Ida-Viru County () is one of the 15 counties of Estonia. It is the most northeastern 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.
In January 2019, Ida-Viru County had a population of 136,240 – constituting 10.3% of the total population in Estonia. It borders Lääne-Viru County in the west, Jõgeva County in the southwest and Russia (Leningrad Oblast) in the east. It is the only county in Estonia where Russians constitute the majority of population (73.1% in 2010), the second highest being Harju (28%).
History On 1 January 1990, Kohtla-Järve County was established within the boundaries of the current Kohtla-Järve district, which was renamed Ida-Viru County in March of the same year.
County Government (), led by a governor (), ceased to exist after administrative reform in 2017. The last governor of Ida-Viru county was Andres Noormägi.
Demographics
In January 2017, the population of Ida-Virumaa was 143,880, which makes it the third largest county in Estonia (after Harju and Tartu counties, which include the capital Tallinn and country's second-largest city Tartu). 44.6% of the population are men and 55.4% women.
By January 2020, the population of Ida-Virumaa had decreased to 134,259, of whom 33% were of native origin and 67% of foreign origin.
As a result of migration, Ida-Viru County is now the only county in Estonia where ethnic Russians have become a majority.
By ethnic origin, on 1 January 2017, 73.1% of the population were Russians, 18.9% were Estonians, 2.3% were Ukrainians, 2.1% were Belarusians, and 0.9% were Finns.
According to the 2021 Estonian census, the population of Ida-Virumaa was 132,741. By ethnic origin, 97,231 (73.25%) were Russians, 24,490 (18.45%) were Estonians, 3,265 (2.46%) were Ukrainians, 2,720 (2.05%) were Belarusians, and 1,065 (0.80%) were Finns. Estonians are predominant in the more rural parishes to the west of country: Alutaguse (69.47%), Toila (64.27%), and Lüganuse (55.07%).
Religion
The following congregations of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC) operate in Ida-Viru County under the Viru Deanery of the EELC: Iisaku congregation, Illaku congregation, Jõhvi congregation, Lüganuse congregation, Narva congregation, Narva-Jõesuu congregation, Pühajõe congregation and Tudulinna congregation.
Regarding Eastern Orthodoxy, the following Orthodox congregations operate under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate: Alajõe, Jaama, Jõhvi, Kiviõli, Kohtla-Järve, Lohusuu, Vasknarva, the congregation of the Narva Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and three other Orthodox parishes in the city of Narva and two congregations in Narva-Jõesuu.
A Russian Orthodox convent, Pühtitsa Convent, is located in Ida-Viru County.
The congregations belonging to the Catholic Church in Estonia that operate in Ida-Viru County are: Ahtme, Narva, Sillamäe, Kiviõli and Sompa and Kohtla-Järve.
Baptist congregations operating in Ida-Viru County: Kiviõli, Sillamäe, four congregations in the city of Kohtla-Järve and two congregations in Narva.
Of the other Christian churches, there are four Methodist congregations, one Pentecostal congregation, two Adventist congregations and one Jehovah's Witnesses congregation.
+ Religious affiliations in Ida-Viru County, census 2000–2021*Official census data from Statistics Estonia: 2000 Census:
2011 Census:
2021 Census:
Religion200020112021 Number % Number % Number % Christianity 54,269 36.2 63,141 48.9 58,530 50.6 —Orthodox Christians 43,302 28.5 55,840 42.2 53,180 46.0 —Lutherans 7,946 5.3 4,623 3.6 2,440 2,1 —Catholics 1,145 0.7 815 0.6 1,110 0.9 —Baptists 675 0.4 379 0.2 200 0.1 —Jehovah's Witnesses 282 0.2 342 0.2 320 0.2 —Pentecostals 504 0.3 318 0.2 400 0.3 —Old Believers 108 0.007 158 0.1 130 0.1 —Methodists 172 0.1 140 0.1 160 0.1 —Adventists 135 0.1 111 0.1 80 0.1 —Other Christians - - 415 0.2 510 0.4 Islam - - 244 0.2 700 0.6 Buddhism - - 35 0.02 30 0.02 Other religions** 590 0.3 438 0.2 740 0.6 No religion 50,551 33.7 42,754 33.1 40,250 34.8 Not stated*** 44,362 29.5 22,436 17.4 15,400 13.3 Total population* 150,049 129,049 115,650 *The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.
Municipalities Ida-Virumaa County is subdivided into seven municipalities, of which four are urban ( — cities or towns) and three are rural ( — parishes). There are 217 villages in Ida-Virumaa.
Rank Municipality Type Population(2018) Areakm2 Density1 Alutaguse Parish Rural 4,929 1,465 3.42 Jõhvi Parish Rural 16,452 390 42.23 Kohtla-Järve Urban 35,395 39 907.64 Lüganuse Parish Rural 8,942 599 14.95 Narva Urban 58,610 85 689.56 Narva-Jõesuu Urban 4,828 411 11.77 Sillamäe Urban 13,406 11 1,218.7
Landmarks
References
External links
Ida-Virumaa Tourism Portal Ida-Virumaa Portal