Estonia, long ranked among the European countries with the widest gender pay gaps, recorded its narrowest gap on record in 2025, with women earning on average 12.2 per cent less per hour than men, according to new data from Statistics Estonia.
The gap shrank by one percentage point compared with the previous year and has fallen by 10.7 percentage points over the past 15 years. Average gross hourly pay stood at €13 for men and €11.4 for women.
Krista Vaikmets, a leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, the country’s official statistics agency, said the latest figure marked the smallest gender pay gap ever recorded in the country.
Despite the overall improvement, disparities remain stark in several sectors. The widest gap was found in financial and insurance activities, where women earned 23.6 per cent less than men. Other sectors with large differences included wholesale and retail trade (22.2 per cent), manufacturing (21.4 per cent), and human health and social work (20.8 per cent).
By contrast, women earned more than men in three areas: transportation and storage, real estate, and other service activities.
Statistics Estonia said the pay gap in information and communication has narrowed significantly in recent years. Vaikmets suggested that greater access to engineering and IT training and retraining for women may have helped, as higher-paid technical fields have traditionally been dominated by men.
The highest hourly wages overall were paid in information and communication, and in financial and insurance activities. The lowest remained in accommodation and food services, where hourly gross pay stood at €8.6 for men and €7.5 for women.
The figures are based on a 2025 survey of 3,806 enterprises, of which 3,444 responded, giving a response rate of 90.5%.
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