Põlva County ( or Põlvamaa) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga, and Võru counties. 23,989 people live in Põlva County, constituting 1.8% of the total population of Estonia (as of 2022).
Government
The County Government () is led by the Governor (), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2007, the governor position has been held by Priit Sibul.
Municipalities
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are three rural municipalities ( 'parishes') in Põlva County.
thumb|282x282px|Municipalities of Põlva County
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank !! Municipality !! Type !! Population<br/>(2018)!! Area<br/>km<sup>2</sup>
Religion
The Lutheran congregations in the county are under Võru Deanery of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Eastern Orthodoxy congregations in the county are under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.
The independent Estonian Charismatic Church of Fellowship also operates in the county.
Other Christian congregations such as Baptists, Methodists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others operate in the county.
There is also a congregation of the Estonian Neopagan religion operating in the county.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Religious affiliations in Põlva County census 2000–2021*
|-
! rowspan="2"|Religion
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|2000
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|2011
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|2021
|-
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;" | Christianity || 8,318|| 31.9|| 6,021|| 25.6|| 3,990||19.4
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Orthodox Christians</small> || 2,080|| 8.0|| 1,841|| 7.8|| 1,170||5.7
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Lutherans</small> || 5,891|| 22.6|| 3,835|| 16.3|| 2,550||12.4
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Catholics</small> || 42|| 0.1|| 15|| 0.06|| 30||0.1
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Baptists</small> || 51|| 0.2|| 49|| 0.2|| 50||0.2
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Jehovah's Witnesses</small> || 132|| 0.5|| 157|| 0.6|| 90||0.4
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Pentecostals</small> || 57|| 0.2|| 24|| 0.1|| -||-
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Old Believers</small> || 18|| 0.06|| 17|| 0.7|| -||-
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Methodists</small> || 33|| 0.1|| 15|| 0.06|| -||-
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Adventists</small> || 14|| 0.05|| 18|| 0.06|| -||-
|-
|style="background:#E0F0FF;"| <small>—Other Christians</small> || -|| -|| 50|| 0.2|| 100||0.4
|-
|style="background:#E0FFD0;"| Islam || 4|| 0.1|| 6|| 0.02|| -||-
|-
| style="background:#FFFFC0;" | Buddhism|| -|| -|| 11|| 0.04|| -||-
|-
| style="background:#F0E0FF;" | Other religions<small>**</small>|| 89|| 0.3|| 221|| 0.9|| 370||1.8
|-
| style="background:#F5F5F5;" | No religion|| 10,706|| 41.1|| 13,801|| 58.7|| 13,480||65.6
|-
| style="background:#DCDCDC;" | Not stated<small>***</small>|| 6,937|| 26.6|| 3,461|| 14.7|| 2,610||12.7
|-
! Total population<small>*</small> || colspan="2" | 26,054|| colspan="2" | 23,501|| colspan="2" |20,530
|-
| colspan="7" | *<small>The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.</small>