Main Goal to achieve a positive population growth in Estonia

Family and population policy

The main goal of the Governing Coalition is to achieve a positive population growth in Estonia through an increase in the birth rate, longer average life expectancy and improvement of the living standards.

To that end the Governing Coalition shall plan and implement through 2007-2011 the following fiscal, economic, legal and education policy steps:

1) enable parents to stay with their small child – to that end the Governing Coalition shall extend the period of payment of the parental benefits until the child reaches the age of 18 months (i.e. by four months in comparison with the present arrangement);

2) to value the role of fathers, pay the father during the mother’s pregnancy and maternity leave or within two months after the birth of the child an additional benefit for 14 calendar days on the basis of the father’s salary similarly to the principles of payment of the parental benefit;

3) encourage the birth of third and fourth children in families – to that end the Governing Coalition shall amend laws in such a manner that as of the third child a parent receives an additional benefit at the rate of 0.5 times the parental benefit and as of the fourth child at the rate of single parental benefit (the so-called Estonian rebirth bonus is legalised). The amendments to the Parental Benefits Act shall be adopted in the first half of 2007;

4) pay 2,000 Estonian kroons a month for the third and each consecutive child as of cessation of payment of the parental benefit;

5) to provide families which have small children with care and medical assistance the state shall pay health insurance tax at the rate of 13% of the parental benefit for the parent receiving the parental benefit – the health risks of families with small children shall be insured;

6) to value raising children the annual state pension insurance coefficient of the parent staying at home shall be raised to 1 for the period following the payment of the parental benefit until the child has reached 3 years of age;

7) increase the child care allowance payable as of the cessation of payment of the parental benefit until the child reaches 3 years of age from 1,200 Estonian kroons to 1,600 Estonian kroons a month by 2009;

8) for the purpose of increasing the number of nursery school student places and contribution to payment of a minimum salary to nursery school teachers, which is equal to that of basic school teachers, create a national investment programme titled “Nursery school available to each and every child!” in the annual volume of 400 million Estonian kroons and initiate amendments to legislation, which help to reduce the deficit of nursery school student places;

9) add a provision to the Preschool Child Care Institutions Act, according to which a local authority that fails to provide a parent requesting a nursery school student place with one, shall pay the parent the so-called poll tax of the nursery school child so that the parent can arrange the provision of the child with the nursery service and general education;

100) in order to increase parents’ options upon developing their children and combining work and family life and to make the return of parents to the labour market easier, develop flexible work and child care opportunities, support employment training of the parent staying at home with the child and calculate the time spent by a parent in the parental leave as part of the length of the unemployment insurance;

11) establish national hobby school money: A poll tax of 2,000 Estonian kroons for every child of school age (6-19-year-olds) which can be used only for paying for participation in sports or hobby groups. Hobby school money shall be administered via local authorities. The goal is to keep the children away from trouble and give every child the chance to participate in at least one sports or hobby group.

12) allocate 100 million Estonian kroons in the annual state budget for compensation for the expenses of treatment of childlessness;

13) to enable children left without parental care to be raised in a family, the rate of support paid to foster families from the present level of 1,500 Estonian kroons a month to 3,000 kroons a month, i.e. to the same level as the actual costs in a children’s home;

14) pay the benefit for families with many children as of the fifth child (currently, as of the seventh child);

15) allocate 50 million Estonian kroons a year for resolution of dwelling problems of families with many children;

16) weigh the impact of the national family policy steps on the birth rate and effectiveness thereof upon contributing to raising children;

17) in order to increase the average life expectancy and living quality of the people of Estonia the state shall improve notification of HIV, drug abuse, alcoholism, smoking, traffic hooliganism, unhealthy nutrition and sedentary lifestyles, and allocates at least 20 million Estonian kroons for it annually out of the state budget. In order to reduce occupational deaths and severe injuries the state supervision over adherence to occupational safety shall be made stricter.


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