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 433,420
1.3%
Persons aged 15 and over without education 2,454
-0.5%
Children in preschool institutions 68,281
-1.0%
Enrolment in formal education 242 thousand
1.5%
Share of participants in adult education 45 %
Persons with higher education | 2024
Enrolment in formal education by type and level of education | 2014 – 2023
Unit: thousand
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Total 222.9 221.9 222.1 223.6 225.9 227.9 231.6 233.0 238.7 242.2
General education 142.5 145.9 149.2 153.3 156.7 158.7 160.8 162.6 169.1 171.2
..basic school level 116.3 120.0 122.9 126.4 129.3 131.1 132.1 133.0 138.3 138.3
..gymnasium level 26.2 25.9 26.2 26.9 27.3 27.6 28.8 29.6 30.8 32.9
Vocational education 25.2 24.9 25.1 24.1 23.4 24.0 25.5 25.9 25.5 26.3
..vocational courses with no previous education requirement 0.4 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.7
..vocational courses after basic education 14.5 16.4 18.0 18.2 18.3 18.6 19.7 19.8 19.7 20.2
..vocational courses after secondary education 10.2 7.7 6.0 4.8 3.9 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.4
Higher education 55.2 51.1 47.8 46.2 45.8 45.2 45.3 44.6 44.1 44.6
..professional higher education 15.7 14.2 13.4 12.9 12.6 12.0 11.7 11.5 11.2 11.3
..Bachelor study 20.5 18.9 16.8 16.1 15.8 15.7 16.0 15.8 15.9 16.5
..integrated Bachelor's/Master's study 3.6 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.4
..Master's study 12.4 11.8 11.6 11.5 11.8 12.0 12.0 11.7 11.4 11.2
..Doctoral study 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

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

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