Youth

Young persons (7–26-year-olds) account for around a fifth of the total population of Estonia. The number and share of young persons in the population is decreasing.

On the one hand, the voice of the young in the society is weaker and they have less say on matters concerning themselves, and on the other hand, expectations of them are high. Young people are often talked about as belonging to a specific group: a student, unemployed person, drop-out, talented person, volunteer, etc. Nearly three quarters of 18-year-olds are at school. After this age, the share of young people who are studying starts decreasing with each following year.

Youth monitoring was established to carry out knowledge-based youth policy. In order to take care of and develop young people, it is important to know what they need and what their situation is like compared to other members of the society.

Statistics Estonia, in cooperation with the Estonian Education and Youth Board, has created a youth monitoring dashboard that makes visualised data relating to young people’s lives promptly and conveniently available.

The youth monitoring dashboard comprises 33 indicators relevant to young persons (7–26-year-olds). The indicators are divided into seven categories: young people, migration, education, labour market, youth work, civic engagement and national indicators.