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Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Methodology and quality
  3. ESMS metadata
  4. Registered motor vehicles

Registered motor vehicles

1. Contact
1.1. Contact organisation

Statistics Estonia

1.2. Contact organisation unit

Economic and Environmental Statistics Department

1.3. Contact name

Rita Raudjärv

1.4. Contact person function

Leading Analyst

1.5. Contact mail address

51 Tatari Str, 10134 Tallinn, Estonia

1.6. Contact email address

rita.raudjarv [at] stat.ee

1.7. Contact phone number

37258005391

2. Metadata update
2.1. Metadata last certified

27/03/2025

2.2. Metadata last update

27/03/2025

3. Statistical presentation
3.1. Data description

Vehicles by type; mobile machinery and tractor trailers registered in the traffic register; first registrations of vehicles, mobile machinery and tractor trailers

Registered civil aircraft

Sea-going vessels registered in the Estonian ship registers

Railway vehicles in the railway traffic register by type

Trams and trolley buses

3.2. Classification system

Not used

3.3. Sector coverage

Vehicles registered in various registers

According to the Traffic Act, trolley busses and trams and their trailers are registered and the registers thereof maintained by their owners.

3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

First registration of vehicles – registration of railway vehicle in Estonia

Less than 12 meters overall length of the ship – a vessel used for work purposes, or for commercial purposes, such as fishing boats, inspection boats for inspections, etc

Bus – a mechanized road transport vehicle with more than 9 seats for the transport of passengers

Deadweight – the weight in tons of cargo, stores, fuel, passengers and crew carried by the ship when loaded to her maximum summer load line

Diesel locomotive – locomotive, the main source of power of which is a diesel engine, irrespective of the type of transmission installed. However, diesel-electric locomotives equipped to derive power from an overhead wire or from a conductor rail are classed as electric locomotives

Private vehicle – a vehicle registered in Estonia in the name of a natural person

Special purpose rolling stock – based on the passenger railway vehicle: mail-, baggage-, measuring-, defectoscopy-, dynamometric-, etc. vans

Specific rolling stock – draisines, snowplows, railway cranes, etc

First registered vehicle – a vehicle first registered in Estonia

Trailer – a vehicle designed or adapted to be coupled to a motor vehicle. A trailer is not considered to be a towed device or an interchangeable towed device

Insulated wagon – covered wagon of which the body is built with insulating walls, doors, floor and roof, by which the heat exchanges between the inside and outside of the body can be so limited that the overall coefficient of heat transfer (K coefficient), is such that the equipment is assignable to one or other of the following two categories: IN = Normally insulated equipment — characterized by a K coefficient equal to or less than 0.7 W/m2 oC; IR = Heavily insulated equipment — characterized by a K coefficient equal to or less than 0.4 W/m2 oC

Seat wagon – type of coach

Jett – a water turbine vehicle with a total length of up to 4 meters, without a cockpit, with a stationary engine, driven while sitting, kneeling or standing

Load capacity – maximum weight of goods declared permissible by the competent authority of the country of registration of the vehicle

Freight wagon – railway vehicle normally intended for the transport of goods

Covered wagon – wagon characterized by its closed construction (solid sides all the way up and roof) and by the safety it provides for the goods conveyed in it (possibility of padlocking and sealing)

Gross tonnage – the measure of the total capacity of a ship, tug or barge. The measure with no unit.

Harvester – a mobile machine used outside the road; any self-propelled machinery, portable device with or without a production body, or a vehicle not intended for the carriage of passengers or goods by road

Copter – a heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight chiefly by the reactions of the air on one or more power-driven rotors on substantially vertical axes

Plane – a power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, deriving its lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given conditions of flight

A mobile machine – moving on wheels or tracks, for a particular job intended for a motor vehicle, with a maximum design speed of more than 6 km/h but does not exceed 40 km/h. A special work machine made on the basis of a car is not considered to be a mobile machine.

Land rover – the engine-powered vehicle intended for off-road movement, which is not subject to registration and motor vehicle traffic register. The following must be entered in the traffic register as an off-road vehicle:

- a snowmobile, which is provided with skids, and the caterpillar force of the engine to move on snow or ice intended for all-terrain vehicle, the internal combustion engine with a cubic capacity of more than 120 cm3, on which the driver's seating position is not more than the two seats, and an unlading weight does not exceed 500 kg;

- off-road vehicle with at least three wheels, with an internal combustion engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 90 cm3, intended for off-road use by the manufacturer. A wheeled off-road vehicle is not considered to be a motor vehicle intended by the manufacturer not only for off-road use but also for off-road use.

