0.2 2 330 0.17 8. Poles 1 608 0.14 3 008 0.192 2 193 0.16 9. Jews 4 434 0.4 4 613 0.295 2 145 0.156 10. Lithuanians 253 0.022 2 568 0.164 2 116 0.154 11. Germans 16 346 1.5 3 466 0.221 1 870 0.136 12. Armenians * * 1 669 0.106 1 444 0.105 13. Azerbaijani * * 1 238 0.079 880 0.064 21. Swedes 7 641 0.7 297 0.019 300 0.021 Other nationalities or nationality unknown 4 174 0.37 10 891 0.696 14 347 1.047 Total population 1 126 413 100 1 565 662 100 1 370 052 100

*Data included in “other nationalities”. Sources: Statistical Office www.stat.ee

The beginning of the 1990s brought a rather new situation. into Europe and the global world is taking place parallel to For Estonians, the restoration of independence and integration within Estonia, which aims at creating an open democracy meant first and foremost the restoration of multicultural society. historical justice. Although, many non-Estonians supported the re-establishment of an independent Estonia, their new All minorities living in Estonia are guaranteed opportunities psychological situation in the 1990s can best be described for the preservation of their language and cultural as ‘seeking an identity’. Therefore, Estonia’s integration

Press and Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islandi väljak 1, Tallinn 15049, Estonia Tel. +372 637 7600, Fax +372 637 7617, E-mail: [email protected] www.vm.ee Fact Sheet May 2008 distinctiveness, above all through the organisation of 200 of such societies and organisations have been education and social activities in their mother tongue. registered to date.

The constitution and the Cultural Autonomy for Ethnic The largest of them are: Minorities Act define the legal status and rights of national • The Estonian Union of National Minorities, founded in minorities living in Estonia. Ingrian Finns were the first 1988. www.ngonet.ee/nationalminorities national minority to establish cultural autonomy in Estonia. The election of the Ingrian-Finnish cultural council was • International Association of National Cultural held in 2004. Societies of Estonia “Lyra”, founded in 1995. • Roundtable of National Cultural Societies of Ida- Estonia is also a state party to the first international Virumaa, founded in 1995. convention protecting the rights of the national minorities, • The Association of Slavic Educational and Charitable enforced in 1998, the Council of Europe’s Framework Societies in Estonia - first organised in 1988 as the Convention for the Protection of National. Pursuant to the Society of Slavic Cultures. A legal successor of the undertaken commitments the state supports the strivings in organisation founded in 1923. the field of culture and education of all national and ethnic • The Congress of Ukrainians in Estonia, founded in 1989. minorities. More than 200 of ethnic cultural societies and • The Association of Turkish and Caucasian Nations in organisations have been registered to date. They all have Europe, founded in 2004. www.az.ee an opportunity to get budgetary support. The “Integration in Estonian Society 2008-2013” national Estonia is one of the few European Union countries, where programme includes a separate sub-programme that is there is a multi-lingual publicly financed school system as dedicated to the education and culture of ethnic minorities. part of the public educational system. Russian-language The Foundation for the Integration of Non-Estonians education is provided in public and also in private schools supports activities described in the national programme at all levels: in preschool, primary and secondary schools, through its competitions: the project competition for as well as in vocational schools and higher education national culture societies and the project competition for institutions. About 23% of all Estonian schoolchildren are Sunday schools of national culture societies. attending Russian-language primary and secondary schools. 10% of higher education students study in Projects submitted by national culture societies that Russian. There is also a public Jewish upper secondary introduce their culture to Estonians in addition to fostering school. In addition, it is possible for those children, whose their own culture receive support every year. Various mother tongue differs from the language of study can apply approaches are selected for introducing their own culture – to study their mother tongue and culture in state or public events, lectures, exhibitions and seminars take municipal schools if a sufficient number of students are place, broadcasts and information folders are prepared and interested. For that purpose the corresponding regulation homepages are created. Estonian society becomes more has been adopted by the state, also the language teachers aware of cultural differences and more tolerant of different of different nationalities have been trained. cultures through these activities.

The cultural societies support non-Estonians in preserving In Estonia, 34 Russian language newspapers and 14 their national identities as well as in integrating into magazines are being published (Source: National Library Estonian society. www.nlib.ee). Out of the three all-Estonian TV channels, two offer regular programs in Russian. Seven radio stations broadcast in Russian. One of them is Radio 4, a radio station in public law offering among others, More information about national minorities and broadcasts in the Ukrainian, Belorussian, Armenian and Estonian multinational society: Yiddish languages. The Russian language is widely represented in the Internet environment with many state Minister of Population Affairs www.rahvastikuminister.ee institutions and agencies in offering Russian services, among them also the state Internet centre www.riik.ee. Non-Estonians Integration Foundation www.meis.ee A great number of Internet portals and web media publications are also available in Russian. Presidential Roundtable on National Minorities www.president.ee

Non-Estonians participate in the work of almost all State Integration Programme for years 2000 to 2007 Estonian parties. The present Riigikogu consists of the www.riik.ee/saks/ikomisjon/programme.htm representatives of several ethnic minorities, who have been elected from the lists of different Estonian parties. Population, Estonian Institute www.estonica.org

The latest developments in the Estonian political Information Centre of Finno-Ugric Peoples www.suri.ee landscape have shown that multi-ethnic parties prove to be more successful than parties with narrow ethnic self- Estonia’s second report on the implementation of the determination. Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities www.mfa.ee

Cultural Societies of National Minorities

The public acknowledgement of ethnic minorities in Estonia began in 1988, when non-Estonians started to form their own cultural societies and associations. About