A little over a tenth of dwellings were built in this century

News
Posted on 14 May 2019, 11:00

According to Statistics Estonia, on 1 January 2018, there were 718,600 dwellings in Estonia, of which nearly 76%, or 542,500, were occupied. Of these, 99.1% were conventional dwellings and other housing units, and 0.9% were collective living quarters.

Half of the occupied dwellings that are not collective quarters were smaller than 60 m2, a quarter of the dwellings had a floor area of 60–80 m2 and the rest were over 80 m2. Almost two-thirds of the dwellings consisted of 2 and 3 rooms – 32% and 31%, respectively.

Of all occupied dwellings, 66% had all four amenities: tap water, flush toilet, bath or shower and central heating. 83% of occupied dwellings had tap water, 86% had a bath or shower, 69% had central heating and 87% had a flush toilet.

Of the existing dwellings, 11%, or 78,000, were located in buildings constructed since 2001. The share of new dwellings is above the Estonian average in Harju and Tartu counties.

In 2019, Statistics Estonia publishes housing data for the second time based on the data of Estonian registers. The used methodology has been developed as part of the preparation for the 2020/2021 Register-Based Population and Housing Census.

The population of dwellings is based on the data of three registers: the Address Data System, the Population Register and the Register of Construction Works. Technical data are from the Register of Construction Works, and when necessary, have been supplemented with the data of the 2011 Population and Housing Census. During the year, the Register of Construction Works worked with the Land Board and local authorities to reduce under-coverage of buildings and dwellings and to improve and correct technical characteristics. Changes in the Register of Construction Works were the reason for revising housing tables as of 1 January 2017.

For the statistical activity “Housing”, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data necessary for conducting the statistical activity.