Employee compensation as share of government spending in Estonia
Estonia: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 16.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Estonia, 1991–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2023, employee compensation as share of government spending in Estonia stood at 16.4%.
The figure is up 3.3% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Estonia peaked at 21.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8.3%, in 1991.
Estonia ranks 113th of 155 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending 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 Employee compensation as share of government spending 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 work & labour data for Estonia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.67 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6763 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.6638 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.1039 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 885.23 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 259.52 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 417.66 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 407.84 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 825.5 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Estonia?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Estonia was 16.4% in 2023, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 21.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.3% in 1991.
- How does Estonia rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Estonia ranks 113th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending 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 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Employee compensation as share of government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.