DEVELOPMENT

Figure 1.5.5
Percentage of the Estonian population who were “satisfied”
or “very satisfied” with their life between 2003 and
2012. As a comparison, Estonia’s GDP, in billions of Euros,
during the same period, is included in the chart.
Percentage
GDP
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
% of satisfaction
Oct 2003
Oct 2004
June 2005
Oct 2005
Apr 2006
Sept 2006
May 2007
Oct 2007
Apr 2008
Oct 2008
June 2009
Nov 2009
June 2010
Nov 2010
May 2011
Nov 2011
May 2012
Source: Eurobarometer, Statistics Estonia
of the lowest in Europe. But in only five years, buoyed
by general economic growth and positive political
events, (Estonia’s accession to the European Union in
2004, etc.), it increased by almost 30%, reaching its
peak in September 2006, when, based on the Eurobarometer
survey, 79% of the Estonian population was
satisfied or very satisfied with life. Although Estonia’s
economic growth continued until early 2008, the Estonian
population’s assessments related to the level of life
satisfaction slowly started to decrease, already in the
spring of 2007, and stabilised at 69%, by the spring of
2012 (see Figure 1.5.5). It is interesting to note that the
continued growth of Estonia’s GDP, starting in 2010,
has not been accompanied by an increase of satisfaction
among Estonia’s population. The reasons probably
lie in the fact that, starting in 2007, the cost of the
largest items of expenditure in Estonia, i.e. the prices
for dwellings and food, has increased considerably
faster than the average wages.
The self-expressive values also include the people’s
greater tolerance toward minorities, be it homosexuals, or
people with different ethnic or religious backgrounds. If,
in 1990, more than three quarters (76%) of the respondents
thought that homosexuality is never justified, 20
years later, the corresponding indicator is 48%. However,
in 2011, almost half of the Estonian population
still thinks that homosexuality is not acceptable and,
in the comparison with other countries, this high share
of people continues to place Estonia among the Eastern
European, rather than Western European, countries
(see figure 1.5.6).
An important measure of self-expressive versus
survival values is the people’s political, environmental
and community activism. In the World Values Survey,
this has been measured, among other things, with a
question about whether the respondent has ever signed
a petition as a political protest or, at least, plans to do
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
GDP, billions of Euros
Figure 1.5.6
Percentage of the populations of various countries in
the world in 2010-2012 that believe that homosexuality
is never justified.
Percentage 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Sweden
Spain
Chile
Uruguay
Japan
New Zealand
USA
Philippines
Peru
Ecuador
South Korea
Mexico
Cyprus
Colombia
Poland
Estonia
Ukraine
Belarus
Russia
Malaysia
Nigeria
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Zimbabwe
Turkey
Uzbekistan
Trinidad and T
Ghana
Morocco
Qatar
Azerbaijan
Armenia
Percentage 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Source: World Values Survey, 6 th wave, 2010–2012.
Figure 1.5.7
Percentage of people living in Estonia, from 1990 to
2011, who have signed a petition (as a form of political
protest), might do so in the future, or would never do so
under any circumstances.
Percentage
Would never participate Might participate Have participated
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1990 1996 1999 2008 2011
Source: World Values Surveys and European Values Surveys.
Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013
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