It is estimated that 17% of the native Estonian-speaking population speak a dialect. This is 2 percentage points more than in the previous census. The share of dialect speakers has increased the most in Hiiu and Saare counties, but it has not decreased in any county. 10% of dialect speakers speak more than one dialect.
Statistics Estonia invites all Estonian residents to fill in the census e-questionnaire by Saturday. So far (by January 16), 450,000 persons, or around 35% of the Estonian population, have been enumerated based on the short five-minute questionnaire.
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2021, the labour force participation rate was 71.1%, the employment rate was 66.7%, and the unemployment rate was 6.2%. There were 43,100 unemployed persons, which is 4,800 less than in 2020.
Data from the register-based population and housing census of 2021 reveal that 72.5% of Estonia’s population is made up of native people, i.e. persons with at least one parent and grandparent born in Estonia. At the time of the previous census, the share of the native populace was 75.3%, which means that the proportion of natives in the population has decreased by 2.8 percentage points, while the share of the foreign-origin population who consider themselves ethnic Estonians has increased.
Data from the 2021 census show that 84% of the current population lived in Estonia ten years ago as well, the proportion of people who have arrived from abroad has risen significantly, and the overall population of immigrants is increasingly international. For the last ten years, internal migration has been predominantly in the direction of Harju county.
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2020, life expectancy at birth for Estonian inhabitants was 78.8 years. Male life expectancy was 74.4 years and female life expectancy was 82.8 years for the second year in a row. Men are expected to live disability-free for 55.5 years and women for 59.5 years.
Statistics Estonia is making preparations for Population and Housing Census 2021. In contrast to previous censuses, this time the majority of the required data will be obtained from state databases. People will answer only to the questions for which there are no data available in any of the databases.
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2019, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Estonia at current prices was 28 billion euros. Harju county accounted for 18 billion euros of the GDP, whereas the city of Tallinn contributed 15 billion euros in that county.
Today, Statistics Estonia met with technology experts and analysts to present the technical solution of the Register-based Population and Housing Census and its opportunities.