Other events in Baltic States

The emigration has severely curtailed Estonia's population, because people have been taking advantage of their rights to travel freely within the European Union, as Estonian national broadcasting reports quoting researchers.

Precise population figures will be known on conclusion of the national census – in March 2012, writes LETA.

According to Allan Puur, Senior Researcher at the Interuniversity Population Research Center, the state could pay mother pensions, rise child allowances and promise free higher education, but that wouldn't guarantee that the future generations will stay in Estonia.

The figures might not be encouraging, yet there is no reason to assume that the Estonian population will become extinct, he said.

The Population and Housing Census conducted in 2000 revealed that the number of people living in Estonia had decreased by 190,000 during the prior ten year period, leaving the country with a total of 1.37 million inhabitants.

Approximately 25,000 Estonians have permanently moved to Finland, according Tiit Tammaru, senior researcher in the Center for Estonian Diaspora Studies at the University of Tartu.

The first large-scale emigration to Finland took place in the early 90's and in the past five years the numbers of those moving north have once again started growing, explained Tammaru. He added, however, that studies have shown that every fourth Estonian residing in Finland wants to return to their homeland.

As LETA reported, based on the decrease of number of births in Estonian in the first three months of this year, specialists forecast that the number of births in the whole of this year will be lower than last year.

Pelgulinna maternity hospital’s quality manager Eva-Kaisa Zupping forecasted a fall of birth rate considering earlier similar periods.

The population facts department of the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs data indicate that in January 17, in February – 145 and in March – 49 births less were registered than in the same months last year, altogether 411 children less than in the first quarter of last year were born.

Statistical Office analyst Jaana Rahno was careful in drawing conclusions though, saying that in recent years, the number of births has been the highest in summer months and thus only then conclusions can be drawn about the trend.