Estonian construction companies' volumes shrink for fourth consecutive year
Estonian construction companies built 1.5 percent less in Estonia and abroad in 2025 than the year before. Construction volume declined for the fourth consecutive year, Statistics Estonia said.
Estonian construction companies built a total of €4 billion worth last year: €2.5 billion in buildings and €1.5 billion in civil engineering works. Compared with 2024, the volume of building construction fell by 1 percent and the volume of civil engineering works — including roads, bridges, ports, main pipelines, communications and power lines and sports fields — declined by 2 percent.
According to Merike Sinisaar, a leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, construction volume decreased for the fourth consecutive year. "Although 2025 began on a positive note, the decline typical of recent years resumed from the second quarter onward," she said.
Last year, construction volume on the domestic market fell by 1.4 percent. The volume of building construction increased by 1.9 percent, primarily due to the construction of new buildings, while the volume of civil engineering works declined by 6.8 percent.
In 2025, the volume of work carried out abroad by Estonian construction companies decreased by 1.2 percent compared with the previous year. The volume of building construction abroad fell, while civil engineering increased. The share of construction work performed abroad accounted for 7 percent of total construction volume last year, the same as a year earlier.
Share of private homes on the up
According to data from the construction register, 6,059 new dwellings were granted occupancy permits last year, 4 percent more than a year earlier.
"Although most new dwellings are located in apartment buildings, the share of single-family homes has increased for the second consecutive year. The most popular type of residential building remained the three- to five-story apartment building, which accounts for nearly one-third of new dwellings," Sinisaar noted.
Four-room apartments made up the largest share of newly completed dwellings, followed by three-room and two-room units. The average size of new dwellings last year was 95.7 square meters (1,030 square feet).
Most completed dwellings are located in Tallinn, followed by municipalities surrounding Tallinn and Tartu County.
Sinisaar said demand for new dwellings increased last year after a four-year downturn. "Building permits were issued for the construction of 6,695 dwellings, more than one-third higher than in 2024. Apartment buildings remained the most common type of residential building," she explained.
Last year, occupancy permits were granted for 1,199 non-residential buildings, with a total usable area of 973,000 square meters (10.5 million square feet). The largest additions were in office, warehouse and industrial space. Compared with a year earlier, both the area and volume of non-residential buildings granted occupancy permits increased.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, construction volume came to €1.1 billion, 7 percent less than in the fourth quarter of 2024. The volume of building construction fell by one-tenth and civil engineering works declined by 1.4 percent.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
