Social surveys

Why does Statistics Estonia conduct social surveys?

One of the characteristics of a sovereign state are independent statistics. Social surveys are a bridge between the government and the people. Only with surveys can we collect information about the experiences, opinions, economic situation and living conditions of the people in Estonia. These data on the other hand help to shape the policies that govern our country and the services accessible to everyone.

Surveys are used to collect information unobtainable through any other means. Household consumption for instance can only be assessed by asking the household about its consumption habits. It is often difficult to understand why these things have to be asked from the people themselves. One could ask stores for example, purchases are registered at the checkout anyway. But this would not allow us assess what any particular household has bought — can a single parent household afford as much as a two-parent one, or if these purchases have even been made by Estonian households rather than by tourists.

We have often heard assessments on the subsistence, unemployment, income and living conditions of Estonians in the speeches of politicians, scientists and opinion leaders. Many of these assessments are based specifically on the data collected with surveys of Statistics Estonia.

What kind of social surveys does Statistics Estonia conduct?

The surveys of Statistics Estonia are state surveys, i.e. they are in accordance with the Government of the Republic Regulation and meet international criteria. Our surveys are internationally harmonized enabling us to compare the situation in Estonia to that of other countries. State surveys were launched in Estonia in autumn 1925 with the Household Budget Survey of Tallinn’s workers’ households. Changes in economy have also brought along changes in the conduct of surveys. If in the previous years Statistics Estonia conducted nine surveys, then in 2011 only four surveys will be conducted.

• the Labour Force Survey provides an overview of the employment, unemployment and working conditions of Estonian population, as well as of changes on the labour market;
• the aim of the Social Survey is to receive information on income and living conditions of Estonian residents, on inequality and poverty in the country;
• the Household Budget Survey is the only source for finding out what the expenditures and budgets of Estonian households are like. The survey was conducted in 1996–2007 and it was resumed in 2010. Besides expenditures also households’ foreign and domestic trips are under observation;
• Estonian SHARE survey (the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) is the European panel survey about health, ageing, socio-economic status and retirement of individuals aged 50 or over. The information about social and economic experiences of people and health situation is important in the context of ageing of population. The survey provides a comparable picture in Estonia and Europe and helps to improve the policies regarding the ageing of population.

All surveys contain the same general questions about the household and its members. Similar questions enable to connect and analyse the results of different surveys. Thus only a few surveys enable us to get the necessary information about labour market, economic situation of households, poverty and income, etc.

How do people get picked into the social surveys of Statistics Estonia?

Statistics Estonia collects information from people and households using sample surveys. This means, only about 1% of the population is included in a particular survey. Data are collected from them and the results expanded to the entire population. Thus each person who happened to fall into the sample represents about 100 residents of the country. People are selected randomly: the choice is made by a computer programme from the Population Register. Falling into the sample is like winning the lottery: some people get lucky, some don’t.

How often are social surveys conducted?

Some surveys of Statistics Estonia are conducted every year in order to obtain a constant flow of necessary official statistics. The rest are organized with an interval of a certain amount of years. The last mentioned surveys focus on topics that do not manifest changes all that rapidly. Still, we do our best to ensure that a person already in the sample for one social survey does not fall into the sample of another of our social surveys over the next five years. This helps to save our respondents’ time.

How can people know that they have come to contact precisely with a social survey of Statistics Estonia?

Statistics Estonia conducts social surveys following a precise procedure. Before the survey begins, all the people in the sample are sent a contact letter introducing the purpose of the survey and informing the respondent on who and how will contact them. The person arriving to conduct the interview will be an interviewer who has completed prior training. The person who has been chosen into the sample has a right to ask to see the interviewer’s employment certificate at any time.

Is it compulsory to participate in the surveys of Statistics Estonia?

Participating in the surveys of Statistics Estonia is voluntary. Because we are the only operators of state surveys, we rely on people’s civic duty: the state must help its people, and the people must help their state. Every individual’s situation and course of life are unique — this is why no other person can substitute the one fallen into the survey. A person has a right to refuse to participate in a survey, but if they do, one piece of the whole picture is irreparably lost. By answering the survey, each respondent contributes so that the state could rely on true and reliable information when taking decisions that influence all of us.

How does Statistics Estonia guarantee the confidentiality of their respondents?

Your name and address are only known to the interviewer and the interviewer’s supervisor. The data collected will be made generic and only then used, meaning nobody’s data will be viewed separately from the overall data file. Statistics Estonia guarantees the protection of all records of respondents in accordance with the Official Statistics Act and other relevant legal acts. In case of interest you can familiarise yourself with the principles of data protection more precisely in the electronic State Gazette (Riigi Teataja).

What are the main results of social surveys?

In 2009, overall changes took place on the labour market, because the worldwide financial and economic crisis had a negative impact also on Estonia. The employment, which had been increasing continuously since 2001, decreased rapidly and dropped to the level of 2004. During the previous year, unemployment increased continuously and unemployment decreased for the first time in the 2nd quarter of 2010.

Above all, unemployment is a problem among men. As the employment decrease was bigger in economic activities and occupations where relatively more men are employed, the number of employed men decreased more than that of women. Two years ago, the unemployment rate of men as well as that of women were around 4%, but further on unemployment increased especially rapidly among men. In the 1st quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate of men rose to 25.2%. In the 2nd quarter, the unemployment rate of men decreased to 22.6%, but was still considerably higher compared to the unemployment rate of women (14.8%).

