Forest accounts

Forest accounts record and present data on forest resources and economic activity in the forestry and logging industry in a way that is fully compatible with the data reported under the National Accounts. Forest accounts provide complementary information and use concepts adapted to the particular nature of forests and of the forestry and logging industry.

Multisource process

Indicators of area of wooded land
Balance components: opening area at the beginning of the reference year; afforestation and other increases; deforestation and other decreases; statistical reclassification (+/-); balancing item (+/-); closing area at the end of the reference year.
Types of wooded land: forest (forest available for wood supply, forest not available for wood supply); other wooded land (of which available for wood supply); other land with tree cover available for wood supply.

Timber on wooded land (million euros)
Balance components: opening stock at the beginning of the reference year; net increment; removals; irretrievable losses; revaluation (+/-); statistical reclassification (+/-); balancing item (+/-); closing stock at the end of the reference year.
Types of wooded land: forest (forest available for wood supply, forest not available for wood supply); other wooded land (of which available for wood supply); other land with tree cover available for wood supply.

Timber on wooded land (thousand m³)
Balance components: opening stock at the beginning of the reference year; net increment; removals; statistical reclassification (+/-); balancing item (+/-); closing stock at the end of the reference year.
Types of wooded land: forest (forest available for wood supply, forest not available for wood supply); other wooded land (of which available for wood supply); other land with tree cover available for wood supply.

Indicators of forestry and logging economic accounts: total output (at basic prices) (live forest tree plants and tree seeds, forest trees, wood in the rough (logs, fuel wood, pulpwood), non-wood products, services characteristic of the forestry and logging activity, other products); total intermediate consumption (forest trees, live forest tree plants and forest tree seeds used to produce timber, energy and lubricants, the sum of services characteristic of the forestry and logging activity, other goods and services used as inputs); gross value added (consumption of fixed capital, other taxes on production, other subsidies on production, compensation of employees, net operating surplus and mixed income); gross fixed capital formation (excluding deductible VAT); changes in inventories (changes in work-in-progress on cultivated biological assets, other changes in inventories); capital transfers; total labour input (in 1000 harmonized AWU).

Estonian Classification of Economic Activities (EMTAK) based on NACE Rev. 2;
Classification of Products and Services;
Combined Nomenclature (CN);
ESA 2010 Classification of Transactions and Other Flows

Economic variables cover the forestry and logging activity (NACE A.02).

Afforestation and other increases – increases in area resulting from afforestation or changes in land use
Average stumpage price – the difference between the roadside price and the harvesting cost, taking into account price differences arising from tree species and assortments
Balance item – an accounting entry in an asset account representing a component of change in an asset stock or area, such as opening stock, net annual increment, removals, revaluation or closing stock
Balancing item – a residual accounting item representing the difference between opening and closing stock after accounting for all recorded changes during the accounting period
Changes in inventories – changes in stocks of raw materials, finished products and work-in-progress
Change in work-in-progress on cultivated biological assets – the difference between the net increment and removals, expressed in monetary units
Closing stock – the volume or value of wooded land resources or forest assets at the end of the accounting period
Compensation of employees – wages and salaries and employers’ social contributions
Consumption of fixed capital – the decline in the value of fixed assets due to use and ageing
Deforestation and other decreases – decreases in area resulting from deforestation or changes in land use
Forest – land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than five metres and a canopy cover of more than 10% or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural land use or trees in urban settings, such as city parks, alleys and gardens.
Forest accounts – asset accounts for forest resources, comprising wooded land and timber on wooded land, and economic activity accounts for forestry and logging
Forest land available for wood supply – forest land where wood harvesting is permitted
Forest land not available for wood supply – forest land where wood harvesting is not permitted or is significantly restricted
Forest trees used to produce timber – the value of removals of timber valued at the average stumpage price
Gross fixed capital formation and acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets– the value of acquisitions less disposals of fixed assets, together with the net acquisition of non-produced non-financial assets during the accounting period
Gross value added – the new value created in the production process, calculated as output less intermediate consumption. It consists of consumption of fixed capital, compensation of employees, other net taxes on production, and operating surplus and mixed income.
Intermediate consumption – goods and services used to produce other goods and services
Irretrievable losses – felling residues and all fellings from windthrow that cannot be removed from the forest, and timber lost through forest fires
Labour input – employed labour expressed in full-time equivalents
Net annual increment of timber – the average annual increase in the volume or value of live trees, less the average annual loss due to tree mortality
Net value added – gross value added less consumption of fixed capital
Opening stock – the volume or value of wooded land resources or forest assets at the beginning of the accounting period
Other wooded land – land not classified as forest, spanning more than 0.5 hectares,

• with trees higher than five metres and a canopy cover of 5 to 10% or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ;
• or with a combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees greater than 10%.

