Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Estonia
Estonia: Compensation of employees (% of expense) was 16.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Compensation of employees in Estonia, 1991–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Estonia recorded 16.4% for compensation of employees in 2023.
That represents a change of up 3.3% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compensation of employees in Estonia peaked at 21.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8.3%, in 1991.
That places Estonia 113th out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Estonia, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 8.3% | — |
| 1995 | 19.7% | +138.4% |
| 1996 | 19.2% | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 19.5% | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 19.4% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 21.2% | +9.6% |
| 2000 | 21.9% | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 17.9% | -18.2% |
| 2002 | 18.4% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 18.5% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 18.2% | -1.6% |
| 2005 | 18.0% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 17.3% | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 17.8% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 17.6% | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 16.2% | -8.4% |
| 2010 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16.4% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 16.2% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 16.4% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 17.0% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 16.6% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 16.6% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 16.5% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 16.1% | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 16.3% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 15.4% | -5.5% |
| 2021 | 15.6% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 15.9% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 16.4% | +3.3% |
Estonia compared with similar countries
- Estonia's 16.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 18.9%, 87% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Estonia's 16.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 16.4%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Estonia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +138.4% | 8.3% | 19.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.9% | 8.3% | 21.2% | 6 |
| 2000s | 18.2% | 16.2% | 21.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.4% | 16.1% | 17.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.8% | 15.4% | 16.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Estonia
More public sector data for Estonia
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 204.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 45.91 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0015 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 152 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compensation of employees in Estonia?
- Compensation of employees in Estonia was 16.4% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest compensation of employees recorded in Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 21.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest compensation of employees recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.3% in 1991.
- How does Estonia rank for compensation of employees?
- Estonia ranks 113th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is compensation of employees rising or falling in Estonia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Estonia data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Compensation of employees (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.