While at the beginning of the new century it was mainly the inhabitants of Estonia who eagerly moved elsewhere in Europe, today more and more citizens of other European Union countries are settling in Estonia. Kristjan Erik Loik, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, takes a look at who has arrived here in the last 20 years.

The results of the Estonian Social Survey show that Estonian people are happier than Latvians and Lithuanians but not nearly as happy as the residents of Finland and Sweden. How happy are people in Estonia compared with other European countries? Here is an overview by Anet Müürsoo, Head of Population and Social Statistics Department at Statistics Estonia.

According to Statistics Estonia, in the first quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate was 7.8%, the employment rate was 68.4%, and the labour force participation rate was 74.2%.

As of 15 May 2024, annual and quarterly data about the labour market are published in separate tables. The changes will primarily affect users accessing these data with a machine-to-machine interface.

According to Statistics Estonia, on 1 January 2024, the population of Estonia was 1,374,687. There were 10,949 births and 16,002 deaths in Estonia in 2023.

According to Statistics Estonia, in March 2024, exports of goods decreased by 16% and imports by 15% compared with March 2023. Exports of goods amounted to about 1.5 billion and imports to 1.7 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 216 million euros, which is 14 million euros less than in March last year.

According to Statistics Estonia, accommodation establishments served nearly 237,400 tourists in March 2024, which is 5% more than in March last year. The number of domestic tourists decreased a little, while the number of foreign tourists increased.

According to Statistics Estonia, in April, the consumer price index increased by 0.9% compared with March and by 2.8% compared with April 2023. Goods were 2.4% and services 3.3% more expensive than in April last year.

According to Statistics Estonia, in March 2024, the total production of industrial enterprises fell by 5.7% compared with March last year. Among the three main sectors, output increased slightly in mining (by 0.4%), but decreased by 6.5% in manufacturing and by 4.4% in electricity production.

According to Statistics Estonia’s preliminary estimate, the decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) slowed down in the first quarter of 2024. The GDP fell by about 2.1% compared with the first quarter of 2023.

According to Statistics Estonia, in March 2024, the turnover of retail trade enterprises was 851 million euros. Compared with March 2023, the volume of retail trade turnover* fell by 4%.

In 2023, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to €18.2 billion and imports to €21.2 billion at current prices. Exports decreased by 16% and imports by 17% compared with 2022. The trade deficit reached €3 billion. Jane Leppmets, an analyst at Statistics Estonia, writes on 2023 trends in foreign trade of goods.