It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural land use or trees in urban settings, such as city parks, alleys and gardens.
Other land with tree cover available for wood supply - other land with tree cover used for wood harvesting
Other wooded land available for wood supply – other wooded land used for wood harvesting
Output for own final use – the value of goods and services produced by households for their own final use
Output of forest trees – the sum of income from sales of harvesting rights and the value of net increment valued at the average stumpage price
Output of the forestry and logging activity – the total value, at basic prices, of goods and services produced by the forestry and logging industry. It distinguishes live forest tree plants and tree seeds, forest trees, wood in the rough, non-wood products, services characteristic of forestry and logging, and other products not included in the preceding categories.
Output of wood in the rough – the value of harvested wood at roadside prices, distinguishing between logwood, pulpwood and fuelwood assortments
Removals – the volume of all trees, living or dead, that are felled and removed from the forest, other wooded land or other felling sites. It includes unsold roundwood stored at the forest roadside; natural losses that are recovered; removals during the year of wood felled in an earlier period; removals of non-stem wood (such as stumps and branches); and removal of trees killed or damaged by natural causes (known as natural losses), e.g. fire, wind, insects and diseases. It does not include non-woody biomass or any wood that is left in the forest and not removed during the year, e.g. stumps, branches, tree tops and felling residues (harvesting waste).
Revaluation – a change in the value of a forest asset resulting from changes in prices rather than changes in the physical quantity of the asset
Roadside price – the price of timber at a forest roadside landing. In the accounts, data from the State Forest Management Centre are used
Statistical reclassification – the reclassification of an area or asset between categories
Work in progress – output that has entered the production process but has not yet been completed or realized by the end of the accounting period; in forestry, this primarily refers to the increase in the value of standing timber resulting from biological growth.

Institutional unit;
economic territory

All institutional units;
whole economic territory of Estonia

Estonia as a whole

2022–…
The data published in 2026 refer to 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Not applicable

Area of wooded land – thousand hectares (ha);
volume of timber on wooded land – thousand cubic metres (m³);
value of timber on wooded land – million euros;
economic indicators for forestry and logging – million euros;
total labour input in the forestry and logging industry – 1,000 harmonized AWU

Year

Official Statistics Act;
Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 on European environmental economic accounts (Text with EEA relevance);
Regulation (EU) 2024/3024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 as regards introducing new environmental economic account modules (Text with EEA relevance), Annex VII "Module for forest accounts".

None

Under the Official Statistics Act, confidential data are data that make it possible to identify a statistical unit directly or indirectly and thereby disclose individual data. The Act sets out strict rules to prevent the accidental disclosure of data. Data that make it possible to identify a statistical unit may be transmitted only to another producer of official statistics (in Estonia, the Bank of Estonia), to the national statistical institutes of EU Member States, and to Eurostat. All of these bodies are subject to the corresponding obligation to maintain confidentiality.

On European level, Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

Statistics Estonia ensures the protection of data collected for the production of official statistics in accordance with the Official Statistics Act and the Personal Data Protection Act. Statistics Estonia publishes data in its database in aggregated form and ensures that data relating to an individual or enterprise cannot be identified from the published data. Secondary confidentiality is also taken into account to protect confidential data: it must not be possible to derive confidential data from the published aggregates.

Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on Statistics Estonia's 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).

The release calendar is available to consumers on the website Calendar.

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 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 published in the statistical database at 8:00 a.m. on the date announced in the release calendar.

Year

The news can be viewed on the website of Statistics Estonia in the section News.

In December 2025, a news release „Uued metsaarvepidamise andmed: metsanduse lisandväärtus oli 2023. aastal 221 miljonit eurot“ was published (in Estonian).
No regular press releases will be issued for this statistical process in the future. Decisions on whether to publish blog posts, short news items or social media posts will be made as needed.

