Internet use and digital skills survey

The aim of the survey is to map the internet usage habits and digital skills of Estonian residents.

Probability survey

The survey is carried out annually across Europe. In 2024, the survey collected data on the internet use of Estonian residents aged 16–74, the use of e-services in the public sector, online orders and purchases, the Internet of Things, and digital equipment replacement.

The aggregated data are published in Statistics Estonia's database under the subject area Information technology in household .

The main indicators of the survey are the number of households with internet connection (IT20), the number of internet users aged 16–74 in different groups of individuals (IT32), and computer and internet usage habits and skills in different groups of individuals (IT38, IT41).

International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO 08);

Classification of Estonian administrative units and settlements (EHAK);

Estonian Classification of Economic Activities (EMTAK 2008) based on NACE Rev. 2;

Fields of education and training 2013 (ISCED-F 2013);

Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages (ISO 639-2);

Classification of Ethnicities 2013;

Classification of countries and territories

Not applicable

Adult – a household member aged 16 years and above

Cable TV – the signal (TV programs) is received by means of a cable connection

Child – a household member aged 0–15 years

Desktop computer – a stationary computer that has a keyboard and a monitor, usually on a desk

Digital TV – the signal (TV programs) is received digitally and converted by a special converter for ordinary TV

Employed – a person who during the reference period:
- worked at least one hour and was paid as a wage earner, entrepreneur or freelancer;
- worked without direct payment in a family enterprise or on his/her own farm;
- participated in work-related training;
- was temporarily absent from work due to holidays, illness, maternity or paternity leave, or work-related training;
- was on parental leave and received or had the right to receive work-related income or (parental) benefits or was to remain on parental leave presumably for less than three months;
- was temporarily absent from work for other reasons and the presumable leave period was less than three months;
- was a seasonal worker outside the work season if he/she continued to regularly fulfil work-related tasks or responsibilities (excl. legal or administrative responsibilities).

Fixed wireless broadband connection – technologies that allow connection to the Internet via air at a fixed location, e.g. WiFi and WiMax

Game console – an electronic device for game play, which usually uses TV as a monitor (e.g. Sony PlayStation, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Xbox)

Handheld computer – a computer that is small enough to be held in one's hand with a small keyboard or touch screen

Household – a group of people who live in a common main dwelling (at the same address) and share joint financial and/or food resources and whose members consider themselves to be one household. Household can also consist of one member only.

Inactive person – a person who does not wish or is not able to work

Internet – a global system of linked computer networks that allows data communication services such as remote log-in, file transfer, electronic mail, etc. The Internet is also the foundation for the World Wide Web.

Internet commerce (e-commerce) – transactions of buying and selling on the Internet

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) – a digital network of integrated services; an international communications standard that allows the transmission of several data streams simultaneously over telephone lines

Modem – a device that connects the computer to a telephone line and converts computer’s digital signals into analog signals at the sender’s end and vice versa at the receiver’s end

Other fixed broadband connection – a wired Internet connection that does not belong under DSL technologies (transmitted over telephone lines), e.g. Internet connection via a cable TV Network

Portable computer – a portable computer with built-in keyboard and display

Rural settlement – a small town or village

Satellite TV – the signal (TV programs) is received by a parabolic antenna

Unemployed – a person who fulfils the following three conditions:
- is without work (does not work anywhere and is not temporarily absent from work);
- is currently (within two weeks) available for work if work is found;
- is actively seeking work.

Urban settlement – a city, a city without municipal status, or a town

xDSL – asymmetric, symmetric, etc. digital subscriber line (… Digital Subscriber Line: ADSL, SDSL, etc.); a family of technologies which allow high bandwidth services to be transmitted over telephone lines

Person;

household

The target population of persons consists of permanent residents of Estonia aged 16–74, excluding persons living in institutions (children’s homes, care homes, monasteries, convents, etc.).

The target population of households consists of households with at least one member aged 16-74 permanently residing in Estonia, excluding persons living in institutions.

Households with internet connection are households where all members have access to the internet, so that everyone can use it if they wish.

