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The international Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), which aims to collect data on people’s everyday competencies such as literacy, numeracy, information-seeking, use of computers and information technology, as well as their education and work experience, begins today. This is the second time that Estonia has participated in the survey.

Data analytics involves collecting, processing, and analysing large amounts of data and making decisions based on this information. Tiina Pärson, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the use of data analytics in enterprises has quickly gone from being a niche skill to a common and natural part of daily work. “Data analytics is like a compass for enterprises, allowing them to better understand the market and their customers, increase efficiency, and make data-driven decisions. Two years ago, approximately 19% of enterprises used data analytics, while this year the figure stands at

Swen Peterson, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that herbicides are still the most sold type of plant protection products. “In 2024, sales of herbicides totalled 597 tonnes, which is over 80 tonnes more than in 2023. Sales of insecticides increased by a fourth, while sales of fungicides decreased by a tenth compared with 2023,” explained Peterson. Herbicides accounted for 76%, fungicides for 13%, growth regulators for 9% and insecticides for 1.6% of the total amount of pesticides sold. In recent years, there has been a rise in the sold quantities of herbicides and insecticides, but

Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 133,800 foreign and 117,500 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in April 2025. The number of foreign tourists has shown considerable growth over the last year but has not yet fully recovered from the slump a few years ago. “Compared with April 2024, the number of foreign tourists increased by 16%. It is still lower than in April 2019, the last peak for this month,” said Laurmaa. “The number of accommodated domestic tourists remained similar to April last year but it was actually 11% bigger than in April 2019,” she noted

Karina Valma, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that collecting data with the Health Interview Survey is necessary so that the state can better support people's health and well-being. “The survey gives us a comprehensive overview of the health status of different population groups. It also allows us to see how health is linked to people's socio-economic status. In addition, the data can be used to estimate how many people need support due to their health conditions,” the analyst pointed out. Opportunity to develop better health services and support healthy ageing The data collected

Lauri Veski, team lead of consumer price statistics at Statistics Estonia, said that food prices are the main driver of overall inflation, as food products have the biggest weight in the consumer price index. “The prices of food products decreased in September and October but started to increase again in November,” added Veski. Compared with October, food products were 1% more expensive in November. The biggest impact came from the rise in the prices of vegetables (1.9%), cheese (3.3%), fresh or frozen fish (7.7%) and bread and bakery products (2.7%). Decreases in the prices of fresh fruits

Robert Müürsepp, team lead of national accounts at Statistics Estonia, said that the preliminary estimate shows signs of improvement in the Estonian economy in the fourth quarter of last year. “There was no more major recession, as the seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP remained unchanged from the third quarter of 2024. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, the economy contracted only slightly,” noted Müürsepp. Statistics Estonia will publish GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2024 on 3 March . See also the GDP flash estimate in the statistical database . Learn more about national

Tea Vassiljeva, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, in the first quarter, the labour market showed no signs of major changes in any direction. “There were 52,200 unemployed people in the first quarter, up by 5,100 from the fourth quarter of last year. This number is still significantly lower than in the first quarter of last year, when the number of unemployed people was very high,” noted Vassiljeva. The unemployment rate is the share of the unemployed in the labour force. The unemployment rate was 7.1% in the first quarter, which is 0.7 percentage points higher than in the last quarter

Lauri Veski, the Consumer Price Statistics Service Manager at Statistics Estonia, said that the last time that the year-on-year increase in the consumer price index was at a similar level was a year ago, in January 2025, when the consumer price index rose by 3.9%. “The rise in the consumer price index for January 2026 compared with December was primarily influenced by electricity, food and alcoholic beverages. The exchange prices of electricity soared in January, so that the electricity price index was up by 22.2% compared with December. Food prices were up by 2.3% in January, with 11.1% more

Lauri Veski, the Consumer Price Statistics Service Manager at Statistics Estonia, explained that inflation – i.e. the year-on-year increase in the consumer price index – has shown gradual decline in recent months. “With the exception of November 2025, inflation has been in decline since September last year,” he noted. The rise in the consumer price index in February year on year was primarily influenced by the increases in the prices of food products (5.5%), health products and services (12%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (7.9%) and housing (1.5%). Electricity prices remained high in