Põlva County
| Põlva County Põlvamaa | |
|---|---|
|  Central part of Põlva County, Põlva Parish | |
|  Coat of arms | |
|  | |
| Country | Estonia | 
| Capital | Põlva | 
| Area | |
|  • Total | 2,164.77 km2 (835.82 sq mi) | 
| Population  (2022[1]) | |
|  • Total | 23,989 | 
| • Rank | 13th | 
| • Density | 11/km2 (29/sq mi) | 
| Ethnicity | |
| • Estonians | 95% | 
| • other | 5% | 
| GDP | |
| • Total | €347 million (2022) | 
| • Per capita | €14,450 (2022) | 
| ISO 3166 code | EE-64 | 
| Vehicle registration | O | 
| Website | www | 
Põlva County (Estonian: Põlva maakond or Põlvamaa) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-eastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga and Võru counties. 23,989 people live in Põlva County – constituting 1.8% of the total population in Estonia (as of 2022).[1]
Government
The County Government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) is led by the Governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2007, the Governor position is held by Priit Sibul.
Municipalities
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are 3 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Põlva County.

| Rank | Municipality | Type | Population (2018)[3] | Area km2[3] | Density[3] | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanepi Parish | Rural | 4,864 | 525 | 9.3 | 
| 2 | Põlva Parish | Rural | 14,273 | 706 | 20.2 | 
| 3 | Räpina Parish | Rural | 6,518 | 591 | 11.0 | 
Demographics
27,028 people live in Põlva County – constituting 2.1% of the total population in Estonia (as of January 2013).[1]
Culture
1951–2019, the county had its newspaper: Koit. The last chief editor (since 2000) was Kauno Kõima.[4]
Religion
The Lutheran congregations in the county are under Võru Deanery of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.[5]
Eastern Orthodoxy congregations in the county are under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.[6]
The independent Estonian Charismatic Church of Fellowship also operates in the county.
Other Christian congregations such as Baptists, Methodists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others operate in the county.
There is also a congregation of the Estonian Neopagan religion operating in the county.
| Religion | 2000 | 2011 | 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Christianity | 8,318 | 31.9 | 6,021 | 25.6 | 3,990 | 19.4 | 
| —Orthodox Christians | 2,080 | 8.0 | 1,841 | 7.8 | 1,170 | 5.7 | 
| —Lutherans | 5,891 | 22.6 | 3,835 | 16.3 | 2,550 | 12.4 | 
| —Catholics | 42 | 0.1 | 15 | 0.06 | 30 | 0.1 | 
| —Baptists | 51 | 0.2 | 49 | 0.2 | 50 | 0.2 | 
| —Jehovah's Witnesses | 132 | 0.5 | 157 | 0.6 | 90 | 0.4 | 
| —Pentecostals | 57 | 0.2 | 24 | 0.1 | - | - | 
| —Old Believers | 18 | 0.06 | 17 | 0.7 | - | - | 
| —Methodists | 33 | 0.1 | 15 | 0.06 | - | - | 
| —Adventists | 14 | 0.05 | 18 | 0.06 | - | - | 
| —Other Christians | - | - | 50 | 0.2 | 100 | 0.4 | 
| Islam | 4 | 0.1 | 6 | 0.02 | - | - | 
| Buddhism | - | - | 11 | 0.04 | - | - | 
| Other religions** | 89 | 0.3 | 221 | 0.9 | 370 | 1.8 | 
| No religion | 10,706 | 41.1 | 13,801 | 58.7 | 13,480 | 65.6 | 
| Not stated*** | 6,937 | 26.6 | 3,461 | 14.7 | 2,610 | 12.7 | 
| Total population* | 26,054 | 23,501 | 20,530 | |||
| *The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.[7] ".[7] | ||||||
Gallery
- 
			 
- 
			 Pikajärve manor granary Pikajärve manor granary
- 
			 
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			 Pikajärve manor Pikajärve manor
- 
			 Räpina manor Räpina manor
- 
			 St. Michael's church in Räpina St. Michael's church in Räpina
- 
			 Kärsa orthodox church Kärsa orthodox church
- 
			Lake Kõvverjärv
- 
			 Kiidjärve watermill Kiidjärve watermill
References
- ^ a b c "Population by sex, ethnic nationality and County, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
- ^ "GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT BY COUNTY". stat.ee.
- ^ a b c "Elanike demograafiline jaotus maakonniti". Kohaliku omavalitsuse portaal. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Koit - Eesti Entsüklopeedia". entsyklopeedia.ee. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Congregations". Retrieved 16 February 2025.
- ^ "Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik. Kogudused". Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ a b c Official census data from Statistics Estonia:
- 2000 Census:
- 2011 Census:
- 2021 Census:
 
External links


