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Census data show that an estimated 76% of Estonia’s population speak a foreign language. While 10 years ago the most widely spoken foreign language in Estonia was Russian, today it is English. Estonian is spoken by 84% of the population: 67% speak it as a mother tongue and 17% as a foreign language.

Today, on 25 February, the Statistical Council held a meeting where they reviewed last year’s results and commended the production of official statistics, but the Council also acknowledged that the statistical system continues to be underfunded. The Council was briefed on the methodology approved by Statistics Estonia for the Population and Housing Census: namely, a register-based census, which is in accordance with EU regulations, combined with a sample survey to collect data on characteristics not covered by registers.

According to Statistics Estonia, in March, the consumer price index increased by 0.7% compared with February and by 15.3% compared with March 2022. Goods were 14.4% and services 17.2% more expensive than in March last year.

Helle Bunder, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the volume of manufacturing production showed a modest increase in each month of the first quarter. “Manufacturing, which had been in a slump since summer 2022, started to show the first signs of recovery in October and November last year. This year has also started positively,” explained Bunder. In March, the volume of industrial production increased in more than half of manufacturing activities. Looking at the larger industries, there was an increase in output in the manufacture of electrical equipment (15.5%), fabricated metal

In Estonia, the general government sector comprises three sub-sectors: central government, local governments, and social security funds. The central government sub-sector includes state budget units, foundations, and legal entities governed by public law. The local government sub-sector includes city and rural municipality governments with their subsidiary units, and foundations. Social security funds include the Estonian Health Insurance Fund and the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund. Pauline Kommer, the Government Finance Service Manager at Statistics Estonia, said that all three sub

Tea Vassiljeva, analyst at Statistics Estonia, explained that the unemployment rate, i.e. the share of the unemployed in the labour force, was 7.5% last year, which is just 0.1 percentage points lower than in 2024. In 2025, the average number of the unemployed was 56,200 – this is down by 900 from the year before. Unemployment grew the most among young men “Unemployment decreased among women but increased among men. Women’s unemployment rate, which was 7.5% in 2024, dropped to 6.6% in 2025. As for men, their unemployment rate grew by 0.7 percentage points compared with 2024 and reached 8.3% as

“Last year, the average number of museum visits per person in Estonia was 1.9. The highest museum attendance was seen in Saare and Lääne counties, where there were respectively 4.1 and 3.9 museum visits per person. In Tallinn, the city with the most museums, the average number of visits per person stood at 2.9. Museum attendance was lowest in Rapla county (0.3), with modest figures observed also in Valga (0.7) and Viljandi (0.8) counties,” said Erik Lest, analyst at Statistics Estonia. The number of foreign tourists visiting museums is growing While foreign tourists visited Estonian museums

According to Statistics Estonia, in the second quarter of 2020, the Dwelling Price Index decreased by 5.8% compared to the first quarter, but increased by 4% compared to the second quarter of 2019.

According to Statistics Estonia, in November, the consumer price index remained at the same level as in October 2023 and increased by 4.0% compared with November 2022. Goods were 2.6% and services 6.5% more expensive than in November last year.

Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 110,000 foreign and 120,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in February 2025. “The number of foreign tourists increased by 3% year on year and reached the level of February 2019. However, in February 2020, just before the crisis, 10,000 more foreign tourists (8%) stayed in accommodation establishments than in February this year,” Laurmaa added. The number of domestic tourists in February was 2% higher than at the same time last year. Helga Laurmaa pointed out that, compared with pre-crisis February 2020, the number