Government
Cabinet page updated
The government page lists Prime Minister Kristen Michal and 12 ministers from the Reform Party and Estonia 200.
Country desk
Estonia
The seat map is the Riigikogu open member API, factions on 22 October 2026. It shows 101 seats: Estonian Reform Party 36, Members outside any faction 20, Estonia 200 12, Social Democratic Party 9, Conservative People's Party of Estonia 9, Isamaa 8, Estonian Centre Party 7. A majority of 101 is 51. Faction counts have moved a long way since 2023, because members who leave a party cannot join another faction. Parempoolsed, which has no seat, polled 6.9 percent in the latest Norstat aggregate. The next Riigikogu election is due in March 2027. Vote shares are from the 5 March 2023 election result from the National Electoral Committee. They are a share of votes cast, not a share of seats.
Key takeaways
- 1
Parliament. Estonian Reform Party holds the most seats: 36 of 101 (36%). A majority needs 51.
- 2
Headlines. The tone is steady: 0% of the last 4 days' headlines read grim, 0% upbeat. Top topic: Climate (30%).
- 3
Government. Government barometer 62/100 (Builder). 0 of 2 moves on file read as smart, 0 as harmful.
Headline mood · 4 days
Line: mood · bars: stories
25 Oct · 2 stories · neutral0 upbeat · 2 neutral · 0 grim
What the headlines are about
- Other 60%
- Climate 30%
- Society 10%
A simple word-list estimate from the daily wire headlines. Not a judgement.
Who holds the seats · Riigikogu
101 seats · 51 for a majority (line)
Estonian Reform Party
36 seats · 35.6%
36 of 101 seats. The Riigikogu member API lists 36 members in the Reform Party faction on 22 October 2026, down from the 37 seats it won in 2023 with 31.24 percent. Norstat's poll of 21 September – 18 October 2026 printed 12.5 percent.
Map · mood compared
Estonia
Overall mood: 0% grim, 0% upbeat · today +0
What changed today
- 25 Oct: 2 stories (average 3); tone as usual.
Headlines and summaries come from the linked sources; the selection is automatic.
Go deeper
Parties, people, promises, money
101 seats, and Estonian Reform Party holds 36.
The seat map is the Riigikogu open member API, factions on 22 October 2026. It shows 101 seats: Estonian Reform Party 36, Members outside any faction 20, Estonia 200 12, Social Democratic Party 9, Conservative People's Party of Estonia 9, Isamaa 8, Estonian Centre Party 7. A majority of 101 is 51. Faction counts have moved a long way since 2023, because members who leave a party cannot join another faction. Parempoolsed, which has no seat, polled 6.9 percent in the latest Norstat aggregate. The next Riigikogu election is due in March 2027. Vote shares are from the 5 March 2023 election result from the National Electoral Committee. They are a share of votes cast, not a share of seats.
A score on this desk is an editorial average of six work topics, times ten, with the method written on the row.
The room
Riigikogu
101 seats · 51 to govern alone · Estonian Reform Party and Estonia 200 48
The deal
Two coalition factions hold 48 of 101 seats
51 seats would be a majority of 101. The Reform Party faction has 36 members and Estonia 200 has 12, so the coalition factions count 48. 20 members sit outside any faction. The four opposition factions have 33 together.
The mood
Election vs now
The left bar is the vote share. The right bar is seats divided by 101. They are different counts.
- Reform12.5%
- Non-attached0.0%
- Eesti 2001.4%
- SDE16.1%
- EKRE14.0%
- Isamaa24.0%
- Centre21.7%
The first point is the 5 March 2023 Riigikogu election. The second and third points are Norstat's rolling four-week aggregates for the Institute for Societal Studies, as ERR reported them: 4,000 voting-age citizens each, 14 September – 12 October and 21 September – 18 October 2026. Norstat excludes respondents without a party preference, so the shares are of decided voters.
The trend
From election night to now
Public pollster blend — not a forecast
The split
Seat share beside the vote share
The right bar is seats divided by 101. The left bar is the vote share. The electoral system means the two differ.
The mismatch
Seats they hold vs the poll
The seat bar is seats divided by 101. The other bar is the Norstat poll of 21 September – 18 October 2026.
The rude gauge
Growth king or a fight with work
Who grows the pie, who picks a fight with work. Cabinet sits at 62 / 100. The number is an editorial reading, not an official index. Six topics are averaged and multiplied by ten: energy supply, hiring, keeping and investing money, building, hours in paid work, and paperwork. Ten means the public record makes that easier for work. Zero means it makes it harder. The band is a label for that average, not a court ruling.
Against the workBuilderGrowth king
Full causal chains live on every promise
This week
The pulse
Polls
Coalition at 13.9 percent
Norstat put the two coalition parties at a combined 13.9 percent and the Riigikogu opposition at 75.8 percent, five months before the March 2027 election.
Politics 101
How this country actually works
What this chamber drawing is
101 seats. 51 to govern alone.
