Estonia Capital: Tallinn Population: 1.3m Official language(s): Estonian Cultural minorities: Belarussians, Finns, Germans, Jews, Roma, Russians, Swedes, Tatars and Ukrainians Political system: parliamentary republic EU relations: EU member state since 2004 GDP: EUR 13.8m (2009) GDP per capita: EUR 10,300 (2009) CULTURAL DATA National cultural budget in Estonia 1995
1998
2001
2002
2006
2009
EEK 361,000,000
EEK 787,600,000
N.A.
EEK 1,169,400,000
EEK 2,106,600,000
N.A.
EUR 111,200,000
EUR 127,200,000
EUR 212,300,000
EUR 219,900,000
Due to a currency reform in the first half of the 1990s, the adoption of the European Union currency in 2010 and the ongoing rise in domestic prices, it is hard to compare the development of the actual public cultural expenditure. However, there has been a considerable growth in the relative share of cultural expenditure in the overall state budget. Despite the fact that several state financed sectors have experienced serious economic constraints over the years, culture in Estonia has been able to maintain its share of the state budget. Between 1995 and 1998 the national cultural budget in Estonia doubled. There was continuous growth in public cultural expenditure in the period between 2001 and 2006, when the national cultural budget almost doubled again. The national cultural budget was at its highest in 2009. Cultural expenditure per capita in Estonia
The highest per capita cultural spending of all the 18 countries compared was detected in Estonia in 2008 (EUR 190.60).
2001
2003
2005
2008
2009
EUR 79.80
EUR 113.30
EUR 139.87
EUR 190.60
EUR 164.10
Public expenditure per capita in Estonia has increased significantly since 2001, rising continuously to a peak in 2008, by when it had more than doubled. At EUR 190.60 in 2008, it is the highest cultural spending per capita of all the 18 countries compared. In 2009, public cultural expenditure per capita had decreased to EUR 164.10, which corresponds to 1.6% of GDP. Cultural expenditure as a proportion of GDP in Estonia 1998
2001
2004
2007
2009
1.3%
2.2%
1.8%
1.5%
1.6%
Cultural expenditure per household in Estonia 1999
2005
4.3%
3.5%
In 2001 cultural expenditure as a proportion of GDP was 2.2%, which corresponded to a per capita cultural expenditure of EUR 79.80. The period 2001-2009 recorded a decline by about one third. Between 2007 and 2009 cultural expenditure as a proportion of GDP remained relatively constant at between 1.5% and 1.6%. There was a slight decrease in cultural expenditure per household in Estonia between 1999 and 2005.
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