Country report

1. STEM education

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are a relatively popular study choice in Estonia. In medium-level vocational education and training (VET), 50.2% of students were enrolled in STEM courses in 2023 (EU: 36.3%), exceeding the proposed EU-level target of 45%. In the same year, 31% of tertiary students were enrolled in STEM courses (EU: 27%), close to the proposed EU target of 32% by 2030. This share has been stable for the last decade. The high share of ICT students in Estonia (35% vs an EU average of 20%) reflects its economy's focus on data science and information technology, and the country's successful policies on digital skills. However, although the share of students in ICT courses has grown, the share of students studying engineering has declined (see Figure 1). In 2023, 47.3% of all PhD candidates were enrolled in STEM fields. A high share of these were international students, who often leave the country after graduation. The percentage of doctoral students in ICT, at 10.9% of all PhD students, exceeds both the EU average (3.8%) and the proposed EU target (5%). However, the dropout rate from STEM PhD programmes is also high (see Section 5).

Despite these positive outcomes, demand for STEM specialists in Estonia still significantly exceeds supply. Three reasons for this can be identified: (i) overall student numbers have been falling, reducing the number of STEM graduates in the labour market; (ii) the average dropout rate from the first undergraduate year in STEM courses is higher than in other fields (e.g. 31% in engineering vs 13.2% overall in 2023), as is the dropout rate from PhD level studies in STEM fields; and (iii) the green and digital transition alone require more STEM specialists than are currently anticipated to graduate from higher education (OSKA, 2020). ICT, industry and construction are among the sectors with the greatest shortages of skilled workers, and demand for engineers, software developers, electricians and technicians is rising (OSKA, 2022). As these shortages may hinder Estonia’s labour productivity and innovation performance, a 2025 country-specific recommendation encourages Estonia to meet the growing demand for STEM specialists and to attract and retain talent (Council of the EU, 2025).

Women remain underrepresented in engineering and ICT, but less so than in the EU on average. In 2023, 37% of STEM higher education students were women, above the EU average of 32.2% and close to the proposed EU target of 40%. In line with an EU-wide pattern, natural sciences/maths were most popular with women (60.4% of students in these courses are female). In ICT, the share of female students was much higher than in the EU on average (32% vs 20%), a pattern also seen in ICT at doctoral level (38.2% vs 24.3%). Among STEM learners in VET, nearly one out of four was female (24.5% vs EU 15.4%). Despite these relatively positive outcomes, Estonia is committed to further increasing women’s participation in STEM.

Estonia promotes STEM teaching and learning with a particular focus on girls and women, and is currently preparing a more strategic approach to attract more girls and women to STEM. Various initiatives are in place to: (i) increase students’ interest in STEM at all educational levels; (ii) update learning content; and (iii) improve the quality of STEM teaching. For example, since 2012, support for integrating robotics into daily learning from early childhood education to upper secondary level has been provided through the ‘Progetiiger’ programme, co-funded by the European Social Fund (Harno, 2023). As of 2024, ‘Progetiiger’ focuses exclusively on school education. Estonia has created ICT and Engineering Academies across educational levels and sectors, co-funded by the European Social Fund+. These projects are collaborative platforms between various educational institutions, employers and the State, which aim to: align education more closely with labour market needs in ICT and engineering; and increase the supply of graduates in these fields. Furthermore, in its coalition agreement, the government set out its plans to adopt a STEAM strategy (adding the arts to STEM) by 2026, including measures to encourage a sufficient supply of teachers in these fields (Government of Estonia, 2025).

VET plays an important role in supplying STEM skills. Engineering curricula in Estonia’s VET system are tailored to Industry 4.0 needs, focusing on interdisciplinarity and integrated learning in product and industrial design. Provisions were also adopted to offer additional flexible and labour-market-driven learning opportunities to facilitate businesses’ digital and green transitions, supported by the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. In 2024, the Education Ministry launched a call for introducing innovative VET programmes. VET providers submitted various proposals focussing on smart technology, digitalisation, sustainability and collaboration with industry experts.

2. Early childhood education and care

Participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) remains somewhat below the EU average. The participation rate for children aged three to the start of compulsory primary education (seven years) stood at 91.2% in 2023, slightly below the EU average of 94.6% and the EU target of 96% by 2030. In 2024, the rate of participation in formal childcare was 36.8% for children under the age of three, below the EU average of 39.3% and the national Barcelona target of 40.5% by 2030. While municipalities are legally required to provide a childcare place to every child from age 18 months up, some municipalities struggle to fulfil this requirement due to a shortage of places. Shortages are being addressed through partnerships with private childcare providers.

