In Estonia, financial satisfaction and economic security is the strongest among Central and Southern Estonians; however, residents of Harju and Lääne-Viru counties are also moderately satisfied with their economic situation, the SEB Baltic Household Outlook reveals.
Seventy-three and 71 per cent of the residents of Tallinn and Lääne-Viru County, respectively, are moderately satisfied with their financial situation. Over the past 12 months, incomes have slightly increased for 38 per cent of the population of Harju County, with 26% expecting a wage increase in the year ahead. The corresponding indicators in Lääne-Viru County are 30 and 29 per cent – higher than in Tallinn.
Compared to the Latvian and Lithuanian averages, economic security among the residents of the capital and Lääne-Viru County is significantly better. Nevertheless, just a fraction of Lääne-Viru County and Tallinn residents have a sufficient cash buffer that would cover essential expenditures should their regular income be interrupted. As many as 65 per cent of the residents of Tallinn have no savings at all, or have saved less than the total of the unavoidable costs for a period of three months. The figure for Lääne-Viru County is slightly lower – 58 per cent. However, 35 and 42 per cent of the residents of the capital and Lääne-Viru County, respectively, claim to have sufficient financial reserves.
While 85 per cent of the residents of Tallinn can afford all of the basic essentials, in Lääne-Viru County the same indicator is 70 per cent. Compared to other regions in Estonia, there are more people in Lääne-Viru County who cannot afford the basic essentials. About a third of the population of Lääne-Viru County do not have finances to buy basic items such as food and clothes.
There are a significant number of people in both Lääne-Viru County and Tallinn with an excessively high debt burden – 10 and 12 per cent of the population, respectively.
