Ukrainian Community in Estonia
The Ukrainian community is the second-biggest ethnic minority in Estonia. There are more than 22,000 Ukrainians living and working here, making up approximately 1.7% of the Estonian population. In order to promote and preserve Ukrainian culture in Estonia, the Ukrainian Cultural Center was established. Located in Tallinn’s Old Town, the facility also houses a school, a library and a museum. Tallinn’s Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church serves worshipers. The Ukrainian community in Estonia is big yet quite diverse. Everyone can find an activity or a hobby for their leisure time – for example, Ukrainian language for kids or calligraphy lessons for both children and adults.
Ukrainians living in Estonia often enjoy the following:
- Estonia is famous for its innovative and active start-up scene. According to the Wall Street Journal, Estonia is the 132nd-smallest country in the world by land mass, yet it produces more start-ups per head of population than any other country in Europe. Numerous hackathons such as Garage48 and events such as Latitude59 provide bright prospects for realisation of any start-up ideas. Besides that, many Estonian IT companies have been recently hiring Ukrainian specialists, resulting in a growing Ukrainian IT community in Tallinn.
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- Life is easy and paperless, because Estonia is e-Estonia – in other words, a digital society. Numerous online services are available: for example, in e-Estonia, people file their taxes, do banking, sign documents, vote in elections and get a prescription over the Internet. Even new business registration is done online in few minutes, without having to go to a notary or government office.
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- Estonia is rich in natural features — it is located on the shores of the Baltic Sea and forests cover approximately 50% of the country. There are thousands of islands in Estonia, which are easily accessible by ferry for a weekend getaway. Estonians live actively and in harmony with nature and activities such as hiking are very popular here. There’s an abundance of sport clubs, and the clean air and parks also make outdoor jogging an appealing way to stay active and healthy.
- English and Russian are widely spoken and that makes it easy for Ukrainians to feel comfortable in Estonia. Also, the government provides free Estonian language integration courses.
Have questions? Book a free consultation at International House of Estonia
International House of Estonia provides free personal consultations for foreigners, their families and local employers about settling in, documentation, healthcare, language programs etc. Located in Valukoja 8, Tallinn.