Household Budget Survey
What kind of survey is it?
The Household Budget Survey provides information about the expenditures and living conditions of Estonian households, about household composition and the demographic and social characteristics of household members. The Household Budget Survey is one of the oldest surveys in Estonia – the first statistical survey on this topic was conducted already in 1925. The current survey methodology has been used since 2010.
The survey consists of a household questionnaire and a personal questionnaire (for all household members aged 15 and over) and an expense diary.
Who commissions the survey?
For the survey, the main representatives of public interest are the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Social Affairs. The survey is commissioned by Eurostat and carried out across Europe using the same methodology. Starting from 2026, all European Union (EU) countries are required to conduct the survey with a five-year interval.
Why are the data needed?
The Household Budget Survey gives an in-depth overview of the expenditures of households living in Estonia: the structure of household expenditures and its changes over time. Also, the survey results are comparable between EU Member States.
The survey analyses household budgets and expenditures by household size and demographic and social characteristics, taking into account family relationships, employment, and education levels. The data are also used in the calculation of the consumer price index, the GDP and the subsistence minimum.
Ministries use the survey results in the formulation of economic and social policies and in the planning of relevant regulations and support measures.
How often is the survey conducted?
The Household Budget Survey has been carried out in the years 1996–2007, 2010–2012, 2015–2016 and 2019–2020. From 2026 onwards, the survey will be conducted every five years.
How are the participants selected?
Participants are randomly selected from the Statistical Population Register from among all permanent residents of Estonia aged 15 or over, excluding those residing in institutional households (prisons, children’s homes, care homes) on a long-term basis (one year or longer). The household of the sampled person is also included in the survey.
Approximately 1% of the population is interviewed in the course of the Household Budget 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 surveyed person are known only to the interviewer and the 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. These regulations can be found on the website of Riigi Teataja (State Gazette).
Participation in the Household Budget Survey is voluntary. It is an opportunity to fulfil one’s 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 included in the survey sample. A person has the right to refuse to participate in the survey, but in this case, a piece of the whole picture is lost.
How are the data collected?
Before the survey starts, a notification letter 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 and postal address indicated in the population register. The sampled person’s household is also included in the survey.
The notification letter includes a printed form for expenses plus a prepaid envelope, and a leaflet highlighting the results of previous surveys.
The survey consists of two parts.
- Completion of questionnaires: in the first week, respondents can complete the questionnaire online; in the next three weeks, the answers are collected by phone interviewers.
- Reporting of expenses: participants report all household expenditures in the specified two-week period.
The Household Budget Survey uses both web and phone interviewing.
- To complete the questionnaire online, log into the online environment (link in the notification letter) using your ID card, Mobile-ID or Smart-ID. Enter the PIN1 code only when you have initiated the login to the website https://uuringud.stat.ee on your device yourself.
- Those who have not answered online will be contacted by our phone interviewer (a maximum of 10 contact attempts will be made). The phone interview will be recorded for quality assurance, subject to the interviewee’s permission.
The questionnaire is divided into two parts: household questionnaire and personal questionnaire.
- The household questionnaire should be completed by the household member who has the best knowledge of the household expenditures and details of the dwelling.
- The personal questionnaire needs to be completed by all household members aged 15 and over. Preferably, each person should fill in the personal questionnaire themselves. For this purpose, the sample person can give authorisation to other household members. More detailed instructions are provided in the questionnaire.
The expense diary covers expenses in the specified two-week period. The expenses can be reported online or using the printed form.
- Households who completed the questionnaire online will be sent an email with a personal link to the expense diary.
- In the web diary, participants can upload digital receipts and invoices received by email for online purchases and digital receipts for supermarket purchases registered with the relevant loyalty card.
- In the web diary, respondents can enter any expenses for which they do not have a receipt or invoice.
- Expenses that could not be reported in the web diary should be reported using the printed form.
- Please put printed receipts and invoices into the prepaid envelope that you received together with your notification letter and post it immediately after the end of the expense reporting period.
- The printed form is intended for recording only those expenses which have not been reported by other means and for which there are no printed or digital receipts.
For more information, see the survey materials (in Estonian):
- personal questionnaire
- household questionnaire
- expense diary
- instructions for obtaining digital receipts
How are the participants thanked for their contribution?
All households that have completed the survey and reported their expenses will receive a €10 Partner gift voucher. The gift voucher will be sent within one month from the end of the expense reporting period, delivered according to your preference (by email, by post, to a parcel locker).
What happens to the data?
During the survey, personally identifiable information is used only for communication with the respondent. This information and all other data collected are pseudonymised in the survey database (i.e. replaced by unique values).
The receipts and invoices submitted by respondents are digitised by an automatic service developed and operated by the company CostPocket OÜ. The digitised data are returned to Statistics Estonia. CostPocket will not store any files or data entered into the system and will have no access to the data after the end of the contract.
All original documents (printed and digital receipts) will be destroyed after the publication of the data. Statistics Estonia stores all data in pseudonymised form. The published results are statistical aggregates that do not allow the identification of individuals and that will be stored indefinitely for use in statistical analysis.
How can I make sure that it is a survey by Statistics Estonia?
All surveys conducted by Statistics Estonia are listed on Statistics Estonia’s website (in Estonian). The questionnaires can be completed online in Statistics Estonia’s self-service environment at https://uuringud.stat.ee/en/iseteenindus. Select “Personal surveys” to enter. Phone interviewing is done by specially trained interviewers who are employed by Statistics Estonia and whose names and phone numbers can be verified on Statistics Estonia’s website Contact | Statistics Estonia.
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).
Where are the results published?
The results of the survey are published in the statistical database under the heading Social life. The data are also available in the dedicated section on households. The metadata of the survey are available in the ESMS metadata section. When new information is published, a news item is released.