The overall number of Estonians abroad (200 000) is an estimate as the count is sometimes based on the number of people who identify as Estonian in terms of ethnicity in national censuses and in other cases the count is based on Estonian citizens abroad according to Statistics Estonia or according to embassy estimates. According to the Population Register, 126 781 Estonian citizens were living abroad as of the beginning of 2025.

Fewer Estonian citizens migrated to Estonia in 2024 than moved away – 5,218 Estonian citizens arrived here and 1,254 more, or 6,472 citizens, left. The last time the migration balance of Estonian citizens was negative was in 2020.

Top three factors for keeping Estonian identity and connecting with Estonia among Estonians abroad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted a survey among Estonians living abroad in 2020 to find out how prominent a place their land of origin holds in their everyday lives. A large share (76%) of respondents were interested in contributing to the development of Estonia and happy with their inclusion.

Estonia's e-Residency program was launched in December 2014 with the aim of providing foreign nationals secure access to digital services offered within the Estonian e-governance ecosystem.

The overall number of Estonians abroad (200 000) is an estimate as the count is sometimes based on the number of people who identify as Estonian in terms of ethnicity in national censuses and in other cases the count is based on Estonian citizens abroad according to Statistics Estonia or according to embassy estimates.

According to Statistics Estonia there are 121 181 Estonian citizens abroad as of 01.01.2022.

According to the Population Register, 126 781 Estonian citizens were living abroad as of the beginning of 2025.

Download a full list of Estonian citizens worldwide in Excel (Statistics Estonia):