Working international students and graduates in Estonia contributed over €10 million in income and social taxes in Estonia in the previous academic year, Statistics Estonia announced.
Statistics Estonia prepared an analysis for the Archimedes Foundation on the participation of international students in the Estonian labour market and its impact on the economy.
According to the agency, in the previous academic year, foreign students paid €8 million in income and social tax in Estonia. The international students who graduated the year prior contributed additionally over €2 million.
“The share of international students who work besides studying has increased significantly in the last three years,” Statistics Estonia said in a statement. “A half of them continue working in Estonia even after receiving a diploma.”
€20 million contributed to the economy
Currently, there are more than 5,000 international degree students in Estonia. “One in ten students in Estonian higher education institutions comes from another country,” according to the statistics agency.
“Foreign students who get accustomed to life in Estonia during their studies could contribute to the local labour market and economy also after graduation,” Eero Loonurm, the head of the international marketing agency at Archimedes Foundation, said. “Considering that the money foreign students earn is also spent in Estonia, it can be estimated that, in the previous academic year, international students contributed around €20 million to the economy.”
According to Loonurm, one of the indicators in the strategy for the international promotion of Estonian higher education is employment in Estonia after graduation. The objective is that 30% of international students in master’s or doctoral studies would continue working in Estonia.
Cover: Recent foreign students at TalTech (the image is illustrative/TalTech).