The seat map is the Riigikogu open member API, factions on 22 October 2026. It shows 101 seats: Estonian Reform Party 36, Members outside any faction 20, Estonia 200 12, Social Democratic Party 9, Conservative People's Party of Estonia 9, Isamaa 8, Estonian Centre Party 7. A majority of 101 is 51. Faction counts have moved a long way since 2023, because members who leave a party cannot join another faction. Parempoolsed, which has no seat, polled 6.9 percent in the latest Norstat aggregate. The next Riigikogu election is due in March 2027. Vote shares are from the 5 March 2023 election result from the National Electoral Committee. They are a share of votes cast, not a share of seats.
Who holds the offices this desk names
Kristen Michal, Prime Minister; Jürgen Ligi, Minister of Finance.
Office holders come from the government's page on the 54th Government, last updated 16 September 2026. Party leaders are named from the press reports linked on each bio.
How foreigners are seen
Openness in Estonia
Published surveys only. Each figure shows its source and year.
Who's welcomed
Share of adults in Estonia with a favourable opinion of each country Pew asked about.
No data
Pew's 2025 Global Attitudes survey did not poll in Estonia, and no other survey of views of other countries is on this desk yet.
Openness score
Three separate measures, each in its own year. We do not blend them.
Gallup, 2016
MIPEX, 2024
What expats say
InterNations Expat Insider 2022: rank out of 52 destinations, 1 is best.
- Ease of settling in40 of 52
- Culture and welcome32 of 52
- Local friendliness46 of 52
- Finding friends39 of 52
In plain words
- Expats ranked Estonia 40 of 52 for ease of settling in (2022); its best sub-score was culture and welcome at 32.
- No published survey here asks people about other countries, so who's welcomed shows no data.
Sources and method
Pew asks adults for their opinion of a country. That is a view of the country, not of its people or of any visitor. We never estimate a pair that was not asked.
InterNations ranks come from expats living in the country (46 destinations). Gallup's Migrant Acceptance Index runs from 0 to 9. MIPEX scores integration law and policy from 0 to 100.
What it means for you
What it means for you
Only figures with a source, a date, and a link. Anything not listed here is not on file.
Pay
The Ministry of Economic Affairs announced that the minimum monthly wage for full-time work rises to €946 from April 2026.
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, minimum wage from April 2026, 2026-03-24 Source
Taxes
The summary gives a standard rate of 24 percent, 13 percent on hotel accommodation and 9 percent on books, periodicals and listed medicines.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Estonia, other taxes, 2026-05-29 Source
Business
Undistributed profits are tax exempt. Distributed profits are taxed at 22 percent, charged as 22/78 of the net distribution, so €100 of profit pays out €78 with €22 of tax.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Estonia, taxes on corporate income, 2026-05-29 Source
Sources, licences and image credits
Data
- The left bar is the vote share. The right bar is seats divided by 101. They are different counts.
- Editorial economic-competence gauge, not a court and not a Nobel. Six axes: energy, hiring, capital, building, hours in work, red tape. Scores are a judgement from public records of this term and the last — not a bribery charge, not a voting recommendation.
Survey sources
- Estonia — Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index 2016: Gallup. Neli Esipova, John Fleming and Julie Ray, “New Index Shows Least-, Most-Accepting Countries for Migrants”, Gallup, 23 August 2017. The full-country table lists Estonia at 2.37. The survey-methods note says the index was asked in 138 countries in 2016, so the year used here is 2016. Source. Gallup allows a contextual citation when the publication date and a link are given. The table and graphics are not reproduced.
- Estonia — MIPEX overall score 2024: MIPEX. Migrant Integration Policy Index, Estonia country page. The block headed 2024 prints “MIPEX Score (with Health): 51” and the label “Comprehensive”. Source. The overall score is cited from the country page. The report is not reproduced.
Image credits
- Estonian Reform Party mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Estonia 200 mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Social Democratic Party mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Conservative People's Party of Estonia mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Isamaa mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Estonian Centre Party mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Members outside any faction mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Flag of Estonia — Wikimedia Commons · Public domain Source
Questions the desk actually answers
FAQ
Questions the desk actually answers
- Is the Estonia desk live on Nation Runner?
- Yes. It draws the Riigikogu open member API, factions on 22 October 2026, the 5 March 2023 election result from the National Electoral Committee, and the government's page on the 54th Government, last updated 16 September 2026. It is an editorial dashboard, not an official record.
- Which culture figures does the Estonia desk show?
- Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index for Estonia in 2016 (2.37 out of 9) and the Migrant Integration Policy Index score of 51, with 2024 printed beside that score. No Pew row for Estonia is on the perceptions page, so none is added here.
- Does the money tab score political donations in Estonia?
- No. Zeros mean the access scale is not filled. A zero is not a finding that a party has no donors.
How we source this
Seats: the Riigikogu open member API, factions on 22 October 2026. Votes: the 5 March 2023 election result from the National Electoral Committee. Ballot support: Norstat, 14 Sep–12 Oct 2026; Norstat, 21 Sep–18 Oct 2026. Offices: the government's page on the 54th Government, last updated 16 September 2026. Culture: Gallup 2016 and the Migrant Integration Policy Index block headed 2024.