A recent reform of ECEC aims to improve quality and participation. The reform took effect in September 2025. It is expected to help both alleviate the shortages of places in childcare and further improve quality by integrating childcare services and preschool education into a single system, with a single set of requirements (e.g. on staff qualifications) (MoER, 2024a). The reform will finalise the establishment of a fully integrated ECEC system, a marker of high quality in ECEC (Council of the EU, 2019). Estonia is one of only six EU countries that fulfils all key quality criteria of fully integrated ECEC systems: (i) integrated governance under one leading authority (the Ministry of Education and Research); (ii) entitlement to a place from an early age for every child; (iii) a requirement for staff with a bachelor’s degree in education to work with every group of children; and (iv) consistent educational guidelines for the entire ECEC phase (European Commission /EACEA/Eurydice, 2025).

3. School education and basic skills

Estonia is struggling to bring down the rate of early school leaving among young people, which affects their employment prospects and social inclusion. In 2024, 11% of 18-24-year-olds left the education and training system with low or no qualifications (EU: 9.3%), and boys were much more likely to do so than girls (13.3% vs 8.6%). In the last few years, this rate has been increasing. Early school leavers have much lower employment rates, i.e. 42.1% for people with lower secondary education or less compared with 78.6% for people with upper secondary education or more (46.3% and 73% in the EU, respectively) and a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion.

After a decade of persistently high early school leaving, the government extended the compulsory education until the age of 18. The recent reform will require ninth grade pupils in the 2025/2026 academic year to stay in formal education until the age of 18, unless they complete their education earlier (Riigikogu, 2024). This reform aims to ensure that less than 5% of pupils leave education and training early and that all young people acquire upper secondary or vocational education. Compliance with this new obligation will be monitored and supported by local authorities, in cooperation with the social and youth services. The reform of the compulsory education age is coupled with a VET reform (see Section 4). The need to reduce early school leaving was also highlighted in a 2025 country-specific recommendation to Estonia (Council of the EU, 2025).

Reducing early school leaving also depends on the capacity of the education system to effectively respond to pupils with special educational needs (SENs). Pupils with disabilities are more than twice as likely to leave school early (20.8% in 2022). While schools are required to help children with SENs by adjusting learning goals and providing specialist support (Riigi Teataja, 2010), this is hindered by acute shortages of support specialists such as speech therapists or psychologists (OSKA, 2022). In addition, in 2024, only 42.6% of teachers indicated that they had received the necessary training to teach and support SEN children. Nevertheless, inclusion of SEN children is making progress, with 76.8% of SEN students attending mainstream schools in 2024, up from 64.9% in 2020 (MoER, 2025a). In practice, the extent to which educational settings are inclusive for SEN children often depends on the school heads and teachers (Kivirand et al., 2021; EASNIE, 2023).

Estonian students demonstrate good basic skills. In maths, reading and science, 15-year-olds reached the EU target of less than 15% of low achievers (OECD, 2023a). In 2022, the share of disadvantaged students reaching a good level in at least one of these basic skills was 30.3%, a decline from 35.4% in 2015, but still substantially above the EU average (16.3%). Estonia has also developed a definition of highly talented learners to better identify and support them (MoER, 2024d). In 2022, 74.9% of eighth graders had an adequate level of civic knowledge, above the EU average of 63.1% (Schulz et al., 2025). However, the indicators on youth participation (measured by school participation, intention to vote in the future, and interest in politics) were lower than in the EU on average. Boys surveyed were less supportive of gender equality than they were in 2016 (Ümarik et al., 2023).

While Estonia has historically maintained a highly equitable education system, regional imbalances and internal educational migration are now creating pressure. School choice is heavily influenced by parents’ socio-economic backgrounds, with nearly half of children not attending their nearest primary school, and 60% opting for upper secondary schools outside their catchment areas. This trend exacerbates educational inequality as families with fewer resources often choose local schools, whereas the self-selection of wealthier families into schools in major cities leads to clusters of high-performing students in those schools (Arenguseire Keskus, 2025a). Access to non-formal education like after-school activities is also less available to disadvantaged children, even though these activities help to reduce early school leaving (Arenguseire Keskus, 2025b).

Retaining fully qualified teachers in schools is still a challenge. The 2022 PISA showed that teacher shortages in Estonia are growing at a faster rate than in the EU on average (OECD, 2023b) (see Figure 2). The reasons for teacher shortages are: (i) high workloads (especially for novice teachers); (ii) flat career structures; (iii) below-average pay compared with other tertiary-educated workers; (iv) a perceived lack of recognition for the teaching profession; and (v) varying levels of quality in school management. As Estonia’s workforce is shrinking, competition from other sectors further exacerbates teacher attrition, particularly in STEM fields (Leijen et al., 2024). The country’s teaching force is one of the oldest in the EU, with 37.8% of teachers aged 55 or older (EU: 25.1%).

