Pärnu County
Pärnu County, or Pärnumaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to the east, and Latvia to the south. In January 2013 Pärnu County had a population of 81,428 – constituting 6.3% of the total population of Estonia.
Pärnu County is the largest county of Estonia in terms of land area.History
In Pärnu county there is the oldest known human settlement in Estonia, which is the town of Sindi, and it is up the Pärnu River, near the village of Pulli. It dates back to 8500 BCE in the Mesolithic historical period.The County Government is led by a governor, who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 1 January 2010, the Governor position is held by Andres Metsoja.Tourism
The city of Pärnu is a popular holiday resort for Estonians and increasingly for non-Estonians, e.g., from Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Russia.Municipalities
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality and six rural municipalities in Pärnu County.
| Rank | Municipality | Type | Population
| Area
km2 | Density |
| 1 | Häädemeeste Parish | Rural | 4,985 | 494 | 10.1 |
| 2 | Kihnu Parish | Rural | 702 | 17 | 41.3 |
| 3 | Lääneranna Parish | Rural | 5,494 | 1,352 | 4.1 |
| 4 | Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish | Rural | 8,435 | 1,013 | 8.3 |
| 5 | Pärnu | Urban | 51,649 | 855 | 60.4 |
| 6 | Saarde Parish | Rural | 4,722 | 1,065 | 4.4 |
| 7 | Tori Parish | Rural | 11,694 | 611 | 19.1 |
Geography
Gallery
