Põlva County

Põlva County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga, and Võru counties. 23,989 people live in Põlva County, constituting 1.8% of the total population of Estonia.

Government

The County Government is led by the Governor, who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2007, the governor position has been held by Priit Sibul.

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are three rural municipalities in Põlva County.

Rank	Municipality	Type	Population	Area km²	Density
1	Kanepi Parish	Rural	4,864	525	9.3
2	Põlva Parish	Rural	14,273	706	20.2
3	Räpina Parish	Rural	6,518	591	11.0

Demographics

27,028 people live in Põlva County – constituting 2.1% of the total population in Estonia.

Culture

1951–2019, the county had its newspaper: Koit. The last chief editor was Kauno Kõima.

Religion

The Lutheran congregations in the county are under Võru Deanery of the Estonian [Evangelical Lutheran Church].
Eastern Orthodoxy congregations in the county are under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.
The independent Estonian Charismatic Church of Fellowship also operates in the county.
Other Christian congregations such as Baptists, Methodists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others operate in the county.
There is also a congregation of the Estonian Neopagan religion operating in the county.