The number of international students decreased last year but their tax contribution increased

This was the seventh time that Statistics Estonia was commissioned by the Education and Youth Board to analyse the tax contribution of international students who work in Estonia during and after their studies. In the academic year 2024/2025, there were 3,951 international students in Estonia. 3,418 of them had an Estonian personal identification code and their labour market participation could be studied using pseudonymised codes. 1,752 (51%) of the analysed students worked in Estonia while studying. 

The study showed that long-term work is predominant among both local and international students: 80% of international students and 78% of local students worked for six months or more in the academic year 2024/25. “The types of employment for local and international students have become more similar over time; the number of international students with an employment contract has increased. On the other hand, the overall number of working students in Estonia has decreased for two years in a row, which reflects the general labour market trends,” said Kadri Rootalu, the Population and Education Statistics Service Manager at Statistics Estonia and the author of the analysis.

The greater tax contribution has resulted from higher wages

In the academic year 2024/25, international students paid 6.1 million euros in income tax and 10.5 million euros in social tax in Estonia (16.6 million euros in total). This is slightly more than in the preceding academic year when their tax contribution was 15.8 million euros. As the number of working students has decreased, the greater overall tax contribution has mainly resulted from higher wages. The average gross monthly payment to international students was 1,792 euros, compared to 1,646 euros for local students. 

International graduates of the 2023/24 academic year paid 2.8 million euros in income tax and 4.7 million euros in social tax in Estonia (7.5 million euros in total) in the academic year 2024/25. The average gross monthly payment was higher for graduates than for students. The average gross wages were 2,228 euros for international graduates and 2,314 euros for local graduates.

International students are increasingly working for universities

In the academic year 2024/25, the share of working students was the highest among international students specialising in engineering, manufacturing and construction – 73% of these students worked while studying. However, the overall number of international students specialising in these fields of study has declined in recent years. The other top fields based on the share of working international students were education (71%) and information and communication technology, or ICT (65%).

The share of international graduates who stayed to work in Estonia in the academic year 2024/2025 was the highest in ICT (68%), education (59%) and business, finance and law (59%). Year on year, the top domains of employment are quite similar for international students but there is more variation in the case of international graduates.

Based on the economic activity of the enterprise or institution, there has been a rise in the number of international students working in education, especially in higher education institutions. The second most popular economic activity is still information and communication, but the number of international students employed in information and communication has fallen by 200 over the last two years.

Working international students by economic activity of the enterprise and academic year (8 larger activities)

Eero Loonurm, the head of the Study in Estonia programme at the Education and Youth Board, said that international students are a clear example of Estonia gaining long-term value from internationalisation – in addition to the tax contribution of international students during their studies, a significant share of these people stay to work in Estonia after graduation and continue to contribute to the Estonian economy. “The graduates that move away also contribute by becoming worldwide ambassadors of Estonian higher education and business environment. As such, they help to promote Estonia and support economic cooperation and international connections,” said Loonurm.

A long-term perspective on the contribution of international students

The study also analysed the employment of international graduates and their tax contribution in Estonia over a longer period (for international graduates of the academic years 2016/17 to 2023/24). Additionally, the analysis looked at the employment of international students who studied in Estonia in the academic years 2017/18 to 2024/25. The data on 13,023 international students and graduates were analysed, with 41% of them still working in Estonia in the academic year 2024/25.

Between September 2017 and August 2025, there were 8,389 international students and graduates who worked in Estonia. The payments for their work totalled 625 million euros, with 110.8 million euros paid as income tax and 206.8 euros paid as social tax. Thus, the total tax contribution of international students and graduates in Estonia was 317.6 million euros over this period. “This shows that international higher education is an important investment for Estonia that impacts the domestic labour market and supports Estonia’s image and visibility internationally,” added Loonurm.

See the latest report (in Estonian) and the results of previous studies on Statistics Estonia’s website. 

When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.

For further information: 

Annaliisa Köss 
Media Relations Partner 
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia 
Tel +372 5696 6484 
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee) 

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