All Estonian ministries saw wage hikes in the past year
Average pay rose at every Estonian ministry over the past year, with the largest increases at the regional affairs and culture ministries. Pay grew slowest at the education and justice ministries.
The draft state budget for next year sets out changes in pay and staffing at the ministries between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026. Average pay rose at every ministry, with increases of more than 10 percent at two of them.
One was the Ministry of Culture, which has 91 employees. Its average pay rose 13 percent over the year to €3,713, while its workforce shrank by one.
"Base salaries had remained virtually unchanged for the previous couple of years, weakening the ministry's position on pay and increasing turnover, particularly among experienced experts," the explanatory memorandum to the budget said.
Meanwhile, the average gross salary of cultural workers was €2,090 last year and is projected to reach €2,263 this year. The minimum salary for cultural workers with higher education is €1,720 and will remain at that level next year.
Average pay at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture rose 14 percent over the year to €3,635. Its workforce fell by 36 to 250.
At the Ministry of Defense, average pay rose 9 percent to €3,922. The number of employees increased by eight to 149.
Average pay rose 7 percent at both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior. At the latter, it stood at €3,639 at the beginning of June, while the number of employees fell by three to 166. Average pay at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rose to €3,675.
Pay rose 6 percent at both the Ministry of Climate and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Their average pay was also nearly identical: €3,706 at the Ministry of Climate, which has 266 employees, and €3,703 at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which has 160.
The Ministry of Finance recorded a 5 percent rise in average pay. Its workforce fell by three to 243 and average pay stood at €3,472.
Pay at the Ministry of Social Affairs rose 4 percent. Its workforce grew by four to 173.
At the bottom of the pay growth table were the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, where average pay rose 3 percent each.
The Ministry of Education and Research's workforce fell by 10 to 260 and average pay rose to €3,320. At the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, average pay was €3,660 and the workforce fell by 40 to 224.
According to Statistics Estonia, the average salary in Estonia was €2,243 in the second quarter of this year, up 5.5 percent from the same period last year.
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Editor: Karin Koppel, Marcus Turovski
