Analytics, Demography, Employment, Estonia

According to the Statistical Board, the structure of the Estonian population has changed significantly. While in the past 20 years, the number of children aged 14 years and young decreased by 150,000 and the number of people aged 15-64 by 126,000, the number of residents older than 65 years – of pension age – grew by 51,500.

Such a change is clearly dangerous from the point of view of Estonia’s sustainability.

The head of the population and social statistics department of the Statistical Board Urve Kask stated that a society’s sustainability is determined largely by the ability to manage with the changed population structure.

“The perspective of the next ten years indicates that the number of pensioners will be growing fast and the number of people capable to work will start falling,” she noted, explaining that this will have an adverse impact on the labour market as well as on the financial well-being of individuals and will increase the burden on the health care system.

Kask added that since the year 2005, the relative poverty of the elderly has started growing. According to the income statistics on the year 2007, 41% of people aged 65 and higher are poor. This is due to the fact that pensioners’ incomes are growing significantly slower than the average pay in the country.