| Rapla County | |
| Native Name: | Estonian: Raplamaa |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Flag Size: | 125px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Estonia |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Rapla |
| Area Total Km2: | 2979.7 |
| Population Total: | 33529 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Rank: | 7th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Estonians |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 94% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | other |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 6% |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | €540 million (2022) |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | €15,985 (2022) |
| Registration Plate: | L |
| Iso Code: | EE-71 |
| Coordinates: | 59.25°N 46°W |
Rapla County (et|Rapla maakond or Raplamaa) is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is located in the northwestern part of the country and borders Järva County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, Lääne County to the west, and Harju County to the north. In 2022 Rapla County had a population of 33,529, constituting 2.5% of the total population of Estonia.[2]
The first written records of Rapla date back to the 1241 Danish census (Liber Census Daniae).
Until 2017, the County Government (et|maavalitsus) was led by a governor (et|maavanem), who was appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2015, the governor position has been held by Tõnis Blank.
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are 4 rural municipalities (et|vallad 'parishes') in Rapla County:
| Rank | Municipality | Type | Population (2018)[3] | Area km2 | Density | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rural | 5,605 | 512 | 10.9 | ||
| 2 | Rural | 7,096 | 230 | 30.9 | ||
| 3 | Rural | 7,739 | 1,174 | 6.6 | ||
| 4 | Rural | 13,334 | 849 | 15.7 |
The congregations of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church in the county are Hageri St. Lambertus, Juuru St.Michael's, Järvakandi St. Paul's, Märjamaa of Blessed Virgin Mary, Rapla Mary Magdalene's, Vahastu and Vigala of Blessed Virgin Mary.[4]
The Orthodox congregations in the county include the Ascension of the Lord congregation in Kohila rural municipality, the Holy Trinity congregation in Lelle and the St. John the Baptist congregation in Velise, which are under the administration of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church .[5]
The Baptist congregations operate in Rapla and Märjamaa and the Adventist congregations operate in Rapla and Valgu.[6] There is a congregation of Moravian Church in Hageri.[7] There is a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in the county.
| Religion | 2000 | 2011 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | ||
| 7,747 | 26.1 | 5,144 | 17.6 | 4,370 | 15.7 | ||
| —Orthodox Christians | 775 | 2.6 | 912 | 3.1 | 740 | 2.7 | |
| —Lutherans | 6,439 | 21.7 | 3,761 | 12.8 | 2,980 | 10.7 | |
| —Catholics | 68 | 0.2 | 50 | 0.1 | 240 | 0.8 | |
| —Baptists | 232 | 0.7 | 155 | 0.5 | 140 | 0.5 | |
| —Jehovah's Witnesses | 58 | 0.1 | 72 | 0.2 | 80 | 0.2 | |
| —Pentecostals | 95 | 0.2 | 37 | 0.1 | 30 | 0.1 | |
| —Old Believers | 4 | 0.01 | 7 | 0.01 | - | - | |
| —Methodists | 36 | 0.1 | 13 | 0.02 | - | - | |
| —Adventists | 40 | 0.1 | 29 | 0.1 | - | - | |
| —Other Christians | - | 108 | 0.3 | 160 | 0.55 | ||
| 9 | 0.02 | 11 | 0.02 | - | - | ||
| Buddhism | - | - | 15 | 0.02 | 60 | 0.2 | |
| Other religions** | 177 | 0.6 | 232 | 0.8 | 340 | 1.2 | |
| No religion | 11,739 | 39.6 | 19,695 | 67.5 | 19,660 | 70.6 | |
| Not stated*** | 9,860 | 33.2 | 4,091 | 14.0 | 3,330 | 11.9 | |
| Total population* | 29,632 | 29,187 | 27,820 | ||||
| |||||||
Natural resources found in Rapla county include limestone, dolomite, peat, and clay.
The church of Rapla was built in 1901. However, much of the interior dates back to several hundred years earlier and is of high structural quality and historical value. In the churchyard there are several crosses remaining from the 17th century.
