Education

Nowadays it is possible to change one’s career, acquire a new specialty or broaden one’s general knowledge at any point in life. A person’s education starts early on in kindergarten and continues in basic school. Many people study their whole lives. Adults have more learning opportunities than ever before. In addition to universities, one can study in training centres and participate in short courses. There are more and more e-learning programmes, which also makes international education more widely available.

Education statistics provide information on fields of education, educational institutions, education expenditures, students and graduates. Formal education data are obtained from the Estonian Education Information System (EHIS). Data on adult education are collected using internationally coordinated surveys (the Labour Force Survey, Adult Education Survey, Continuing Vocational Training Survey).

From education statistics, it is possible to find out

  • how many different educational institutions there are;
  • how many children go to kindergartens and schools;
  • what is the education level of people living in Estonia;
  • how many foreign students there are;
  • how many children and youth participate in hobby education;
  • how popular is studying among adults;
  • how enterprises contribute to continuing training of employees.

Statistics Estonia publishes education data to be used both in Estonia and internationally. Education statistics and international comparisons of education indicators are a basis for the national education policy. They allow comparing trends in Estonian education policy with those in other countries and using this information for better decision-making.

Persons with higher education 427,665
5.7%
2023
Persons aged 15 and over without education 2,467
1.2%
2023
Children in preschool institutions 68,983
3.0%
2022
Enrolment in formal education 239 thousand
2.4%
2022
Share of participants in adult education 45 %
2022
Persons with higher education | 2023
Enrolment in formal education by type and level of education | 2013 – 2022
Unit: thousand
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Total 226.2 222.9 221.9 222.1 223.6 225.9 227.9 231.6 233.0 238.7
General education 140.5 142.5 145.9 149.2 153.3 156.7 158.7 160.8 162.6 169.1
..basic school level 113.6 116.3 120.0 122.9 126.4 129.3 131.1 132.1 133.0 138.3
..gymnasium level 26.9 26.2 25.9 26.2 26.9 27.3 27.6 28.8 29.6 30.8
Vocational education 25.7 25.2 24.9 25.1 24.1 23.4 24.0 25.5 25.9 25.5
..vocational courses with no previous education requirement 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.5
..vocational courses after basic education 14.3 14.5 16.4 18.0 18.2 18.3 18.6 19.7 19.8 19.7
..vocational courses after secondary education 11.1 10.2 7.7 6.0 4.8 3.9 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.2
Higher education 60.0 55.2 51.1 47.8 46.2 45.8 45.2 45.3 44.6 44.1
..professional higher education 17.9 15.7 14.2 13.4 12.9 12.6 12.0 11.7 11.5 11.2
..Bachelor study 22.7 20.5 18.9 16.8 16.1 15.8 15.7 16.0 15.8 15.9
..integrated Bachelor's/Master's study 3.7 3.6 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.3
..Master's study 12.7 12.4 11.8 11.6 11.5 11.8 12.0 12.0 11.7 11.4
..Doctoral study 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3

News

Working international students and graduates contributed over 23 million euros in taxes in the previous academic year

Statistics Estonia, commissioned by the Education and Youth Board, analysed for the fifth time the economic contribution of working international students and international graduates. Although the number of international degree students in Estonia was down from the previous years, international students paid 16.6 million euros in income and social tax in the academic year 2022/23, and graduates from the year before contributed 6.9 million euros. For students, this is 2.5 million euros more than in the previous academic year, while for graduates it is 1.5 million euros less.
Read more 13. March 2024
Blog

Higher degree, higher salary? Survey confirms that one in five people get a better salary or a new job after graduation

Statistics Estonia's Adult Education Survey* shows that people take part in training to perform their jobs better. However, people attend an educational institution when they wish to improve their knowledge. In 19% of cases, a higher degree has also led to a new job or a higher salary. Käthrin Randoja, leading analyst, explores in the statistics blog what motivates adults to go to school or to take part in training, and how they benefit from it.
Read more 2. October 2023
News

Two out of five adults would have liked to study more last year

According to Statistics Estonia, an estimated 80% of the population aged 20–64 participated in adult education in the previous year*. Participation in adult education is higher among women, younger age groups, people with higher educational attainment, and native speakers of Estonian. Self-development has become considerably more popular among 50–64-year-olds. At the same time, the results indicate that two out of five adults would have liked to study more.
Read more 14. June 2023