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Household and family nucleus – what are these?
Censuses introduce new terms that might be unfamiliar for most people, such as ‘household’, ‘family nucleus’, ‘partner’, and even such a peculiar concept as ‘non-family household’. What do all these terms mean and what is their purpose?
Blog
Estonia is an attractive destination for highly educated immigrants
During the population and housing census, information on the highest level of education attained by inhabitants of Estonia was also gathered. Collected data revealed that the educational attainment of the population continues to rise. The level of education of foreigners living in here has also increased significantly. Below we will take a closer look at the educational attainment of the native Estonian- and Russian-speaking population as well as that of other mother tongue speakers and see how it has changed since the previous censuses.
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Estonian women still among the most highly educated in Europe
During the population and housing census, information on the highest level of education attained by inhabitants of Estonia was also gathered and data were compared with that of other countries. Estonia has seen an increase in the proportion of people with higher education, while the share of persons with basic education has decreased. Estonian women are still among the most highly educated in Europe, and overall Estonia ranks 7th in terms of the share of people with higher education.
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Population census: Estonia's population and the number of Estonians have grown
Data collected from registers in the 2021 census reveal that in ten years, Estonia’s population has grown, people live longer, and the number of working-age persons has fallen. Over the last decade, Estonia has seen a rise in the number of ethnic nationalities, countries of citizenship, mother tongues, and countries of birth, as well as an increase in the number of Estonians.
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Population census. More people of retirement age in employment than ever before
Census data show that 58% of the population was employed at the end of 2021, which is 6 percentage points more than 10 years ago. The increase is mainly due to persons of retirement age, but also slightly to the unemployed and students.
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Population census. Young people have more health problems than 10 years ago
According to the 2021 census, an estimated one third of the population have a long-term illness or health problem. This is 2 percentage points more than in the previous census in 2011. 28% of the population are limited in their daily activities because of a health problem.
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Population census. Population has changed the least in Ida-Viru county, the most in Lääne county
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.
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Population census. 76% of Estonia’s population speak a foreign language
Census data show that an estimated 76% of Estonia’s population speak a foreign language. While 10 years ago the most widely spoken foreign language in Estonia was Russian, today it is English. Estonian is spoken by 84% of the population: 67% speak it as a mother tongue and 17% as a foreign language.
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Population census. The proportion of people with a religious affiliation remains stable, Orthodox Christianity is still the most widespread
29% of people in Estonia are estimated to be affiliated with a religion. This figure has remained unchanged over the last three population censuses. However, the proportion of people who do not feel an affiliation to any religion has increased – from 54% in 2011 to 58% in 2021. The most prevalent religion in Estonia is Orthodox Christianity.
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Population census: the average home in Estonia is older than the average person
Data from the population and housing census conducted at the end of 2021 show that on average in Estonia, people’s homes are older than they are, and the number of households living in private houses has increased.
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Population census: the share of people of foreign origin who consider themselves ethnic Estonians has grown
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.
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Population census: the average family size in Estonia has gone up
According to the results of the register-based population and housing census of 2021, there are 341,995 families in Estonia, of which almost half, or 49%, are two-member families. Compared with the previous census, there are fewer families, but the number of people living in them has risen. 154,625 families (or 45%) are raising minor children and 16% of the population lives alone.
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Population census. One in five people in Estonia have a master's degree, the country is a destination for the highly educated
Data from the 2021 census show that the share of people with higher education in Estonia is increasing and the share of people with basic education is decreasing. A fifth of the inhabitants in Estonia have a master's degree, and Tartu and Viimsi stand out for their particularly high concentration of highly educated people.
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Population census: the number of dwellings is growing, and more and more people are living in private houses
A total of 737,873 dwellings were counted in the 2021 Population and Housing Census, based on registers. Compared to the 2011 census, 47,793 new dwellings have been built, which is 1000 fewer than in the previous ten years (2001–2011). According to census data, there are now 14% more private houses than 10 years ago and 24% of all dwellings are vacant.
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Population census: 9% more children in Estonia than during the previous census
There are 259,341 children aged 0–17 living in Estonia. This is 9.1% more than ten years ago. Children constitute 19.5% of the total population of Estonia. The share of children is the lowest in Hiiu and Ida-Viru counties and the highest in Harju and Tartu counties, as revealed by the census results published today.
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First census results out today
Today, on June 1, Statistics Estonia will publish the first results of the population census. We will reveal the size of population of Estonia, sex and age distribution of the population, location of inhabitants, representation of various ethnic nationalities, mother tongues, and countries of citizenship in the Estonian society, and the changes that have occurred over the decades. On the occasion of the International Day for Protection of Children, we will also highlight census data on children.