Who runs local government in Estonia?

Estonia has a single tier of local government: 79 municipalities (15 towns and 64 rural municipalities) since a 2017 reform merged 213 units. The reform also abolished the 15 county governments in 2018. Councils are elected every four years and choose the mayor. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can vote in local elections.

Republic of Estonia · Unitary republic · Baltic states

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Counties – maakonnad (15)	No government since 2018	Used for statistics and for joint planning by municipalities.
Municipalities – linnad (15) and vallad (64)	Council (volikogu) directly elected every four years (last in October 2025); council elects the mayor (linnapea/vallavanem)	Schools, kindergartens, social care, local roads, planning, culture.
Sub-units: city districts (linnaosa) and rural parishes (osavald)	Optional; can have an administrative council set up by the municipality	Used by eight municipalities including Tallinn.

Three questions about local power in Estonia

Are local leaders elected?

Councils are directly elected; mayors are elected by councils. Village elders are chosen by village meetings. Members of joint county bodies are appointed by municipalities.

Which laws set up local government?

The Constitution (Chapter XIV), the Local Government Organisation Act and the 2016 Administrative Reform Act. Village elders are formal only where a municipal statute recognises them; otherwise they work through community standing.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

Councils can remove the mayor by a vote of no confidence. The Chancellor of Justice and courts check legality; the National Audit Office audits municipalities.

Traditional and customary authority

There is no customary authority. Religion plays a small part in public life.

Community and neighbourhood power

Village elders (külavanem) are chosen by village general meetings and, where the municipality's statute recognises them, speak for the village to the council. Village societies (külaselts) run community halls and events. Municipalities must co-operate on county-level planning and transport through joint bodies whose members are appointed by councils.

Points to know

The 2017 reform set a minimum municipal size of 5,000 residents, with 11,000 recommended; the median rose from 1,887 to 7,739 people.
Estonia offers internet voting (i-voting) in local elections.
Under current rules, Estonian and other EU citizens can vote in local elections, and stateless long-term residents can vote but not stand; citizens of non-EU countries are not listed as voters.
Before 2018, county governors appointed by the government had about 480 staff; the work moved to ministries and municipalities.

Local terms

Vald: Rural municipality.
Volikogu: Elected municipal council.
Külavanem: Village elder chosen by the village meeting.

Sources

Constitution of Estonia (1992, rev. 2015), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
Estonia: country profile (territorial organisation, responsibilities, finance), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
Right to vote, State Electoral Office of Estonia (valimised.ee), checked 14 October 2026