Estonians
Estonians or Estonian people (Estonian: eestlased) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who speak the Estonian language. Their nation state is Estonia.
Countries with significant Estonian population and descendants. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 1.1 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Estonia 919,711 (2021) Other significant population centers: | |
| Finland | 49,590–100,000 |
| United States | 29,128 |
| Sweden | 25,509 |
| Canada | 24,000 |
| United Kingdom | 10,000–15,000 |
| Russia | 7,778 |
| Australia | 7,543 |
| Germany | 6,286 |
| Norway | 5,092 |
| Ukraine | 2,868 |
| Ireland | 2,560 |
| Belgium | 2,000 |
| Latvia | 1,676 |
| Denmark | 1,606 |
| Netherlands | 1,482 |
| Languages | |
| Primarily Estonian also Võro and Seto | |
| Religion | |
| Majority irreligious Historically Protestant Christian (Lutheranism) Currently Lutheran and regional Eastern Orthodox (Estonian Apostolic Orthodox) minority | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Baltic Finns Especially Livonians, Setos, Võros, and Votians | |
The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to other Finnic languages, e.g. Finnish, Karelian and Livonian. The Finnic languages are a subgroup of the larger Uralic family of languages, which also includes e.g. the Sami languages. These languages are markedly different from most other native languages spoken in Europe, most of which have been assigned to the Indo-European family of languages. Estonians can also be classified into subgroups according to dialects (e.g. Võros, Setos), although such divisions have become less pronounced due to internal migration and rapid urbanisation in Estonia in the 20th century.
There are approximately 1 million ethnic Estonians worldwide, with the vast majority of them residing in their native Estonia. Estonian diaspora communities formed primarily in Finland, the United States, Sweden, Canada, the United Kingdom and other European Union member states.