The conference of Estonian Statistical Society focuses on the survival of Estonian population

The 23rd conference of the Estonian Statistical Society will provide an overview of the questions related to the present and past of Estonian population such as population ageing, internal and external migration, health, family policy, regional differences of the population, population registration and the 2011 Population and Housing Census which will begin at the end of the year.

“One of the primary questions that Estonian society is facing is intensive internal migration within the country and emigration from the country – the processes which have been going on during the last decade and of which we have no updated overview at present,” told Professor Ene-Margit Tiit, Member of the Board of the Estonian Statistical Society.

According to Professor Tiit, one of the key questions of Estonian population is to gain, first and foremost, a proper and updated overview of it. “If we do not know exactly enough, what the population figure of Estonia is and which ethnic nationalities live in Estonia, it is very complicated for the society to set targets for the future. Also, we have to know the exact size of population, the sex and age structure of population and the actual distribution of population in the territory of the country.”

The conference of the Estonian Statistical Society will be opened by Academician Ene Ergma, President of the Riigikogu, at 10 a.m. on 20 April. The first day of the conference will be dedicated to defining the key question of Estonian population and to the topics of migration. At the end of the day, a debate titled “Kas Eesti rahvas jääb püsima?” (Will Estonian Population Survive?) will be held with the participation of demographers and experts. The web portal of Eesti Rahvusringhääling (Estonian Public Broadcasting) http://uudised.err.ee is going to do a live video broadcast of the first day of the conference. The broadcast can also be viewed at www.stat.ee.

On the second day of the conference, the questions related to population ageing, fertility and family will be discussed; an overview will be given of the ten population censuses which have taken place in Estonia so far and of the 2011 Population and Housing Census.

The conference will take place in the Main Conference Hall of the National Library of Estonia (2 Tõnismägi St, Tallinn). Additional information and the agenda can be found at www.stat.ee/ess-23.

The conference is organised by the Estonian Statistical Society (http://bit.ly/gBjmn6) and Statistics Estonia.