Estonia as a whole

2005–…

Not applicable

Persons, households – number in thousands;

share – percentage (%)

Year

Official Statistics Act;

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/256 of 16 December 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a multiannual rolling planning (Text with EEA relevance);

Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples, amending Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008 and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 (Text with EEA relevance).

None

The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in § 32, § 34, § 35 and § 38 of the Official Statistics Act.

On European level, Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

The dissemination of data collected for the production of official statistics is based on the requirements laid down in §§ 34 and 35 of the Official Statistics Act.

The principles for treatment of confidential data can be found here: Data protection (Privacy policy).

Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on the website. Every year on 1 October, the release times of the statistical database, news releases, main indicators by IMF SDDS and publications for the following year are announced in the release calendar (in the case of publications – the release month).

The release calendar is available to consumers on the website Calendar.

All users have been granted equal access to official statistics: dissemination dates of official statistics are announced in advance and no user category (incl. Eurostat, state authorities and mass media) is provided access to official statistics before other users. Official statistics are first published in the statistical database. If there is also a news release, it is published simultaneously with data in the statistical database. Official statistics are available on the website at 8:00 a.m. on the date announced in the release calendar.

Year

The news releases are available on Statistics Estonia's website in the section News.
A news release with the results of the survey is published annually. The one from 2023 can be read here: a href="https://www.stat.ee/en/news/information-technology-households-2023" target="_blank">"Internet use is increasing in Estonia".

Not published

All tables published under the subject area Economy / Information technology and communications / Information technology in household are based on data from the internet use and digitals skills survey.

In 2024, the following tables were updated:

IT20: Households having a computer and internet connection at home by type of household and place of residence;

IT32: Computer and internet users aged 16–74 by group of individuals;

IT35: Users of e-commerce aged 16–74 by group of individuals and last online purchase;

IT36: Users of e-commerce aged 16–74 by place of residence and goods/services;

IT38: Internet users aged 16–74 by place of residence and purpose of using the internet;

IT42: Computer and internet users aged 16–74 by group of individuals and frequency of computer/internet use during the last three months.

Tables that have not been updated can be found under the subject area Discontinued datasets / Economy. Archive / Information technology and communications. Archive.

Data tables related to the survey were viewed 2,421 times in 2024, 4,875 times in 2023, 6,087 times in 2022, 5,217 times in 2021, 5,556 times in 2020, 6,979 times in 2019 and 4,650 times in 2018 in Statistics Estonia's database.

Each table view is counted as a separate view. The database URLs are used as a basis to show that data have been selected and a table formed.

The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in § 33, § 34, § 35, § 36, § 38 of the Official Statistics Act.
Access to microdata and anonymisation of microdata are regulated by Statistics Estonia’s procedure for dissemination of confidential data for scientific purposes.

Data serve as input for statistical activity 50101 “Regional development”.

The data are submitted to Eurostat once a year, no later than 95 days after the completion of data collection. The data are delivered via Eurostat's data transmission program EDAMIS.

Eurostat publishes the data of European countries in its database under the subject area Science, technology, digital society / Digital economy and society (isoc).

The metadata related to the statistical activity were viewed 117 times (1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024). This figure does not represent the number of viewers, as the metadata may have been viewed multiple times by a single user.

Eurostat’s model questionnaire and methodological manual

This statistical activity is guided by the European Statistics Code of Practice – revised edition, 2017.

The quality report sent to Eurostat.

To assure the quality of processes and products, Statistics Estonia applies the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (ESS QAF). Statistics Estonia is also guided by the EFQM Excellence Model and the requirements in section 7 “Principles and quality criteria of producing official statistics” of the Official Statistics Act.

Statistics Estonia performs all statistical activities according to an international model (Generic Statistical Business Process Model – GSBPM). According to the GSBPM, the final phase of statistical activities is overall evaluation using information gathered in each phase or sub-process; this information can take many forms, including feedback from users, process metadata, system metrics and suggestions from employees. This information is used to prepare the evaluation report which outlines all the quality problems related to the specific statistical activity and serves as input for improvement actions.

The survey is commissioned by Eurostat and is conducted internationally.

