Agency Paints Picture of Average Estonian Woman
In celebration of the approaching Mother’s Day on May 13, Statistics Estonia assembled a glossy portrait of an average Estonian woman, who, as it turns out, is well educated, has a job and up to two children.
According to Piret Tikva, head of social surveys at the agency, the proportion of employed women in Estonia has exceeded the EU average for the past decade. Data of 2011 reveals that 56 percent of women aged 15 to 74 were employed while another 12 percent were actively seeking a job.
Last year, women had five and a half hours of free time per day, which is 34 minutes more than a decade ago. Tikva said that most women prefer to spend that extra time in front of the computer. The hours spent shopping have not significantly budged over the past 10 years, she said.
Figures also reveal that in 2011, around 70 percent of all folk culture practitioners were women.
While the ratio of boys and girls in primary school is slightly tilted to the male side, the share of female students in colleges and universities is around 60 percent. The societal expectations that women face and pressure to obtain higher education have also grown, sad Tikva.
The portion of women participating in lifelong education programs is also higher. Nevertheless, men enrolled in such programs spend more of their time there.
Women in Estonia start their independent life at an average age of 23 - which in most of the EU happens between 24 and 26. The average age of marrying for the first time is 27 years.
Women have an average of one to two children, which compared to the rest of the EU is quite a low figure. This can be attributed to Estonian women being very active on the labor market and the uncommonness of part-time jobs.
On January 1, 2012, the average Estonian woman was 44 years of age.
Ingrid Teesalu