Study: Wealth inequality has not grown in Estonia over the years
A study by the Bank of Estonia and Statistics Estonia found that Estonia's Gini coefficient, which measures wealth inequality, has remained relatively stable and similar to the average in eurozone countries.
Estonia has now conducted its household finance and consumption survey four times — in 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2024. Over the longer term, the surveys show that the wealth of Estonian families has increased significantly over the years.
In 2013, the median household — meaning half of families had more assets and half had less — had net wealth of €43,300 on average. By 2024, that figure had risen to €103,300. Net wealth is calculated by subtracting liabilities from total assets.
As part of the survey, the Bank of Estonia also calculates the Gini coefficient, which ranges from zero to one, where zero represents complete equality and one represents complete inequality. According to the latest survey, conducted in 2024, Estonia's net wealth Gini coefficient stood at 0.66, similar to the eurozone average.
However, when different types of assets are examined separately, there are major differences in how unevenly they are distributed, the central bank noted. The wealthiest 5 percent of households own 40 percent of total net wealth.
The value of primary residences was distributed most evenly, with a Gini coefficient of 0.47.
Business assets, by contrast, were distributed most unevenly, with a Gini coefficient of 0.91.
Alongside the increase in the wealth of Estonian families, the structure of assets has also changed and now more closely resembles the eurozone average. The share of bank deposits among households' financial assets has declined, while holdings in other financial assets — such as stocks and investment fund shares, which generate higher long-term returns — have increased. Household debt burdens have fallen, along with financial vulnerability.
The share of financial assets doubled over 11 years, rising from 10 percent in 2013 to 20 percent.
According to the survey, the debt burden of Estonian households is lower than the eurozone average when measured against both income and asset levels. Debt burdens declined during the period between the two most recent survey rounds. In 2024, for the median indebted household, outstanding loans amounted to 11 percent of asset value, while loan payments accounted for 7 percent of monthly gross income. The decline in debt burdens relative to both income and asset levels was mainly driven by rapid consumer price growth.
The debt burden of Estonian families remains below the eurozone average. The median Estonian household has liquid financial assets equivalent to about two months of gross income. Across the eurozone, households on average hold more liquid assets, equivalent to roughly three months of income.
In 2024, 8 percent of the population in Estonia belonged to households that found it difficult to obtain bank loans or were unable to secure loans at all.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Marcus Turovski
