Censuses introduce new terms that might be unfamiliar for most people, such as ‘household’, ‘family nucleus’, ‘partner’, and even such a peculiar concept as ‘non-family household’. What do all these terms mean and what is their purpose?

According to the results of the register-based population and housing census of 2021, there are 341,995 families in Estonia, of which almost half, or 49%, are two-member families. Compared with the previous census, there are fewer families, but the number of people living in them has risen. 154,625 families (or 45%) are raising minor children and 16% of the population lives alone.

According to Statistics Estonia, in the second quarter of 2022, there were 13,334 job vacancies in the enterprises, institutions and organisations of Estonia. This is 26% more than in the same quarter of 2021. Approximately 5,000 people left their jobs at the initiative of the employer.

According to Statistics Estonia, in July, the total production of industrial enterprises decreased 6.4% at constant prices compared with July 2021. Output rose in one of the three sectors – up 5.2% in electricity production – but fell 6.4% in manufacturing and 17.5% in mining.

In the second quarter of 2022, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.6% year on year. The GDP at current prices was 9 billion euros.

According to Statistics Estonia, in July, the turnover of retail trade enterprises was 919 million euros. Compared with July 2021, turnover remained at a similar level at constant prices.

According to Statistics Estonia, in the second quarter of 2022, the total production value of Estonian construction enterprises in Estonia and abroad decreased by 1.4% year on year at constant prices. Considering only the Estonian construction market, the construction volume fell by 1.8%.

According to Statistics Estonia, in the 2nd quarter of 2022, the average monthly gross wages and salaries were 1,693 euros, which is 10.1% more than at the same time last year.

According to Statistics Estonia, in 2021, life expectancy at birth was 77.2 years in Estonia. Male life expectancy was 72.8 years and female life expectancy was 81.4 years. Life expectancy has decreased for both men and women. Men can expect to live disability-free for 54.9 years and women for 58 years.

In July 2022, the producer price index of industrial output, which expresses changes in the producer prices of industrial goods manufactured in Estonia for the domestic market and for export, rose by 0.4% compared with June and by 28.8% compared with July 2021.

According to Statistics Estonia, in the second quarter of 2022, the labour force participation rate was 73.1%, the employment rate was 68.8%, and the unemployment rate was 5.8%.

During the population and housing census, information on the highest level of education attained by inhabitants of Estonia was also gathered. Collected data revealed that the educational attainment of the population continues to rise. The level of education of foreigners living in here has also increased significantly. Below we will take a closer look at the educational attainment of the native Estonian- and Russian-speaking population as well as that of other mother tongue speakers and see how it has changed since the previous censuses.