Construction volume down by 12% in the second quarter (corrected on 28.08.2023)

The number marked in red was corrected in the news release.

The total production value of construction enterprises was 1.019 billion euros, including 646 million euros’ worth of building construction and 373 million euros’ worth of civil engineering. Compared with the second quarter of 2022, the volume of building construction fell by 13%, and the volume of civil engineering works (roads, bridges, port facilities, pipelines, communication and electricity lines, sports fields, etc.) by 9%.

Merike Sinisaar, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the construction market is still affected by rising construction prices, higher interest rates as well as declining consumer confidence. “The construction of buildings has been in decline since the second quarter of 2022, but now there is a downward trend also in the volume of civil engineering,” added Sinisaar.

The domestic construction market was primarily influenced by the decreased volume of building construction, which was mainly due to the decrease in building repair and reconstruction works. As for civil engineering, there was a fall in the volume of both new civil engineering and repair and reconstruction works.

The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises operating abroad increased by almost half compared with the second quarter of last year. There was a rise in building construction as well as in civil engineering works completed abroad. Construction in foreign countries accounted for 8% of the total construction volume, up from 5% in the same quarter in 2022.

According to the Register of Construction Works, 2,113 new dwellings were completed, which is 12% more than the year before. Nearly half of the completed dwellings are in Tallinn (43%), followed by Tartu county (24%) and the rural municipalities in the vicinity of Tallinn (19%).

The demand for new dwellings is falling. Building permits were issued for the construction of 855 dwellings, down by 41% year on year. The most popular type of residential building was a single-family detached home.

The number of completed non-residential buildings was 214, with a useful floor area of 136,700 square metres. New industrial, office and commercial premises accounted for the biggest share of non-residential building construction. Compared with the second quarter of 2022, there was an increase in the useful floor area but a decrease in the volume of completed non-residential buildings.

Statistics Estonia collects and analyses data to produce the quarterly economic indicators of enterprises. The statistical activity is commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in order to understand how the Estonian economy is doing.

See also the construction section on our website. More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.

For further information:

Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee

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