Children
What is life like for children living in Estonia? How child-friendly is the Estonian society? Children’s well-being has an impact on the society’s future – therefore, it is an important topic of discussion and the focus of various organisations, political forces and the media. For better insight, it is necessary to collect data and study the situation and opportunities of children from various perspectives.
The statistics cover many areas of children’s lives, such as the environment they grow up in, their living conditions, poverty and social exclusion, the standard of living of households with children, and population trends.
Among other things, the statistics show:
- how many children are born in Estonia each year;
- how many children live in Estonia;
- how much households with children spend per household member;
- how many children are at risk of poverty or live in poverty.
The data collected by Statistics Estonia are used to develop family, education, health and social policies, as well as to plan the services and measures needed to support children and families.
Households with children, 2018–2025
Unit: thousands
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult and child(ren) | 18.9 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 20.4 | 19.4 | 18.8 | 22.5 | 23.6 |
| Couple with one child | 42.1 | 42.4 | 42.9 | 43.1 | 41.6 | 43.5 | 44.5 | 45.7 |
| Couple with two children | 43.7 | 42.4 | 40.5 | 41.3 | 43.2 | 43.6 | 40.7 | 40.4 |
| Couple with three or more children | 12.3 | 14.9 | 17.2 | 17.4 | 16.3 | 16.8 | 16.6 | 14.3 |
| Couple with minor and adult children | 20.1 | 17.4 | 19.1 | 19.7 | 20.4 | 24.3 | 22.3 | 24.0 |
| Other household with children | 18.6 | 18.2 | 15.7 | 14.0 | 14.2 | 15.0 | 15.3 | 13.9 |
Children's living conditions, 2013–2022
Unit: %
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overcrowding rate for children | 33.3 | 24.6 | 22.8 | 22.0 | 21.2 | 20.1 | 21.4 | 20.9 | 21.6 | .. |
| Housing cost overburden rate | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.7 | .. |
| Children living in households with very low work intensity | 6.6 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 4.1 | .. |
| Children living in non-working households | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 6.8 |
Children in deprived households by item of deprivation, 2025
Unit: %
| Paying rent or utility bills in time | 11.2 |
|---|---|
| Adequately warm home | 2.8 |
| Unexpected expenses | 37.6 |
| Eating meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day | 5.7 |
| Week holiday away from home | 27.2 |
| Car | 5.3 |
| Replacing furniture when worn out or damaged | 21.5 |
| Having at least two pairs of outdoor shoes in a good condition | 3.2 |
| Spending a small amount of money each week on him/herself | 12.0 |
| Participating regularly in a leisure activity that costs money | 15.3 |
| Getting together with friends or family for a drink or meal at least once a month | 6.5 |
| Having internet connection at home for personal use when needed | . |
| Replacing worn-out clothes with new ones | 6.4 |