Among the state administration and state agencies, the survey data are used by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Education and Research and the Information System Authority. One of the international organisations using the data is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The information and communication sector has an impact on the whole Estonian economy and development of society. The survey looks at which ICT tools are used and what is done with them. It also examines the use of Estonian public services, thereby providing valuable information on the services provided by the state.

The results of the survey are used to assess and analyse the situation in Estonia, to develop international policies, to benchmark sectoral development plans, to reflect on upcoming changes and to plan actions. The data are also useful for enterprises, interest groups, associations and federations.

Since 1996, Statistics Estonia has conducted reputation and user satisfaction surveys. Surveys conducted at least once a year target both the existing and potential consumers of statistics. All results are available on Statistics Estonia's website in the section User surveys.
The survey referred to does not concern a specific statistical activity but is a general satisfaction survey.

The survey is prepared and data are collected in accordance with the regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Not all data collected with the survey are published in Statistics Estonia's database.

The list of statistical actions includes the indicators to be published. The list of statistical actions for 2024–2028 can be found here (in Estonian).

In order to meet national needs, various questions have been included in the survey, commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Education and Research and the Information System Authority. Data collected on national request are currently not published in Statistics Estonia's database.

Not applied

The accuracy of the source data is monitored by assessing the methodological soundness of data sources and the adherence to the methodological recommendations.

The type of survey and the data collection methods ensure sufficient accuracy.

The probability sampling error is estimated using Taylor's formula.

The sampling error is calculated for indicators where the number of persons is greater than 20. This ensures reliability. Estimates based on fewer than 20 persons are not considered sufficiently reliable. The key indicator for which the standard error is calculated is "Individuals having ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the last 12 months". According to the criterion of the IESS regulation, the standard error allowed for this indicator is 1.08. In 2024, the standard error for this indicator was 0.71.

Not measured.
Statistics Estonia aims to reduce the amount of non-sampling errors through continuous improvement of the methodology and the survey process, e.g. by adopting computer-assisted data collection which helps to prevent coding and typing errors.

The sample frame for the survey is a list of 16–74-year-old permanent residents of Estonia compiled on the basis of the 2011 Population and Housing Census and the Population Register.

Measurement errors may arise from the questionnaire (its structure, the wording of the questions, etc.), respondents, interviewers, and the data collection method. Although it is impossible to completely avoid all types of measurement errors in social surveys, Statistics Estonia has made efforts to reduce them as much as possible.

Several of the people in the sample do not have up-to-date telephone numbers in registers, making it impossible to contact them. To reduce non-response, improvements in contact databases and registers, effective training of interviewers and gifts to respondents are used. Each respondent is sent an email (if email address is available) and a paper information letter. If a respondent does not complete the questionnaire, up to seven reminder letters are sent. If the phone call is unanswered, the CATI interviewer calls the person's different phone numbers up to five times. Non-response is taken into account in the weighting process. A regression model is used to estimate the response probabilities, with which the design weights are divided, giving each respondent a weight adjusted for non-response. The variables used in the model are sex, age group, place of residence (urban/rural settlement and 15 counties + Tallinn), ethnic nationality (Estonian/non-Estonian), level of education (below upper secondary/upper secondary/tertiary education).

Not applied

Not applicable

The data are published in Statistics Estonia's database within 90 days of the end of the data collection. The specific publication date is announced on 1 October of the previous year in the release calendar of Statistics Estonia.

The data are published once, no later than 90 days after the end of the data collection.

The data are published once, no later than 90 days after the end of the data collection.

The release schedule is made available to data users in the official release calendar of Statistics Estonia. The data have been published on time in 2024, i.e. on the day announced in the release calendar.

100% of the data has been published on time.

At the Estonian level, the data are geographically comparable across regional units and counties, with separate data for the city of Tallinn. The data can also be compared by urbanisation rate. At the European level, data are geographically comparable by country, population density and urbanisation rate. The questions and concepts used in the survey, as well as the data from the survey are comparable at the European level; differences occur in Estonian national questions.

As the survey used to be conducted as an adjunct to the Labour Force Survey, but is now a stand-alone survey, there are differences in the 2013 and 2014 data due to the change in methodology.

The number of reference periods after the time series break is 11.