Sleeping car – type of coach

Sea-going vessel – vessel for sea navigation

Motorcycles – with or without sidecar two-wheeled motor vehicle. The motorcycle is also considered to be a tricycle with a symmetrical wheel arrangement, with an internal combustion engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 50 cm3 or a design speed of more than 45 km/h, and a four-wheel motor vehicle with an unlading weight not exceeding 400 kg and not exceeding 550 kg, does not exceed 15 kilowatts. The mass of the batteries of a four-wheel electric vehicle is not included in the unlading mass.

Motor vehicle – motor-driven vehicle. A motor vehicle is not a motorized bicycle, miniature moped, off-road vehicle, tram or vehicle with a design speed of less than 6 km/h

Railcar – conveyance of passengers or goods by rail. The definition of the various categories of locomotives (electric, diesel) applies, mutatis mutandis, to railcars. A block composed of railcars and railcar trailers can be referred to as: “multiple unit” if it is modular and “trainset” if it is fixed. In tractive vehicle statistics, each railcar in an indivisible set is counted separately; in statistics of passenger vehicles and goods vehicles, each body fitted to carry passengers or goods (tractive and non tractive) is counted as one unit. Independent of drivers’ compartments installed or not, any unit with tractive power must be considered as a tractive vehicle. When two railcar units have a common tractive bogie, both units are considered as a tractive vehicle.

Railcar trailer – non-tractive passenger railway vehicle coupled to one or more railcars

Moped – two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle with a speed of more than 25 but not more than 45 km / h and a displacement spark ignition internal combustion engine does not exceed 50 cm 3, or any other internal combustion engine, the maximum net power of not more than four kilowatts or a maximum steady-nominal power of the electric motor, the is more than 0.25 kilowatts but not more than four kilowatts. Mopeds, this shall also be considered under the terms of the above-mentioned light four-wheel drive vehicle is the unlading mass does not exceed 350 kg. Four-wheeled electric vehicle batteries, by weight of the light is not taken into account include the curb weight.

Other aircraft – balloon, sailplane, powered (motored) hang-glider

Flat wagon – a wagon without a roof and side gates, or a wagon without a roof, the height of the side gates does not exceed 60 cm, or a standard or special type wagon with a tilting base. This does not include wagons intended exclusively for the transport of containers, exchangeable bodies or goods vehicles.

Freighting – renting of ship, bareboat chartered ship

Net tonnage – the capacity of cargo and passenger spaces, i.e. revenue generating spaces. Size without unit.

Wheeled tractor – a motor vehicle with wheels and at least two axles, having a maximum design speed of over 6 km/h but not exceeding 40 km/h. The main function of a wheeled tractor is to operate a machine or implement on or attached to it, to operate a stationary machine or to tow a load or a trailer. A wheeled tractor is also a motor vehicle whose principal function is to carry a load and whose design speed does not exceed 50 km/h.

Passenger railway vehicle – railway vehicle for the conveyance of passengers, even if it comprises one or more compartments with spaces specially reserved for luggage, parcels, mail, etc. These vehicles include special vehicles such as sleeping cars, saloon cars, dining cars, ambulance cars and vans carrying accompanied road passenger vehicles. Each separate vehicle of an indivisible set for the conveyance of passengers is counted as a passenger railway vehicle. Included are railcars if they are designed for passenger transport.

Railway vehicle – mobile equipment running exclusively on rails, moving either under its own power (tractive vehicles) or hauled by another vehicle (coaches, railcar trailers, vans, wagons, specific rolling stock, special purpose rolling stock)

Coach – passenger railway vehicle other than a railcar or a railcar trailer

Restaurant wagon – type of coach

Tracked tractor – a motor vehicle with a tracked track which is also driven by a track

Saloon wagon – type of coach

Passenger car – a mechanized road transport vehicle, other than a motorcycle, intended for the carriage of passengers and having less than 10 seats

Termos wagon – insulated wagon

Tractor – a motor vehicle with wheels or tracks intended for agricultural or forestry work, having at least two axles and a design speed of at least 6 km/h. A tractor is not considered to be a special machine made on the basis of a car.

Tractors trailer – any towed trailer used for agricultural or forestry work, the main purpose of which is to tow a load and which is normally towed behind a tractor for agricultural or forestry work. This category includes trailers part of which is carried by a tractor. Any vehicle coupled to a tractor and fitted with a tool shall be considered to be part of an agricultural or forestry trailer if the technically permissible gross weight to unlading ratio of the vehicle is 3,0 or more and if the vehicle is not designed for material handling.

Tram – passenger or freight road vehicle designed to seat more than nine persons (including the driver) or to transport freight, which is rail borne and connected to electric conductors or powered by diesel engine. The tramway is generally integrated into the urban road system.

