It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to the east, and Latvia to the south.

Before that, counties were led by a governor, who was appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years.

Previous county governors: The city of Pärnu is a popular holiday resort for Estonians and increasingly for non-Estonians, e.g., from Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Russia.

[4] The congregations of Hanila, Karuse, Kirbla, Lihula, Mihkli and Varbla are under the administration of the Lääne Deanery of the EELC.

[4] Regarding Eastern Orthodoxy, there is under the administration of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church Kergu, Uduvere, Uue-Virtsu and Vändra congreations.