Policies to attract and retain teachers target initial education, career structure and working conditions. Admissions to initial teacher-education programmes have increased in recent years, partly due to policies promoting the teaching profession and scholarships for aspiring teachers: 50% more students enrolled in teacher education programmes in 2023/2024 than five years previously (MoER, 2025b). Teacher retention is now the key issue. Estonia’s 2021-2035 education strategy sets the aim of having, by 2035, at least 60% of teacher training graduates working as teachers for five consecutive years after graduating (Government of Estonia, 2021). In 2023, this stood at 56% (MoER, 2025b). Under the 2022-2026 teacher action plan, in 2024/2025 the Education Ministry put in place: (i) a leadership development programme for school heads and pre-school heads; (ii) the pilot of a self-assessment tool for headmasters based on an updated skills model for educational leaders; and (iii) the piloting of new criteria for the quality assessment of schools. In addition, the Teacher Academy programme offers micro-credentials to allow teachers who are not yet fully qualified to gain missing qualifications while working. Micro-credentials are available in subjects such as STEM, inclusive education and Estonian language for teachers not sufficiently proficient in Estonian (MoER, 2021).

Estonia plans to systematically integrate AI tools and training in education. The programme ‘AI Leap’ (‘TI-Hüpe’), launched in September 2025, provides access to leading AI applications and training for pupils and teachers. A public-private collaboration, the initiative seeks to improve the quality of education by: (i) providing equal access to AI tools; (ii) personalising learning; and (iii) developing advanced AI and media literacy skills to promote critical thinking and safeguard democracy (MoER, 2025c, d). In 2024, the Education Ministry also provided local governments with funding of EUR 10m to renew schools’ IT equipment to prepare for electronic exams (MoER, 2024c). The Estonian Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) supports the construction of very high-capacity broadband networks (VHCN). The development of VHCN in rural areas will facilitate schools’ and students’ access to modern learning environments and participation in electronic exams.

4. Vocational education and training

Estonia aims to increase the relevance of vocational education and training to better meet learners’ needs and labour market expectations. In 2023, 43.4% of pupils in medium-level education attended VET programmes (EU: 52.4%). A comprehensive VET reform (i) introduces new curricula focused on enhancing general competencies; (ii) enables a more balanced choice between upper secondary education and vocational education; and (iii) puts in place career counselling and flexible study arrangements to retain students and reduce dropout rates (MoER, 2025e). Skills intelligence is used to inform decisions on VET provision, as the new curricula are being developed in line with recommendations by the skills-forecasting mechanism OSKA. The first pilots of the curricula will be implemented in 2025/2026, with the aim of updating the whole VET system by 2027. The pilots focus on smart technology, digitalisation, sustainability and collaboration with industry experts to meet future workforce needs.

Estonia is further expanding work-based learning (WBL) in critical sectors. All vocational education curricula include components of practical training and hands-on learning. Most recent VET graduates have experienced WBL (79.8% in 2024, above the EU average of 64.5%). In 2024, 74.7% of recent VET graduates were in employment, below the EU average (80%). In the same year, the VET and higher education development programme PRÕM+ continued providing and expanding WBL opportunities through training courses, seminars, counselling, and 3 000 additional training places for young people in sectors of national priority. The programme aims to address the high demand for workers in the health and well-being sector, where nearly half of WBL learners are enrolled.

Structural reforms aim to improve the quality of VET. In 2024, Estonia launched the development of a new quality-assurance model for VET centres. The updated model introduces institutional accreditation for VET centres, aligned with the accreditation process in higher education. The new quality-assurance model will also cover WBL and continuing training in adult education institutions. As part of the ongoing school-network reform, responsibility for all upper secondary schools will move from the local to the national level by 2035. New ‘education centres’ that combine general and vocational education are being piloted in 2025, with the aim of setting up 30 centres by 2035 (MoER, 2025a). These new centres will offer: (i) vocational education; (ii) applied gymnasium education; (iii) both non-formal and academic gymnasium education; and (iv) a preparatory programme. The volume of general education and elective studies in vocational education will increase.

5. Tertiary education

Student numbers in tertiary education are falling, but recent admissions have increased slightly. In 2024, tertiary educational attainment was slightly below EU average (42.7% vs 44.2%), nearing the EU-level 2030 target of 45%. The gender gap in attainment remained one of the widest in the EU (21.6 pps vs EU: 11.2 pps, favouring women). With demographic decline, tertiary student numbers fell by over 13% between 2016 and 2023, from 50 600 to 43 900. International students made up 11.1% of students in 2023, falling short of the 15% national target. In 2024/2025, international student admissions and bachelor’s programme admissions both increased slightly compared with the previous year (MoER, 2025f). Increasing international student numbers is a national priority, with higher education institutions focusing on (i) creating new curricula; (ii) carrying out marketing campaigns; and (iii) targeting young people from the Estonian diaspora (MoER, 2025f). These efforts are supported by ‘Study in Estonia’, managed by the Education and Youth Board, under the 2023-2029 internationalisation strategy, funded by the European Social Fund+. Erasmus+ plays a crucial role for internationalisation, funding incoming and outgoing student mobility, and Estonian institutions joining European Universities’ Alliances.

