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Educational attainment – the highest level of education completed by the time of the survey. People with higher education have graduated higher educational institution and their average study period is 15–16 years. According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 vocational education based on general secondary education is considered equal to the first level of vocational higher education and is presented under higher education. People with secondary education have graduated high school, gymnasium or some other educational institution that provides secondary education and their average study period is 10–14 years. A group with basic education or with lower educational level is formed by those persons who have not acquired the secondary education (including persons without primary education).
Ethnicity – depends on a person’s self-definition and is not unambiguously related to the person's mother tongue, but should be in accordance with at least one of his/her parents' nationality.
Household – the term refers to all individuals who live in the same dwelling and share to some extent the joint budget which is usually the food budget. The household can also have only one member. Persons who are temporarily away (due to their work, studies or military service) are considered as the household members in case they have retained economic relations with their household. In case the household member is temporarily (less than 4 months) in the nursing home, he/she also belongs to the household.
Region of residence – the statistical classification of Estonian territorial units NUTS 3 is used to define the region, a level of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS; French: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques). NUTS is a standard for referencing subdivisions of the member countries of the European Union and it consists of a hierarchy of three levels: NUTS 1, 2 and 3, corresponding to the largest, medium and smallest subdivisions. In Estonia, NUTS 3 regions include the following counties:
Settlement type – divided by capital (Tallinn), other urban settlements and rural settlements. 'Other urban settlement' refers to an administrative unit considered a city or town according to the Classification of Estonian Administrative and Settlement Units (EHAK), excluding Tallinn. The other administrative units are considered to be a rural settlements.
Estonian family and fertility survey is a panel survey that collects life history data on family planning, family, work and everyday life of Estonians born in 1961–2002. The Estonian Institute for Population Studies at Tallinn University and Kantar Emor are conducting the survey. The implementation of the survey's various panel waves is funded by Tallinn University, the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Estonian Research Council (Taristu24_TK7).
In the 2020s, the survey is conducted in three panel waves of data collection, with the main surveys taking place every third year (2021/2022, 2024/2025, 2027/2028). EPSU is part of the international infrastructure programme GGP2020 (Generations and Gender Programme 2020). The international project is led by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Institute for Demography (NIDI). The GGP2020 programme has collected data on more than 200,000 people in more than 25 countries, with which Estonia can compare its data. The survey has been conducted in Estonia twice before: in 1994/1997 and 2004 (collections of standard tables have been published for these, accessible via Digar - see publications).
EPSU aims to better understand various aspects of daily life including, for example, what influences people's decisions to have children or how couples share domestic responsibilities and childcare. In addition to research, the results will be used to provide information and recommendations to policymakers, for example to support work-life balance or ensure gender equality. For instance, the survey data was used as one of the primary sources in compiling the Ministry of Social Affairs' policy document 'Supporting Families with Children: Analysis and Recommendations' (2025).
In the 2020s, the first panel wave of the survey was conducted from October 2021 to spring 2022. The second wave took place from October to December 2024 and from March to May 2025. The first wave of the survey collected information about the respondents' previous life path and life during the first survey wave. EPSU's second wave of the survey wanted to know how the respondents' lives have progressed between the panel waves. The second wave revealed how many respondents have experienced changes in their relationships, family composition, work and other areas of daily life since the first wave, but also, for example, in life satisfaction or attitudes. It also revealed how many people have found life stable in Estonia in recent years, despite the volatility of the wider world. The second wave also collected information on new topics, such as the experience of parenthood, lack of a partner, sexual orientation, and the impact of global uncertainty.
Survey questionnaires and other information related to the survey are published on the GGP2020 Estonia website: https://ggp2020eesti.ee/
Ministry of Social Affairs. Supporting Families with Children: Analysis and Recommendations. Tallinn: Ministry of Social Affairs; 2025. Analysis in Estonian is available here
Katus K, Puur A, Põldma A. Eesti Pere- ja Sündimusuuring. Teine ring, Standardtabelid: välispäritolu rahvastik. Estonian family and fertility survey. 2nd round. Standard tabulations: foreign-origin population. Tallinn: Eesti Kõrgkoolidevaheline Demouuringute Keskus; 2009. Report is available here
Katus K, Puur A, Põldma A. Eesti pere- ja sündimusuuring. Teine ring. Standardtabelid. Estonian family and fertility survey. Second round, Standard tabulations. Tallinn: Eesti Kõrgkoolidevaheline Demouuringute Keskus; 2008.Report is available here
Katus K, Puur A, Sakkeus L. Eesti pere- ja sündimusuuring: standardtabelid. Estonian family and fertility survey: standard tabulations. Tallinn: Eesti Kõrgkoolidevaheline Demouuringute Keskus; 1995. Report is available here
Additional info and questionnaires (in Estonian)
Estonian family and fertility survey
Tallinn University Institute for Population Studies
Allan Puur puur[at]tlu.ee
Updated: 7.10.2026