There is no connection with other fields.

Not applicable as data are not published for periods shorter than one year.

Not applicable as not directly usable in national accounts.

Due to rounding, the sums received by adding numbers in tables are not always equal with the total. The difference can be up to the last few decimal places. Otherwise, the statistical outputs are consistent.

Costs are not calculated separately for different statistical activities.

The data revision policy and notification of corrections are described on Statistics Estonia's website in the section Principles of dissemination of official statistics.

The published data may be revised if the methodology is modified, errors are discovered, new or better data become available.

Not applied

It is a personal survey based on probability sampling, with some of the data collected from administrative sources. The target population of the survey consists of Estonian permanent residents aged 16–74 (as recorded at the reference year in Statistics Estonia’s statistical population register) living in private households. Persons living in institutional households are excluded. Persons who participated in the survey in the previous year are excluded from the sample in the following survey year. The survey sample is drawn at random from the Population Register. The population is 1,102,000 persons aged 15 and above. The sample includes 6,500 persons. The sampling method is stratified simple random sampling by region of place of residence.

The sampling frame is formed on the basis of the individuals in Statistics Estonia's population base, with the address of their residence taken from the database of the most recent Population and Housing Census (PHC). This data are amended according to the Population Register (PR) as of 1 January of the survey year as follows:
- persons with an address in a foreign country in the PR database are excluded;
- persons with a prison address in the PHC database are assigned the PR address;
- deceased persons are removed.

The population is divided into 4 strata based on their place of residence. For sampling, objects within a stratum are first sorted by county and then by their personal identification code. The sampling method: systematic sampling.

The strata are formed on the basis of the person's county of residence:
stratum 1 = Harju county (excl. Tallinn), Ida-Viru county, Lääne-Viru county, Pärnu county, Tartu county;
stratum 2 = Tallinn;
stratum 3 = Jõgeva county, Järva county, Lääne county, Põlva county, Rapla county, Saare county, Valga county, Viljandi county, Võru county;
stratum 4 = Hiiu county.


The following administrative source data are used:
- data on a person's loss of capacity for work and on degree of disability are received from the Social Insurance Board;
- data on a person’s highest level of education completed according to Estonian Education Information System (EHIS) are received from the Ministry of Education and Research;
- data on a person's ethnic nationality, citizenship and country of birth are obtained from the statistical person’s register of Statistics Estonia (which contains data from several state registers);
- data on the principal economic activity of a person's place of work are obtained from the registers of the Tax and Customs Board (employment register; declaration of income and social tax, unemployment insurance premiums and contributions to mandatory funded pension – form TSD; income tax returns).

Year

Data are collected in the second quarter of each year.

Before the survey begins, all the people in the sample receive a letter introducing the survey’s purpose and explaining how they will be contacted. The notification letter is sent to the sample person’s email address as registered in the Population Register. If no email address is available, the letter is sent by mail to the address listed in the Population Register.

In this survey, data are collected through an online questionnaire and a telephone interview. For best service, the survey interview call is recorded.

Telephone interviews are conducted by accordingly trained telephone interviewers of Statistics Estonia. Observation fieldwork information system (VVIS) is used to manage and monitor the data collection process. The questionnaires are designed to be completed on the computer by the interviewer. The survey can be completed in either Estonian or Russian. The questionnaires and information about data submission are available on Statistics Estonia's website in the section Questionnaires. The data are collected with the official statistics quarterly questionnaire.

The questionnaire includes hard and soft checks to ensure data quality.
Hard check (error) – a situation where the data are illogical or mandatory information is missing. Such errors definitely need to be corrected. The respondent cannot proceed in the questionnaire before doing so.
Soft check (warning) – the respondent is asked to review the data. The respondent can contact customer support in case of any questions that may arise when filling in the questionnaire.

Participation in the survey is voluntary and it is hoped that respondents will show a sense of civic responsibility.

Arithmetic and qualitative controls are used in the validation process, including comparison with other data. Before data dissemination, data internal coherence is checked.

The input data are checked and, if necessary, corrected according to specified rules, and the compliance of calculated statistics with the quality requirements is checked as well: comparisons are made with previous periods, internal coherence, the coverage of the population and the response rate are checked.

