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Estonia market introduction

Last updated August 2011

Market environment
As a result of EU accession in 2004 Estonia has become an EU border country. Estonia has historically always had strong ties with and been influenced by the Nordic countries, especially Finland. The population of Estonia is 1.3 million.

Estonia’s economic growth has been rapid and steady, and on the macro-economic level the success of Estonia’s economy has been recognised by the IMF and the EBRD. GDP per capita in 2011 is USD 19,000. Estonia is still facing micro-economic problems combined with issues in the field of population integration (28 per cent of the population is Russian-speaking). This is especially the case now that the ethnic divide has been intensified along socio-economic lines with growing unemployment in the predominantly non-Estonian north-east of the country. One feature is the significant stratification of the society (confrontation: cities and countryside, capital city and rest of the country, also partly the Estonian speaking and non-Estonian population).

Access to knowledge and information is highly developed. Estonia has one of the highest connectivity rates in the world. The Estonian government is committed to the vision of developing the knowledge-based economy. Estonia is in the vanguard of e-government at both national and local levels.

Increased spending power and the opportunity of affordable travel (e.g. budget airlines such as Easyjet, RyanAir etc.) has enabled large numbers of people, especially young people, to travel to the UK both for pleasure, as well as for study. The UK currently has a very high profile in the country.

The level of English is quite good, especially among the younger generation. English is viewed as the main foreign language for business, leisure, learning and the achievement of career aspirations, English is also sometimes seen as a neutral medium for the interaction between Estonian-speaking and non-Estonian youth. English is one of the main factors needed for mobility in Europe and to help young people to achieve their career aspirations. EU entry has reduced UK HE costs, speeded up the Bologna process and raised the status of UK qualifications for Estonians.

Market characteristics
In 2011, the number of people aged 29 or under was 489,000 (37 per cent of the population) and the number of school age children of was 146,000. The language of instruction is in most cases Estonian or Russian. In 2010 there were 545 schools in Estonia, out of which 33 were private schools. In higher education the language of instruction was Estonian for 88.4 per cent of students, Russian for 10.1 per cent, and English for 1.5 per cent.

Most pupils attend public-sector schools which are funded by the State. Private schools are owned by private physical or legal entities. The fees in private secondary schools are approximately £ 1,300 per year (with the exception of the International School where the fee is £ 15,000).

There were 33 higher educational establishments with 69,100 students in 2010. There are two types of higher education establishments: first, universities, offering academic programmes; and, secondly, institutions of professional higher education, offering professional higher education programmes. The number of student places financed from the state budget in state (6), municipal or private institutions, is decided in the process that involves the Ministry of Education and Research and its partners. Each higher education institution is entitled to allocate a number of additional places. Students who obtain such additional places have to pay fees which differ between institutions and subjects.

In order to implement the Bolgna Declaration a major HE reform started and the Estonian universities introduced the two-tier (bachelor-master) structure from 2002 (unofficially called 3+2 model). The first qualification obtained after 3 years of study is a bachelor-level qualification, the second after two-years study a master-level qualification. The new two-tier structure applies to most disciplines, with the exception of medicine, pharmacy, stomatology, veterinary medicine, architecture and civil engineering (these long one-cycle programmes are called integrated bachelor- and master-study programmes with the nominal duration of 5 or 6 years). The postgraduate research degree (PhD) is awarded after the completion of3, 4 years of study and research.

Main competitor countries: Finland, USA, Germany, other Scandinavian countries, Russia.

Market opportunities
At present Estonia is predominantly a higher education market, but with a growing interest in the UK FE sector. The upward trend started after Estonia joined the EU in 2004 and has been gradually growing since. The UK has become the number one destination for study abroad programmes.

The most popular fields of study among Estonian undergraduate students in the UK are business and economics studies, media and communication studies, creative arts and design, politics and international relations, law and psychology. These are also among the fields of study where entry into the Estonian higher education is highly competitive.

There is also a growing interest in the further education and independent schools sectors.

In ELT the number of students studying in UK language schools is modest (predominantly junior summer programmes).

Our infrastructure and strategic education priorities
The British Council currently operates from one office in Estonia, in the centre of the capital city Tallinn. After the closure of the Information Centre in 2008 education services are no longer provided.

Teeviit/Crossroads is the main educational fair in Estonia. It attracts mostly prospective further education and undergraduate students and is held annually in early December. Teeviit is organised by the Estonian Youth Work Centre and the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. Information on the next fair, see Teeviit website at www.teeviit.ee Approximately 3-4 UK institutions have attended the fair each year.

DCSIMG