Estonian Social Survey
What kind of survey is it?
The Estonian Social Survey helps to assess household and individual income distribution, living conditions, and social exclusion. Such a survey is conducted in all EU countries.
Who commissions the survey?
For the survey, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Social Affairs. Data are also forwarded to the European Commission and Eurostat.
Why are the data needed?
The Estonian Social Survey collects information on the experiences, opinions, economic situation, and living conditions of people living in Estonia. The survey reveals the number and types of households in Estonia, the number of children in them, and the economic situation of households. The data can be used to develop national social policies and services. Leaders, academics, and opinion formers in Estonia often talk about our people's livelihoods, poverty and deprivation, income, living conditions, and access to healthcare. This information, in many instances, comes from the Estonian Social Survey.
This year, there are two national modules in the personal questionnaire of the Estonian Social Survey: family planning module commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs (for first-time respondents) and equality module commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (for respondents aged 18+).
- Six questions concern perceived discrimination in the workplace and during job search, religious affiliation, gender identity, and sexual orientation. This is a separate part of the survey, commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Social Affairs. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
For more information on the content of these questions and how to withdraw consent, please visit https://mkm.ee/isikuandmed-vordsusandmete-moodul (in Estonian).
- Four questions concern plans to have children, attitudes and factors that affect or hinder the realisation of these plans. This is a separate part of the survey, carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs to help shape family policy. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
For more information on the content of these questions and how to withdraw consent, please visit https://sm.ee/eesti-sotsiaaluuring-pereplaneerimise-moodul (in Estonian).
How often is the survey conducted?
The Estonian Social Survey has been conducted annually since 2004.
How are the participants selected?
The survey population includes all households residing permanently in Estonia, excluding inhabitants of institutional households (children's homes, care homes, cloisters, etc.). Participants are randomly selected from the Population Register from among persons aged 14 or over. Each person brings their household to the sample. All members of that household aged 15 or over are surveyed. Each household is interviewed every 12 months for 4 consecutive years. Every year, some of the households are replaced.
Households are not repeated in the one-year sample to ensure accuracy. Re-interviewing households in several consecutive years helps to better assess changes over the year.
Approximately 1% of the population is interviewed in the course of the Estonian Social Survey. The results are extended to the whole population. This means that each person included in the survey represents about one hundred inhabitants of Estonia. The name and address of the person interviewed is known only to the interviewer and interviewers supervisor.
The data collected are used in an aggregated form, no individual data are examined. Statistics Estonia ensures the protection of all respondents' data in accordance with the Official Statistics Act and the Personal Data Protection Act. Those interested can find out more about the legislation in Estonia's official online publication, Riigi Teataja (State Gazette).
Participation in the Social Survey is voluntary and in completing it, people are expected to show a sense of civic duty: the state must help its citizens and citizens must help the state. Each person's circumstances and life journey are unique. Therefore, no one else can replace a person in the survey. A person has the right to refuse to participate in the survey, but in this case, a piece of the whole picture is lost. Participation in the survey is necessary for the state to be able to rely on truthful and reliable information when making decisions that affect us all.
How are the data collected?
Before the survey starts, a notification is sent to all the people in the sample, explaining the purpose of the survey and how they will be contacted. The notification is sent to the sampled person at the email address indicated in the Population Register. If no email address is available, a letter is sent by post to the address in the population register.
In this survey, data are collected through
- an online questionnaire
- a phone interview
The survey consists of two parts: a household questionnaire and a personal questionnaire. Only the person selected for the sample can fill in the household questionnaire online. The personal questionnaire can be filled in by any household member aged 15 and over. For this purpose, the possibility for the sample person to authorise a relevant person has been created. More detailed instructions are provided in the questionnaire.
You can log into the web environment with your ID-card, Mobile-ID, or Smart-ID.
For best service, the survey interview call is recorded with the consent of the respondent.
The interviewer will make a maximum of 10 contact attempts to reach the person selected for the sample and a maximum of 5 attempts to reach other household members.
The household questionnaire should be completed by the household member who has the best knowledge of the household, its income and dwelling-related expenses. Usually, this is the household member who owns the dwelling or has signed the lease for the dwelling (i.e. the household member who is responsible for the dwelling). If possible, the person completing the household questionnaire should not be someone who has only limited knowledge of the household’s income and dwelling-related expenses (such as teenagers who live with their parents, or older people who are under the care of other household members, for example).
What happens to the collected data?
Until the end of the data collection period, your answers can only be accessed by Interviewers Supervisors and the Fieldwork Supervisor. If you were interviewed by phone, your interviewer will also be able to see your answers.
Once your answers have been entered, the data are transmitted from the collection application to a section of Statistics Estonia’s data warehouse that has very restricted access and where the collected data are stored as personally identifiable information. The personal data in the data warehouse can be accessed only by a few authorised employees of Statistics Estonia. Next, the data are pseudonymised or de-identified (by removing personal identification codes, names, exact place of residence, contact details, etc.), and other data processing required for the purposes of the specific survey is done.
The pseudonymised data which are used in further processing and data analysis are stored in a secure section of the data warehouse that can be accessed only by analysts of the specific domain and by mathematical statisticians. They have been authorised to access the data since they need the specific data to produce official statistical indicators and to prepare datasets for publication in Statistics Estonia’s public database. The data published this way are aggregates and do not allow the identification of specific individuals. It means that your data are disseminated as aggregated and anonymised data.
Statistics Estonia fulfils confidentiality requirements. In the case of sample surveys, data subsets are not published if they are based on fewer than 20 records. Among other things, this helps to prevent the direct or indirect identification of respondents based on the data published.
The Official Statistics Act stipulates strict requirements for the prevention of the accidental release of personal data. For example, the data can be transmitted only to another producer of official statistics (in Estonia, this applies only to Eesti Pank) or to Eurostat or the national statistical institutes of European Union Member States, all of whom comply with the obligation to maintain confidentiality. Policymakers and researchers can apply for the right to access pseudonymised data in Statistics Estonia’s secure research work environment, in accordance with the Official Statistics Act. This is governed by a separate procedure, requiring the applicant to provide a legitimate reason for such data use and to secure the approval of the Data Protection Inspectorate or the ethics committee of the relevant scientific field (depending on the type of data). Each request for access to data is processed by Statistics Estonia’s Confidentiality Council who will decide whether the applicant’s request can be granted. For more information, visit https://stat.ee/en/find-statistics/request-statistics/use-confidential-data-scientific-purposes.
The data storage periods are stipulated in Statistics Estonia’s classification scheme which is available on Statistics Estonia’s website at https://www.stat.ee/en/statistics-estonia/document-register. Read more about the general data protection requirements at https://stat.ee/en/statistics-estonia/data-protection-privacy-policy.
How can I make sure that it is a survey by Statistics Estonia?
The surveys conducted by Statistics Estonia can be found in the survey schedule on our website. Online questionnaires can be completed on Statistics Estonia’s website at https://estat.stat.ee. Phone interviews are conducted by specially trained interviewers. The names and phone numbers of Statistics Estonia’s interviewers can be checked on our website. If you have any questions, please contact our customer support by phone at +372 625 9300 or by email at klienditugi [at] stat.ee (klienditugi[at]stat[dot]ee).
How are the participants thanked for their contribution?
With the consent of the respondent, six €50 Partner gift vouchers are drawn among all households that participated in the survey.
The sample person can consent to participate in the prize draw when filling in the questionnaire.
Where are the results published?
The data collected in the Estonian Social Survey are published in the statistical database under the heading Social life. More in-depth analyses are available on Statistics Estonia's blog. Information on survey quality and metadata can be found in the ESMS metadata section.