Number of trams and trolley buses – the inventory number of trams or trolley buses at the end of the year

Trolley bus – passenger road vehicle designed to seat more than nine persons (including the driver), which is connected to electric conductors and which is not rail-borne

Tank wagon – a wagon intended for the transport of unpackaged gases or liquids

Civil aircraft – an aircraft intended for operation on domestic and international civil commercial routes or for lawful use for civil, private or commercial purposes

New vehicle – has not been in use since manufacture or has not been entered in the register of Estonia or any other country. A vehicle is also considered new if it is registered in a Member State of the European Union for transport from the vehicle manufacturer to an official importer in Estonia.

Tractive vehicle – vehicle equipped with prime mover and motor, or with motor only, intended either for hauling other vehicles (a “locomotive”) or for hauling other vehicles and for the carriage of passengers and/or goods (a “railcar”)

Locomotive – tractive railway vehicle with a power of 110 kW and above at the draw hook equipped with prime mover and motor or with motor only used for hauling railway vehicles. Light rail motor tractors are excluded.

Truck – a truck intended for the carriage of goods

A small vessel – from 2.5 to 24 meters in length overall vehicle (for example, a boat, a sailing yacht, boat, etc.), which is used for recreation, regardless of the registered affiliation. A recreational craft is not considered to be a watercraft used for competitive sports and training, marked by the sports association (for example, jet, windsurfing, sailing, sailing, etc.) and watercraft of primitive construction (for example, hull, canopy, canoe, canoe, pedal boat, etc.).

Small plane – an airplane of a maximum certified take-off mass of 5,700 kg or less

Aircraft – any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the ground or against water. Aircraft are divided into state aircraft and civil aircraft. A state aircraft is an aircraft which is used in Defense Forces, customs or police services. Aircraft which is not used in services set out in the above-mentioned services is deemed to be civil aircraft.

3.5. Statistical unit

Vehicle

3.6. Statistical population

Road and railway vehicles and watercraft and air craft registered in Estonia

FRAME

Not applicable

3.7. Reference area

Estonia as a whole

3.8. Time coverage

Trams and trolley buses 1980–…

Road vehicles 1990–…

Aircraft 1994–…

Watercraft 2000–…

Railway vehicles 2009–…

3.9. Base period

Not applicable

4. Unit of measure

Vehicles – number

Tram passenger carriages and trolley buses – number

Length of tramway tracks and trolley bus routes – kilometre

5. Reference period

Month

Year

6. Institutional mandate
6.1. Legal acts and other agreements

DIRECTLY APPLICABLE LEGAL ACTS

Not available

OTHER LEGAL ACTS

Not available

OTHER AGREEMENTS

Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

International Transport Forum (ITF)

7. Confidentiality
7.1. Confidentiality - policy

The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in § 32, § 34, § 35, § 38 of the Official Statistics Act.

7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

The dissemination of data collected for the production of official statistics is based on the requirements laid down in §§ 34 and 35 of the Official Statistics Act.

The principles for treatment of confidential data can be found here.

8. Release policy
8.1. Release calendar

Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on the website. Every year on 1 October, the release times of the statistical database, news releases, main indicators by IMF SDDS and publications for the following year are announced in the release calendar (in the case of publications – the release month).

8.2. Release calendar access

Calendar

8.3. User access

All users have been granted equal access to official statistics: dissemination dates of official statistics are announced in advance and no user category (incl. Eurostat, state authorities and mass media) is provided access to official statistics before other users. Official statistics are first published in the statistical database. If there is also a news release, it is published simultaneously with data in the statistical database. Official statistics are available on the website at 8:00 a.m. on the date announced in the release calendar.

9. Frequency of dissemination

Annual

10. Accessibility and clarity
10.1. News release

Not published

10.2. Publications

Not published

10.3. Online database

Data are published in the statistical database at https://andmed.stat.ee/en/stat under the subject area “Economy / Transport / Registered motor vehicles” in the following tables:

TS32: Vehicles and private vehicles, 31 December

TS322: First registrations of vehicles (months)

TS328: Seagoing vessels registered in the Estonian Ship Registers, 31 December

TS33: Motor driven machines and tractor trailers registered in the Estonian Traffic Register and first registration

TS350: Registered aircraft by type of aircraft

TS39: Railway vehicles in the Estonian Railway Traffic Register

and under the subject area “Economy / Transport / General data of transport” in the following table:

TS34: Trams and trolley buses, 31 December

10.4. Microdata access

Not applicable

10.5. Other

Not used

10.6. Documentation on methodology

Glossary for Transport Statistics (prepared by the Intersecretariat Working Group on Transport Statistics – Eurostat, ITF and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe)

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/ks-gq-19-004

10.7. Quality documentation

Not available

11. Quality management
11.1. Quality assurance

To assure the quality of processes and products, Statistics Estonia applies the EFQM Excellence Model, the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (ESS QAF). Statistics Estonia is also guided by the requirements in § 7. “Principles and quality criteria of producing official statistics” of the Official Statistics Act.