Data validation is carried out in two stages, as required by Eurostat:
1. the data undergo logical checks on transmission via EDAMIS;
2. the data are validated according to the check table provided by Eurostat.

SAS macro IVEware and the hot deck method were used for imputing the missing values. The variables to be imputed are YD18 Household’s net income and YD19 Household’s net income range.
In the case of missing or unreliable data, estimate imputation based on the established regulations is used.

Weights are calculated for statistical units and the data collected by a sample survey are expanded to the whole population.
Weights are calculated in three stages:
- design weights,
- non-response adjusted weights,
- calibrated weights.

Before expanding the data to the target population, calibration by sex and age group (five-year age groups), specified county of household’s place of residence and degree of urbanisation (urban or rural area) is applied. Calibration is based on the proportions by the same variables in the target population, calculated using the population figure from the Estonian Social Survey.



A weight is found for all respondents, but both respondents and non-respondents are used for weighting, i.e. only persons included due to frame errors are excluded.


First, the design weight (DKAAL_ISIK) is calculated for each person in the strata, using the formula d_h=N_h/n_h where Nh is the number of 16–74-year-olds from the target population in stratum h (VALIMTULEM.KIHT_FSUURUS_VALIM), and nh is the sample size in stratum h. The weight dh indicates the number of target population objects represented by the sampled individual.

For validation purposes, statistics on individual design weights are prepared. The sum of individual design weights must be equal to the total target population.

Next, the design weights are adjusted for non-response. The regression model includes the following variables: 'sex x age' (VALIMTULEM.SUGU x VALIMTULEM.VANUS_KV), 'specified county of household’s place of residence x degree of urbanisation' (15 counties + Tallinn from the variable VALIMTULEM.T_ELUKOHT x VALIMTULEM.T_ELUKOHT ).

The design weights are divided by the response probabilities from the regression model, to get non-response adjusted weights for each respondent (MVKAAL_ISIK) before calibration. For validation, the sum of non-response adjusted weights is given. The formula for calculating non-response adjusted weights is as follows: w_(h_i*)=d_(h_i )/r_(h_i ) where r_(h_i ) is the response probability of the person in household i.

By the end of this stage, each person has a design weight (DKAAL_ISIK) and respondents also have a non-response adjusted weight (MVKAAL_ISIK).

The final stage of weighting is calibration which is the adjustment of weights (MVKAAL_ISIK) according to the proportions in the target population. In the internet use and digital skills survey, calibration is applied to the following: sex and age group (five-year groups), specified county of household’s place of residence and degree of urbanisation (urban or rural area). Calibration is based on the proportions by the same variables in the target population, calculated using the population figure from to the Estonian Social Survey.

When calibrating, the calibration method can be predefined (the logit method has been used so far), as well as the bounds of the calibration factor. The bounds determine how much the input weight can be adjusted. So far, the limits have been 0.3 and 2.0.

The sum of the calibrated weights (KAAL_ISIK) must be equal to the size of the target population. Household weights (KAAL_LK) are also added to the calculated calibrated weights (individual weights), by dividing the individual weight by the number of household members aged 16–74 (the value of LEIBKOND_T.Y minus number of household members aged under 16 or aged over 74 (from table LIIKMED, total by age YX2 under LEIBKOND)).

For validation purposes, individual weight and household weight statistics are calculated.

Variables and statistical units which were not collected but which are necessary for producing the output are calculated or linked with the statistical register of persons. New variables are calculated by applying arithmetic conversion to already existing variables. This may be done repeatedly; the derived variable may, in turn, be based on previously derived new variables. Microdata are aggregated to the level necessary for analysis. This includes aggregation of the data according to the classification and calculation of various statistical measures, e.g. average, median, dispersion, etc.

The collected data are converted into statistical output. This includes calculating additional indicators.

The key variables are not imputed.

Not applied

Not applicable as the reference period is one year.

Since 2025, the survey is titled "Internet use and digital skills survey", previously "Information technology in households". The title of the survey was changed following feedback from respondents. The aim was to find a title that better reflects the content of the survey questions.