Estonian capital attributes rise in population numbers to free public transport

Photo: Toomas Huik

 The number of residents of the Estonian capital Tallinn grew by 2,226 during the first three weeks of January, compared with an increase by 1,248 in December and by 3,686 during the whole of 2012, the city government said.

Deputy Mayor Taavi Aas said the steep rise in the number of residents was mainly caused by the offering of free public transport to residents of Tallinn from the beginning of this year.

Considering that in December the number of residents grew by 1,248, the January full-month figure will be more than double the growth figure for December, spokespeople said.

By Monday night the number of residents of the capital crossed the 422,000 mark and reached 422,056 as of Tuesday. On January 1 the official number of residents of the city was 419,830.

In November the number of residents grew by 475 and in October by 366. Given that 3,686 residents were added during the whole of 2012, the first three weeks on the new year have already resulted in growth equaling 60 percent of full-year growth in 2012, the spokespeople added.

At the beginning of 2012 the number of Tallinn residents was 416,144. During the year the number grew by 5,912 or 1.4 percent.