Not published

Data are published in the statistical database at under the subject area Environment / Environmental accounts / Forest accounts in the following tables:
KK53: Area of wooded land by type and component of balance;
KK54: Timber volume and value on wooded land by type of land and component of balance;
KK55: Economic indicators for forestry and logging.

Not applicable since this is a new regular statistical process.

Under the Official Statistics Act, researchers and policymakers may apply for access to pseudonymised data in Statistics Estonia’s secure research environment. Access is governed by the Procedure for dissemination of confidential data for scientific purposes, which requires the intended use of the data to be justified. Depending on the type of data, approval from the Data Protection Inspectorate or the relevant ethics committee is a prerequisite for applying for access.

The data of this statistical process are also published on Statistics Estonia's website in the environment section under the heading Forest.

On the same day that the data are published in Statistics Estonia’s database (by 30 September at the latest), we transmit them to Eurostat via the EDAMIS data transmission channel. Eurostat publishes comparable forest accounts data for the Member States in its database:
Volume of timber over bark;
Area of wooded land;
Economic aggregates for forestry.

Not applicable since this is a new regular statistical process.

European forest accounts handbook (2024)

This statistical process is guided by the European Statistics Code of Practice – revised edition, 2017.

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, a report on the methodology used and the quality achieved is prepared for transmitting to Eurostat.

Statistics Estonia has an established quality management system that integrates the various quality systems implemented within the organisation. To ensure the quality of statistical production processes and services/products, Statistics Estonia applies the European Statistics Code of Practice, the related Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (ESS QAF), the requirements of § 7 “Principles and quality criteria of producing official statistics” of the Official Statistics Act, as well as other standards and best practices, where feasible. Compliance with these principles is laid down in Statistics Estonia’s Quality Policy and internal documents.
Coordination of the quality management system falls within the responsibility of the organisation’s Quality Manager. However, responsibility for ensuring and improving the quality of a specific process, service or product lies with the department responsible for the respective service or product. General responsibilities are laid down in the statutes of the structural units, while responsibility for specific activities and related matters is defined in internal documents.

At Statistics Estonia, statistical activities are carried out in accordance with the international Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM). Under the GSBPM, the final phase of a statistical activity is an overall evaluation. The information required for this evaluation is generated in each phase or subprocess and may take various forms, such as user feedback, process metadata, production metrics, and staff suggestions or advice. This information is used to prepare an evaluation report that identifies any quality issues associated with the specific iteration of the statistical activity and provides input for improvement actions. The department responsible for carrying out the statistical activity is also responsible for conducting the evaluation.

Domestic data users:

• Ministry of Climate;
• Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture;
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications;
• Estonian Environment Agency;
• the general public;
• researchers;
• non-governmental organisation.

International data users:

• European Commission Directorates-General (DGs) and the European Environment Agency (EEA);
• Joint Research Centre (JRC);
• UNECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI);
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);
• Forest Europe (Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe);
• European Forest Institute (EFI);
• European Forest Partnership.

Since 1996, Statistics Estonia has conducted reputation and user satisfaction surveys. Surveys conducted at least once a year target both the existing and potential consumers of statistics. All results are available on Statistics Estonia's website in the section User surveys. The survey referred to does not concern a specific statistical process but is a general satisfaction survey.

Forest accounts are in compliance with the requirements of Annex VII "Module for forest accounts" of Regulation (EU) 2024/3024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 (amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 as regards introducing new environmental economic account modules) and the rules of the national accounts.

All required indicators have been collected and calculated (completeness 100%).

Accuracy is ensured by applying the methodology developed by Eurostat. The accuracy of the accounts depends on the quality of the other statistical data used as inputs. The accuracy of the statistical input data is checked.
If the original data source have undercoverage, the estimates may be biased. Expert assessments are used to reduce this bias.
Data for revised accounting periods are generally more accurate than the preliminary data, mainly because new source data become available and earlier source data are corrected and updated.
The accuracy of data on forest area and growing stock depends primarily on the accuracy and reliability of National Forest Inventory (NFI) data, as well as the quality of the data sources and methods used to compile the forest accounts. The NFI is a sample survey, so estimates based on it are subject to random sampling uncertainty. Estimates may also be affected by measurement, classification, processing and model-based errors. Data quality is ensured by applying the NFI methodology and quality controls and by checking the calculations used to compile the forest accounts.