11.2. Quality assessment

Statistics Estonia performs all statistical activities according to an international model (Generic Statistical Business Process Model – GSBPM). According to the GSBPM, the final phase of statistical activities is overall evaluation using information gathered in each phase or sub-process; this information can take many forms, including feedback from users, process metadata, system metrics and suggestions from employees. This information is used to prepare the evaluation report which outlines all the quality problems related to the specific statistical activity and serves as input for improvement actions.

12. Relevance
12.1. User needs

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications

Ministry of Rural Affairs

Ministry of the Environment

12.2. User satisfaction

Since 1996, Statistics Estonia has conducted reputation and user satisfaction surveys. All results are available on the website of Statistics Estonia in the section User surveys.

12.3. Completeness

In compliance with the rules (regulations)

13. Accuracy and reliability
13.1. Overall accuracy

The type of survey and the data collection methods ensure sufficient coverage and timeliness.

13.2. Sampling error

Not applicable

13.3. Non-sampling error

Not measured

14. Timeliness and punctuality
14.1. Timeliness

Annual data are published 85 days after the end of the reference year (T + 85) and 190 days after the end of the reference year (T + 190).

Monthly data are published 15 days after the end of the reference month (T + 15).

14.2. Punctuality

The data have been published at the time announced in the release calendar.

15. Coherence and comparability
15.1. Comparability - geographical

The data are internationally comparable, as defined in Eurostat/OECD/UNECE Common Questionnaire on transport.

15.2. Comparability - over time

Since 1994, statistics do not include vehicles that have not been technically inspected for years. Vehicles that were not reregistered by 1 July 2001 were removed from the car register database.

From 2017, data about vehicles are not published by administrative units.

15.3. Coherence - cross domain

Not applicable

15.4. Coherence - internal

The outputs of the statistical activity are coherent.

16. Cost and burden

Total time of filling in reports of the statistical activity, hours: 47

Average time of filling in the reports, hours per report:

Liiklusregister 6;

Sõidukite arvelevõtmine 3;

Trammi- ja trollitranspordi olem 1;

Laevaregistrid 2;

Õhusõidukite register 2

(data for 2022)

17. Data revision
17.1. Data revision - policy

The data revision policy and notification of corrections are described in the section Principles of dissemination of official statistics of the website of Statistics Estonia.

17.2. Data revision - practice

The published data may be revised if the methodology is modified, errors are discovered, new or better data become available, or the data for the following period are published.

18. Statistical processing
18.1. Source data

SURVEY DATA

Tramway and trolleybus transport entity at the end of the year

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA

The traffic register data from the Republic of Estonian Transport Administration are collected with the official statistics annual questionnaires “Traffic Register” and “Registration of vehicles”. The ship register data are collected with the annual official statistics questionnaire “Ship Register”. The railway traffic register data of the Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority are collected with the official statistics questionnaire “Railways and rolling stock”. The national civil aircraft register data are collected with the file from Transport Administration.

DATA FROM OTHER STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES

Not used

18.2. Frequency of data collection

Annual

Monthly

18.3. Data collection

Data are collected and the submission of questionnaires is monitored through eSTAT (the web channel for electronic data submission). The questionnaires have been designed for independent completion in eSTAT and include instructions and controls. The questionnaires and information about data submission are available on the website of Statistics Estonia in the section Questionnaires.

Data are collected with the official statistics annual questionnaires “Traffic register” , “Ship register”, “Aircraft register” and “Fixed stock of tram and trolley bus transport” and with the monthly questionnaire “Registration of vehicles”.

18.4. Data validation

The data are validated by the data administrator.

18.5. Data compilation

The collected data are converted into statistical input. This includes calculation of additional indicators.

18.6. Adjustment

Not applied

19. Comments

As of 2016, the statistical activity 22027 “Registered motor vehicles” is merged with the statistical activity 22028 “First registrations of vehicles” and the component concerning the rolling and fixed stock of tram and trolley bus transport of the former statistical activity “General data of transport” (22029). Since 2017, the national component (statistics by counties) of the statistical activity is reduced. From 2022, the aircraft registration data is obtained from the Transport Board with a file.

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