Text size

Line spacing

Contrast

Placeholder Placeholder
Background image
For visually impaired

In 2021, Tartu gained one thousand more new residents than the year before

Tartu City Government Press Release

Tartlased Photo: Nima Sarabi

/ According to the Department of Population Procedures, in 2021, the majority of new Tartu residents came from foreign countries. Last year, nearly one thousand more people registered their place of residence in the population register as Tartu than the year before.

Last year, a total of 5481 people registered Tartu as their place of residence in the population register; this is almost one thousand more than in the previous year, when 4617 new residents registered in Tartu. Most arrivals (1465 people) were from foreign countries, followed by Tartu County (1172 people), Harju County and Tallinn (888 people), Jõgeva County (199 people), Põlva County (196 people), and Võru County (184 people). The fewest new residents came to Tartu from Rapla County (35 people), Hiiu County (11 people), and Lääne County (16 people).

Most of the residents coming to Tartu from abroad were from Finland (225 people), Germany (143 people), and France (110 people). From Latvia and Lithuania, a total of 35 and 13 people, respectively, came to Tartu. The most exotic places that people arrived from were the Republic of Korea (2 people), Uzbekistan (1 person), Ecuador (1 person), Ethiopia (1 person), and Costa Rica (1 person).

Janika Hango, CEO of the Tartu Welcome Centre, explained that foreigners and their family members come to Tartu primarily because of the institutions of higher education found here. ‘People come to the institutions of higher education in Tartu to study and teach themselves. Due to the restrictions related to the pandemic, citizens of the European Union are finding it easier to change their place of residence than those coming from third countries,’ said Hango, explaining why there are more people arriving from the European Union.

Together with births, the population of Tartu increased by 6507 people in 2021, with a total of 94,663 people living in Tartu.

A total of 5690 people left Tartu, which is almost a thousand more than in 2020 (4729). Most people left for Tartu County (2310 people), Harju County and Tallinn (973 people), foreign countries (637 people) and neighbouring counties such as Jõgeva County (166 people), Põlva County (183 people) and Võru County (129 people). The lowest number of departures was to Lääne County (20 people), Rapla County (25 people), and Hiiu County (14 people).

Among foreign countries, the most residents went from Tartu to Finland (196 people) and to Germany (96 people). A total of 86 people left Tartu for France, 26 for Italy, and 25 for Spain. People also headed to Cyprus (1 person), Peru (1 person), Turkey (1 person) and Georgia (1 person). Together with deaths, a total of 6858 residents left Tartu last year.

Most residents of Tartu live in Annelinn (24,262 people), Karlova (8375 people), Tammelinn (8148 people), and Ülejõe (7960 people). The fewest people live in Maarjamõisa (451 people), Variku (1776 people), and Ränilinn (1930 people).

As at the beginning of 2021, a total of 74,630 Estonians, 12,399 Russians, 1180 Finns, and 1087 Ukrainians live in Tartu. There are 342 Belarusians, 297 Germans, 265 Latvians, 175 Italians, and 166 Hindus and French. In addition, there are, for example, Walloons (7 people), Haussians (5 people), New Zealanders (4 people), Cubans (2 people), Karaites (2 people), Eskimos (1 person) and Javanese (1 person), along with many other exciting nationalities living in Tartu.

Last changed 03.02.2022