ABSTRACT
The transition from a centrally planned to a market economy involves crucial macroeconomic and social shifts in all the post-socialist states of Europe. These transitional changes have been especially great in the newly independent Baltic States, because in addition to the transformation of their economic and administrative systems they have also had to build up new state structures. This chapter is based on data from the Statistical Office of Estonia. The independence of Estonia and the withdrawal of Russian troops as a result thereof brought about a turn in external migration. Despite Estonia’s small territory and its limited population, the syndrome of core and periphery is clearly observable. The out-migrants are mostly non-Estonians and that brings about a small shift in favour of Estonians in the ethnic composition of the population. Towns have a small migration loss in respect of the rural areas of Estonia.