Unemployment rate by gender, 1st quarter 2005 – 2nd quarter 2010

According to the data of Eurostat, the employment of women in Estonia is one of the biggest in the European Union (EU) and has been higher than the EU average during the last decade. Different from women, the employment rate of Estonian men has been lower than the EU average or on the same level. In 2009, the employment rate decreased in Estonia and in the EU. But the employment rate of Estonian women was still higher and the employment rate of Estonian men lower compared to the corresponding EU average.

Economic recession did not influence the poverty rate in 2008 yet. In 2008, the growth of wages and salaries slowed down but the increased pensions and governmental benefits helped to maintain incomes. Therefore the relative poverty remained on the level of 2007.

Also the information about travelling is collected with surveys of Statistics Estonia. The data about the number of domestic and outbound trips, main purpose and the expenditure were collected with the survey. According to the survey, comparing the last four years (2006–2009) most foreign trips have taken place in 2009 — 752,000 trips during the year. In 2006, the number of trips was only around 437,000.

Outbound trips of Estonian residents by purpose, 2006–2009

The main purpose of an outbound trip was holiday. The number of these trips was the highest in 2008 (53% of all trips). The share of holiday trips was lower than 50% during other years. The number of business trips was the largest in 2006, when the share of these trips accounted for 27% of all trips, in 2009 only 20%. The share of trips for visiting acquaintances or relatives has increased — in 2006 it was only 19%, but in 2009 already 28% of all outbound trips. Year by year the main destination of an outbound trip has been Finland.

According to Safety Survey, in 2009, 26% of adult population of Estonia fell victim to some act of crime. The rate of victimization was higher in cities, and the share of non-Estonians was larger among victims. Crimes against property were most frequent: 232,000 persons fell victim to car vandalism or other crime against property. 88,000 persons fell victim to violent crimes during the year.

Crime victimization by place of residence, 2008–2009

Compared to the Crime Victimization Surveys conducted in Estonia during 1993–2004, the Safety Survey showed a declining trend in case of nearly all types of criminal offences. According to the similar surveys conducted in 2000 and in 2004, one third of respondents had fallen victims to crime per year.

Also the data about intimate partner abuse were collected with the same survey. The results show that one couple out of ten experiences violence in their relationship and a half of them experience mental intimate partner abuse only (per year). Intimate partner abuse can be encountered in urban as well as rural regions, in different social layers and in both better and worse coping families.

Inasmuch as intimate relationship involves two partners, it is natural that both partners have equally experienced it. Nevertheless, men mostly suffer minor violence, and women — more severe and repeated violence: for example, over a half of the women who had been exposed to physical intimate partner abuse had suffered more severe physical abuse — their partner had hit them with a fist, beaten, strangled, choked or burned them, attacked with a weapon or forced them into a sexual intercourse. Therefore, physical injuries resulting from physical violence are different by men and women and 80% of men who have suffered physical violence in intimate relationship over the last five years got no physical injuries during the last such episode.

Where are the results for social surveys published?

The statistics collected with surveys are primarily published in the Statistical Database on the website www.stat.ee.

A more thorough analysis is published in the publications of Statistics Estonia: in the yearbook that will be published in July, in the quarterly bulletins of Statistics Estonia, in the publication “Man’s home is the world, woman’s world is her home” (will be published in 2011), and in statistical publications published previously — “Social Trends”, “Poverty in Estonia”, “Immigrant Population”, “Social Inequality”, “Labour Market”, etc. The publications of Statistics Estonia are available free of charge on the website www.stat.ee. One can also order publications via the website. It is also possible to read the publications in the Information Centre of Statistics Estonia (15 Endla Str, Tallinn).

We announce releases of new data or publications with news releases that often find echoes in the media.

The mission of Statistics Estonia

The main task of Statistics Estonia is to provide the central government and local governments, business and research sectors, international organizations and individuals with a reliable and objective information service on the environmental, demographic, social and economic situation and trends in Estonia.

The birthday of Estonian statistics is in the year 1921. Ever since the early years, the focus has been on society’s needs while keeping in mind international recommendations and agreements.

Where can one get additional information about the social surveys of Statistics Estonia?

In Statistics Estonia, the unit responsible for conducting social surveys is the Social Surveys Service. Additional information about the surveys is available from there, either by phone +372 625 9218, or e-mail piret dot tikva at stat dot ee.

Come be an interviewer!

In our communication with the general populace we are first and foremost represented by our interviewers. 58 interviewers who have undergone special training are always on the payroll of Statistics Estonia. We interview approximately 40,000 households every year. As the need to know the actual situation of Estonia’s residents, their complacency, wishes and suggestions grows every year, so does the need for surveys. There are many ways to collaborate — the most important of which is of course to partake in Statistics Estonia’s surveys, but we also offer employment to interviewers. More specific information is available from the field work supervisor Maarja Jämsa, available by phone +372 625 9177.

Statistics are not dull!

A really mad man rushes into the door of editorial board: ”This is a mean trick to publish the message in the newspaper that there are two women per one man in Narva-Jõesuu! Now my wife demands from me the name of my other wife!”

A manager of an insurance company to his employee:

"You have insured the life of a 104-year-old man. Have you lost your mind?”

"I based my judgement on statistical reports,” the employee excuses himself. “Statistics show that deaths are extremely rare to occur at such an age.”