Market Research Companies in Estonia

Key figures for researchers

Population

1.36 million (1,360,745 on 1 January 2026)¹

Population change

9,250 fewer people than a year earlier; 9,240 births and 15,688 deaths in 2025²

Capital region

Harju county 46.1% of the population, Tallinn about a third (2021 census)³

Population by ethnicity

Estonians 68.5%, Russians 20.2%, Ukrainians 5.5% (1 January 2026)¹

Mother tongue

Estonian 67%, Russian 29% of the population (2021 census)⁵

Foreign language skills

76% speak a foreign language; English 48%, Russian 39% (2021 census)⁵

Aged 65 and over

21.8% of the population (2025)⁶

Households with internet

95% of households (2025)⁷

Internet users

92.2% of individuals (2024)⁸

Mobile subscriptions

151 per 100 people (2024)⁹

Research guide

Research landscape

Estonia is a small but very digital EU market: online surveys are widely used for consumer and B2B studies, alongside telephone and face-to-face fieldwork. Full-service agencies work alongside specialist qualitative and B2B firms, online panel providers and field suppliers. Tallinn is the main business centre; Tartu, Narva and Pärnu are the other cities most often included in city samples.

The population is concentrated around the capital: in the 2021 census, 46.1% of people lived in Harju county and about a third in Tallinn alone, and 61.2% lived in urban settlements. Regional quotas and weighting therefore matter for national samples. A common quality reference is the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, revised in 2025 (fifth edition) and endorsed by over 60 associations in more than 50 countries.

Languages and fieldwork

Estonian is the main fieldwork language, but a national sample usually also needs a Russian version. In the 2021 census, 67% of the population had Estonian as their mother tongue and 29% Russian. On 1 January 2026, Estonians made up 68.5% of the population, Russians 20.2% and Ukrainians 5.5% (75,250 people, about three times more than at the start of 2022). Minorities are concentrated in two regions: Estonians make up 60.5% of the population of Harju county (around Tallinn) and only 20.9% in Ida-Viru county in the north-east, where Narva is located.

Language skills are high: in the 2021 census, 76% of the population spoke a foreign language, 48% English and 39% Russian, and 90% of 15 to 29-year-olds spoke at least one foreign language. English interviews can be considered for B2B and professional targets, but consumer questionnaires should be offered in Estonian and Russian.

Which methods work

Connectivity is very high: 95% of households had internet access in 2025, 92.2% of individuals used the internet in 2024 and there are 151 mobile subscriptions per 100 people. Almost all 16 to 54-year-olds go online, and use among people aged 65 to 74 rose by 20 percentage points between 2020 and 2025. Online surveys using access panels work for most consumer targets, and mobile-friendly questionnaires are essential.

People are used to answering official questionnaires online: in the 2021 census, which was mainly register-based, 568,891 people (about 43% of the population, preliminary data) answered the online e-census questionnaire. Older people are still less well covered online, and 21.8% of the population was aged 65 and over in 2025: telephone (CATI) or face-to-face interviews may be needed for older or offline audiences. In-person focus groups are usually held in Tallinn or Tartu.

Timing

Summer is the main period to plan around: school summer holidays run from 9 June to 31 August 2027, and Victory Day (23 June) and Midsummer Day (24 June) are public holidays, on a Wednesday and a Thursday in 2027. Families and business respondents are harder to reach in this period, so allow more fieldwork time. Independence Restoration Day (20 August) and Independence Day (24 February) are also public holidays.

Avoid the Christmas period: 24, 25 and 26 December are public holidays and the school Christmas holiday runs from 21 December 2026 to 3 January 2027. Schools also close for a winter holiday (22–28 February 2027) and a spring holiday (12–18 April 2027), when families are harder to reach.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the GDPR and the Estonian Personal Data Protection Act (in force since 15 January 2019). Among other things, a child must be at least 13 years old to consent to information society services, and personal data may be processed without consent for scientific or statistical purposes, especially if it is pseudonymised; for research using special categories of data, an ethics committee, or otherwise the supervisory authority, must first check compliance.

The supervisory authority is the Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon), which handles complaints and gives guidance on personal data protection. Ask your agency which lawful basis it uses, how respondents are informed, whether personal identification codes are collected and where the data is hosted.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, counties, method, languages (Estonian, Russian, others) and deadline.
• Ask whether the agency follows the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, and which panels or fieldwork suppliers will be used.
• Ask how Russian speakers, older people and respondents outside Harju county will be reached, and how quotas and weighting are set.
• Check fieldwork dates against Midsummer (23–24 June), the summer and the school holidays.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.