What is the capital of Estonia?
Tallinn sits on a bay in northern Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, and lies only 80 kilometres south of Helsinki across the water.
Tallinn is the capital and seat of government of Estonia. Estonia itself has an estimated population of 1,366,475 (2025).
Tallinn is also the largest city in Estonia, which is the usual arrangement, though it is far from universal: see the countries where capital and largest city differ.
Tallinn at a glance
| City population | 452,563 (2026) |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan area | 646,315 (2024) |
| Country | 🇪🇪 Estonia |
| Founded | 1219 |
| Largest city in Estonia | Tallinn |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
About Tallinn
1219 is the year of the first confirmed written record of the town; it received Lubeck city rights in 1248.
From the 13th century until the first half of the 20th century, most of the world knew the city by variants of its other historical name, Reval.
Tallinn is Estonia's governmental, financial, industrial and cultural centre, and its most populous city.
It lies 187 kilometres north-west of Tartu, Estonia's second city, and 300 kilometres north of Riga.
City facts sourced from Wikipedia: Tallinn.
Frequently asked questions
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Capitals of neighbouring countries
See the full profile of Estonia on its country page, or browse every capital city.
Capital and country data from open datasets; city and metropolitan populations are hand-curated per city and cited where they are shown. Populations of countries come from the World Bank (SP.POP.TOTL). Full sources and vintage on the data page. Last updated . Report a correction.