The compilation of forest accounts is not a sample survey; it is an accounting process based on multiple data sources. The main source used to estimate forest land area, growing stock and increment is the Estonian Environment Agency’s National Forest Inventory (NFI), which is based on a probability sample. Estonian Environment Agency assesses and documents the statistical precision and sampling errors of NFI data as part of its methodology. Statistics Estonia does not calculate separate sampling error estimates for the output indicators of the forest accounts.

Not applicable. The compilation of forest accounts is not a sample survey. Sampling errors are assessed as part of the methodology for the main input source, the Estonian Environment Agency’s National Forest Inventory (NFI). Statistics Estonia does not calculate or publish sampling error estimates for the output indicators of the forest accounts.

Non-sampling errors may arise from the classification, measurement and processing of source data, as well as from combining data from different sources. The quality of the forest accounts also depends on the quality of the source data used, including the Estonian Environment Agency’s National Forest Inventory (NFI) data and administrative data sources. Potential errors are reduced through methodological checks, data validation and checks on the consistency of time series. Non-sampling errors are not quantified separately.

The concept of a statistical frame is not applicable because the accounts are compiled from multiple data sources.

Forest accounts are compiled primarily using data from the Estonian Environment Agency’s National Forest Inventory (NFI) and other administrative data sources. The coverage of estimates of forest land area, growing stock and increment, and any associated coverage errors, depend mainly on the source data used. Statistics Estonia does not assess coverage error separately. The Estonian Environment Agency is responsible for assessing the methodology, coverage and quality of the NFI, which is the main input source. When compiling the forest accounts, the coherence and consistency of the data are checked, and no significant coverage problems have been identified.

For the sector tables of the forest accounts (monetary accounts), coverage depends on the coverage of the statistical and administrative data sources used. Potential coverage errors may arise from differences in the scope, classifications or methodologies of the various sources. Their impact is reduced through data consistency checks, comparisons between sources and reconciliation with the national accounts. Revisions are made where necessary as the source data are refined.

Measurement error is not assessed separately in the forest accounts. Measurement errors in the input data (for example the NFI) , are described in the methodological documentation for the respective data sources.
Measurements and assessments carried out during National Forest Inventory (NFI) fieldwork may be subject to measurement and classification errors. These may arise, for example, when measuring the characteristics of trees and forest stands, identifying tree species or other forest characteristics, or interpreting measurement results. The NFI methodology and quality control procedures are applied to reduce measurement errors.

Not applicable, as the statistical process is based on administrative data sources and data from other statistical processes.

Not applied

Statistics Estonia does not measure model assumption errors, but the possibility that these may occur should be taken into account.

The data are published within 21 months of the end of the reference year (T + 21 months).

The data are published once, see "Timeliness".

The data are published once, see "Timeliness".

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

100% of the data has been published on time (as announced in the release calendar).

Geographical comparability of forest accounts among the European Union Member States is ensured through the application of common definitions of European Forest Accounts. However, country-specific methodological particularities must be taken into account.

Figures are generally comparable. However, timber stocks from different years cannot be considered directly comparable in monetary terms, as their valuation applies different discount rates. The assessment of assets over the years is influenced by changing market prices, as well as other factors. Therefore, a timber stock of the same volume may be reflected with a different monetary value in one year’s report compared with another. In the methodology of asset accounting, a revision is possible in accordance with Eurostat guidelines.

There have been no breaks in the time series, which means that the number of observation periods in the last unbroken time series equals the number of all observation periods.

Differences compared with other statistical domains, including national accounts, are mainly due to differences in concepts, definitions and coverage.

Not applicable as data are not published for periods shorter than one year.

Forest accounts are comparable to and can be linked with national accounts. Full consistency between the data is not always possible, and temporary discrepancies may occur. These usually result from different versions of the accounts or differences in the level of detail of the input data. Methodological differences can be explained.

The outputs of the statistical process are coherent.

Since this statistical activity is based on data from administrative sources and other statistical processes, there is no data submission and therefore no burden.
Costs are not calculated separately for different statistical processes.

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

The published data may be revised if the methodology is modified, errors are discovered, new or better data become available.
Regular revisions are carried out each year as part of the forest accounts process. The data are also revised when input data are revised, including revisions to the National Forest Inventory.

