Although the number of international degree students in Estonia was down compared to previous years, international students paid a total of €16.6 million in income and social tax during the 2022/23 academic year. Those who graduated the year before contributed €6.9 million.

For current students, the total contribution was €2.5 million more than in the previous academic year, while for graduates it was €1.5 million less.

Kadri Rootalu, data scientist at Statistics Estonia and author of the analysis, said that in the 2022/23 academic year, a little more than half of the international students in Estonian higher education institutions worked at least one day in Estonia during their studies. "Most of them worked for more than six months during the academic year," Rootalu added.

The analysis also provides information on the tax contributions of international students and graduates based on income and social tax receipts. In the last academic year, international students and graduates contributed a total of €23.5 million to the Estonian economy. International students paid €11 million in social tax and €5.6 million in income tax. Students who graduated in the 2021/22 academic year and stayed to work in Estonia contributed €6.9 million in total via labor taxes.

Those most likely to work during their studies are international students in information and communication technologies (ICT) or engineering, manufacturing and construction, as well as those studying business, administration and law. For example, 70 percent of international ICT students worked during their studies in the 2022/23 academic year.

Compared with previous years, more and more international students are working in educational institutions, particularly universities. Employment in the service sector has decreased on year.

Eero Loonurm, head of the Study in Estonia program at the Estonian Education and Youth Board, said that Estonian universities and institutions of professional higher education institutions have developed visibly over the past ten years and have, by teaching international students, helped to spread the message of Estonia's high-quality higher education to the world.

"Our higher education institutions are doing a commendable and excellent job in teaching international students, and our labor market is seeing the fruits of this. In addition to participating in the Estonian labor market, international students pay tuition fees in Estonia, consume local services and products, and invite their family and friends to visit Estonia as tourists. Based on a preliminary assessment, the economic impact of international students outweighs at least twice the investment needed by the Estonian state to teach them," Loonurm added.

The latest report and the results of previous surveys are available here.

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