The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved in final reading the state budget for 2026, LSM reports. Altogether 52 MPs voted for and 42 against the budget bill. This is the current coalition government’s third budget. The government foresees annual revenues of EUR 16.1bn, which would be EUR 944.6mn more than in 2025. Budget expenditures…
Estonia had the highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the Baltic States in 2023, according to Eurostat data, LSM reported. Estonia had 12.5 pupils per teacher in primary to upper secondary education in 2023, which was up from 12.4 in 2022. Latvia had 11.9 (11.5) and Lithuania 11.4 (11.4) pupils per teacher. The EU average was 12.2…
Estonia’s three-party coalition government has reached agreement on tax changes, Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced, ERR reports. He said that the government would raise the corporate profit tax, personal income tax, and VAT to finance increased spending on defence. The government will raise the VAT rate by 2 percentage points as of 1 July 2025…
Doctors now enjoy the highest salaries in Estonia, surpassing IT experts, according to data from recruitment portal CV Keskus, BNS reported. Salaries offered to doctors now stand at an average of EUR 3,650-4,150 per month, followed by sales managers with EUR 1,900-4,000 and IT specialists with EUR 2,900-3,750. Meanwhile, average salary offers for sales specialists…
The Estonian government will not raise wages for teachers in 2025, ERR reports. The Estonian Educational Personnel Union (EHL) has demanded that basic teacher salaries start at the level of the national average wage. However, Education Minister Kristina Kallas noted that the state did not have the money to meet EHL’s demand, which would require…
Altogether 224,322 pupils in Latvia, including 20,657 first-graders, started their new school year on 2 September 2024, LETA reported. Latvia has 481 municipal and 75 private schools, including 224 primary schools and 197 secondary schools. The number of school teachers totals 25,879.
National security, defence, and education will remain the main priorities of Lithuania’s state budget in 2025, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte stated, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Info TV, Simonyte said that the government would spend a large part of budget revenues to raise pensions, increase teacher salaries, and service the public debt. The…
Latvia’s State Audit Office (LRVK) has criticised the Ministry of Education and Science for ineffective policies in attracting and retaining teachers, LETA reports. A significant portion of new teachers leave within five years due to systemic issues, including constant changes, insufficient teaching materials, poor remuneration, and uncertainty about reforms. The audit notes that the ministry’s…
The Estonian Educational Personnel Union (EHL) has ended a nationwide strike of teachers and accepted the government’s proposal allocating an additional EUR 5.7mn to raise teacher salaries in 2024, ERR reports. Under the agreement, the minimum salary for general education teachers will rise by EUR 17 to EUR 1,820 per month. Also, collective negotiations will…