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Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas stated that the survey results suggest we are moving in the right direction with our education reforms. “People with lower education levels tend to have weaker skills and lower life satisfaction. Extending compulsory education, as we recently initiated, is clearly the right direction in light of these results. The survey also shows that Russian-speaking residents face challenges in the labor market due to lower skills, often caused by insufficient proficiency in Estonian. Transitioning to Estonian-language education is crucial, and we need to

Ülo Paulus, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, pointed out that in the third quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2023, the construction price index was primarily influenced by a 6.4% increase in wages of workers. “On the other hand, the index was also affected by a 1% decrease in the price of building materials. Therefore, it can be said that the falling material prices curbed the rise in the construction price index for the moment,” Paulus explained. “The increase in the cost of using machinery was mainly driven by the rise in the rental costs of small machines, whereas

Jane Leppmets, foreign trade analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that other business services are the most popular type of services exported and imported by Estonian economic units. In the third quarter, the biggest growth in both exports and imports of services was recorded in trade in other business services. Other business services include, for example, services related to research and development; legal, accounting, management consulting and advertising services; waste treatment and agricultural services. A wide range of other services are included as well. “In Estonia, other business

“In the third quarter, the 2% higher cost of materials had the biggest impact on the construction price index compared with the third quarter of last year. The costs of labour force and building machines both rose by 1.2%,” said Ülo Paulus, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia. Compared with the second quarter of 2025, labour costs increased by 0.4% and materials were 0.3% more expensive, while the cost of using building machines decreased by 0.6%. “Prices associated with building machines were mainly driven down by savings from adjusted fuel prices. The higher cost of materials was primarily

Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 108,000 foreign and 109,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in March 2025. “The number of foreign tourists was 7% lower than in March last year and it was also smaller compared with March 2019 (down by 13%),” explained Laurmaa. Similarly to the earlier months of this year, accommodation establishments served more domestic than foreign tourists in March. The number of domestic tourists in March was 11% smaller than in the same month last year. Laurmaa added that the number of domestic tourists was at the same level

Jane Leppmets, foreign trade analyst at Statistics Estonia, pointed out that unlike the balance of foreign trade in goods, the balance of foreign trade in services continues to show a surplus, which means that Estonian economic entities export significantly more services than they import. Economic entities include enterprises and non-profit entities, for instance, non-profit associations and state agencies. “In the second quarter, exports of services exceeded imports by €815 million. The surplus was €9 million bigger than in the second quarter last year,” added Leppmets. The top services

Lauri Veski, team lead of consumer price statistics at Statistics Estonia, said that the consumer price index in May was almost unchanged compared with April but rose by 4.5% year on year. “Compared with May 2024, the index was affected the most by the 7.1% higher prices of food products. In transport, prices increased by 6.2%, mainly due to the motor vehicle tax introduced in January and price changes in passenger transport. New price lists for health services are in force from April, including an increased appointment fee for specialist medical care, which also affected the index year on

240,700 foreign and 218,500 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in August. Foreign tourists accounted for a slightly bigger share (52%) than domestic tourists (48%). Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the number of foreign tourists has grown in most months this year. “Compared with August last year, there were 4% more foreign tourists accommodated but their number was still a little below the pre-pandemic level,” she noted. “While the number of domestic tourists showed a slight decline, domestic tourism has recovered well, as indicated by the number of

“In the third quarter, the total number of vacant and occupied posts was a little under 604,000. The majority of the posts were in manufacturing, trade, and education,” said Sigrid Saagpakk, analyst at Statistics Estonia. Vacant posts accounted for 1.6% of the total number of posts. The number of job vacancies was the highest in education (1,674), trade (1,322), and public administration and defence (1,278). The number of people leaving their job was the greatest in wholesale and retail trade. The number of people hired was the highest in education. The number of people leaving their job at

Robert Müürsepp, team lead of national accounts at Statistics Estonia, noted that the economy, which has been falling for ten quarters in a row, is showing signs of improvement, but the biggest changes are still on the negative side. “Among the activities, construction had a strong negative impact on the economy, as did manufacturing. The biggest positive contributor after two years was again information and communication, where value added grew by 7.3%,” Müürsepp stated. Real estate activities and agriculture, forestry and fishing also made larger positive contributions to the economy. The