Data in the environmental accounts for timber stock are revised regularly as National Forest Inventory data are updated and methods are developed. In the latest revision, the data for 2022 and 2023 were updated following changes to the “method for calculating tree height curves”, which is one of the methods used to estimate timber stock volumes, and to the “method for imputing growing stock on forest site sample plots”.
The revision mainly changed estimates of timber stock levels. The estimated closing stock of timber on forest land increased by 6.9 million m³ (+ 1.37%) in 2022 and 8.7 million m³ (+ 1.74%) in 2023. Opening stock estimates also increased: by 6.7 million m³ (+ 1.32%) in 2022 and 6.9 million m³ (+ 1.37%) in 2023.
The volume of removals was revised downwards by 0.24 million m³ (− 1.98%) in 2022 and 0.13 million m³ (− 1.12%) in 2023. Estimates of net annual increment remained unchanged in both years.
In monetary terms, the closing value of timber stock decreased by €11.8 million (− 0.08%) in 2022 and €17.0 million (− 0.11%) in 2023. The value of removals was also revised downwards: by €12.1 million (− 2.15%) in 2022 and €7.1 million (− 1.31%) in 2023. Estimates of the value of net annual increment remained virtually unchanged, with revisions of − €0.7 million (− 0.19%) in 2022 and − €0.1 million (− 0.03%) in 2023.

Overall, the revision mainly affected estimates of the physical volume of timber stock. Compared with previous estimates, timber stock at both the beginning and end of the period increased by approximately 1.3–1.7%, while the volume of removals was revised moderately downwards. The changes resulted from refinements to National Forest Inventory data and methods. They did not alter the overall trend in timber stock, but refined estimates of stock levels, their distribution across forest land categories, and timber resources in the environmental accounts.

Output, intermediate consumption, value added and other economic indicators for the forestry sector are revised in line with revisions to the national accounts. As a result, data for previous periods are revised each year; in 2026, the data for 2022–2023 were revised.

This is a multisource process where some data come from administrative sources and some from other statistical processes.
A1. Area of wooded land
National Forest Inventory (NFI); Estonian Nature Information System (EELIS); GHG LULUCF Common Reporting Tables (CRT); GIS land-use and spatial datasets.

A2. Timber on wooded land
National Forest Inventory (NFI); including remeasurement data, increment estimates, deadwood data and felling statistics, Estonian wood balance; Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire (JFSQ); expert estimates.

A2b. Timber resources: monetary account
A2 timber resource account data; National Forest Inventory (NFI); State Forest Management Centre (RMK) roadside timber prices; Environment Agency timber assortment statistics, harvesting cost models; Ministry of Finance discount rate data and forestry sector inflation forecasts.

B1. Forest and logging sector accounts
Other statistical processes: 21401 "National Accounts (annual)", structural business statistics 20300 "Financial statistics of enterprises (annual)" (EKOMAR), 40013 "Labour force survey"; Estonian Business Register (enterprise financial statements); RMK's statistics of timber price; forest resource data derived from A2 and A2b accounts

Year

Administrative data were obtained in 2026 through the Data Gateway, e-mail, and an FTP server.

Validation includes arithmetic and qualitative checks, including comparisons with data from previous periods.
Data from administrative sources are checked by the respective data collectors and database managers. The data are also checked after they have been incorporated into the forest accounts. Where necessary, the data manager is contacted for clarification.
Input data from other statistical processes are first checked as part of those processes. Additional checks are carried out in the forest accounts, where the data are examined across different accounting breakdowns.
In addition to checks performed after the data have been incorporated, the data are analysed continuously during the compilation of the accounts. The aim is to ensure quality at every stage. If inconsistencies appear in the final results, the compilation steps are reviewed and, where necessary, additional information is requested from the original source. To confirm the final results of the forest accounts, validation is carried out with specialists responsible for the administrative data sources and related statistical processes.
Additional quality control is carried out in Eurostat’s validation system.

The collected data are converted into statistical output. Microdata from different sources are aggregated into summary indicators in accordance with the methodology European forest accounts handbook (2024) used.

Not applied

Not applied

Not applied

Forest accounts are based on international accounting principles. The internationally agreed methodology aims to ensure that the indicators are comparable over time and across countries.