More PhD graduates and stronger collaboration with businesses could contribute to Estonia’s competitiveness. Research and development (R&D) has expanded in recent years in Estonia, for example with the launch of the national Applied Research Centre in 2024. To sustain R&D growth, diversify the economy and develop higher value-added activity (especially in areas other than IT), more highly qualified researchers are needed (European Commission, 2025). However, Estonia has fewer doctoral students than a decade ago, and struggles to meet the national goal of 300 PhD graduates per year (ETAG, 2025). In the EU, 1.3 out of 1000 young people held a PhD in 2022, but only 0.8 did in Estonia. PhD candidates struggle on several fronts: (i) one third of those who begin their studies drop out, (ii) the average time to complete a PhD is long (5.6 years in 2022); and (iii) PhD students who can speak Estonian are often hired to teach or to perform administrative duties (ETAG, 2025). The 2022 reform of doctoral studies may improve the situation, but its impact will take time to appear. The reform gave PhD students the status of paid junior research fellows.

While the increase of international PhD students has counterbalanced the decline of Estonian candidates, especially in STEM fields, they often leave the country after graduation. Although total doctoral student admission numbers remained stable between 2013/2014 and 2023/2024, the share of admitted international students rose from 16% to 39% during this period. In natural sciences and engineering, the numbers of Estonian students admitted to PhD programmes fell by 41% and 63.6% respectively during this period, while international admissions soared by 385.7% and 155.6%. The highest concentration of international PhD students is now in engineering, manufacturing and construction, at 49% (ETAG, 2024). However, these students often leave the country post-graduation (ETAG, 2025), potentially impacting Estonia's long-term innovation capabilities (see Section 1).

6. Adult skills and learning

Adult participation in education and training has increased over time. In 2022, participation in education and training among those aged 25 to 64 in the previous 12 months was 41.8%, slightly above the EU average of 39.5%. Participation was higher among younger people (49.5% for 25-34-year-olds vs 31.2% for 55-64-year-olds) and considerably lower for adults with lower levels of education at 18.9%, in line with the EU average. Further progress towards the 2030 national target of 52.3% participation in adult learning will require engaging these underrepresented groups.

Although Estonia performs well in adult skills and digital literacy, skills gaps persist across age groups, education levels, regions and socio-economic backgrounds. Adult skills basic levels in Estonia exceed the OECD average, although older adults are significantly less proficient in all areas. In 2023, 62.6% of the population had at least a basic level of digital skills (vs 55.6% in the EU). The 2023 PIAAC survey results show both differences in skills across socio-economic groups and a growing skills gap across socio-economic groups compared with 10 years ago. Skills levels also vary significantly by region, influenced by the structure of the labour market and language proficiency. The lowest scores were recorded in Ida-Viru County and the highest in Harju County (Eesti Statistika, 2024).

Estonia is making efforts to support flexible learning and flexible career pathways. Micro-credentials, referred to as ‘micro-qualifications’ and ‘micro-degrees’ in Estonia, are seen as a flexible means for adult learners to gain partial or full qualifications. In 2025, Estonia amended the Adult Education Act, laying down regulations for micro-qualifications and setting the required volume of study and other criteria for offering micro-qualifications (Riigikogu, 2025). It also expanded its state-commissioned continuing education programme (Riigi Teataja, 2025). This initiative offers over 1 500 free courses, providing training for 26 000 individuals between 2025-2026. The courses are offered by 37 vocational education institutions, applied higher education institutions and universities across the country.

EU funds provide considerable support and access to learning opportunities to address challenges in adult learning. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) provides support for developing green and digital skills (see Section 1). For example, by mid-2026, 2000 people will be able to participate in upskilling and retraining for ICT specialists or in courses on the digital transformation for SME managers. With the support of the Just Transition Fund, efforts to expand vocational and higher education in the Ida-Virumaa region (impacted by the phasing out of shale oil) have accelerated, with new curricula being developed and launched. These initiatives target language, digital, entrepreneurial and green skills, aligning the offering of regional education and training with local labour market needs. In 2025, with the support of the ESF+, new labour-market services will be launched, promoting green and general skills for various target groups through micro-qualifications.