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PHC 2011: almost 4% of population aged 15 and over are self-employed

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Posted on 19 December 2012, 10:00
According to the data of the 2011 Population and Housing Census (PHC 2011), most of the Estonian residents are employees. 3.8% of the persons aged 15 and over are self-employed.

As at 31 December 2011, the population aged 15 and over accounted for 84.6% of the 1,294,455 permanent residents of Estonia. Among them, the share of economically active persons was 57% (630,101 persons). Employees accounted for 46.7%, self-employed persons for 3.8% and other employed persons (incl. persons in compulsory military or community service) for 0.8% of the population aged 15 and over.

The census shows that the level of economic activity is higher among the urban population and lower among the rural population. “There are more employees in cities than in rural areas. At the same time, there are slightly more self-employed persons in rural settlements,” said Ms Diana Beltadze, Project Manager of the 2011 Population and Housing Census.

Beltadze added that the share of self-employed persons is higher in Harju county (4.4%), and their share is also above the average in Saare, Hiiu and Pärnu counties (4.1% in each). Among local government units, the share of self-employed persons is the highest in Vormsi (8.9%), Kihnu (8.6%) and Viimsi (8.3%) rural municipalities. Self-employed persons without employees dominate in rural settlements.

As at 31 December 2011, the total number of economically inactive persons aged 15 and over was 447,774 – which is 40.9% of the population. The biggest groups of inactive persons are retired persons (287,450) and students (81,639).

The share of inactive persons is the highest in Jõgeva, Viljandi, Valga, Põlva and Võru counties, and the lowest in Harju county. The share of retired persons in the population is the biggest in Põlva county and the smallest in Harju and Tartu counties.

Economically active population – persons aged 15 and over who were employed or unemployed in the week preceding the census (19–25 December 2011). Persons in compulsory military or community service are included among employed persons.

The results of PHC 2011 regarding the employment and socio-economic status of the population can be found in Statistics Estonia's database. The results of PHC 2011 will be published over the course of 2012 and 2013. The schedule of publication can be found at www.REL2011.ee.

The 11th population census in Estonia was conducted from 31 December 2011 until 31 March 2012. Previous censuses were carried out in 1881, 1897, 1922, 1934, 1941, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989 and 2000. The next population census will be conducted in Estonia in 2020/2021.