According to the results of the Security Survey of Statistics Estonia, 26% of adults - of the 15–74-year-old population of Estonia - fall victim to some act of crime in a year.

Statistics Estonia conducted the survey during 2009 with the aim to investigate the extent of crime against population. More than 4,000 persons from all over Estonia participated in the survey. The questions concerned incidents that had happened during the last twelve months. According to the survey, nearly 274,000 persons fell victim to crime in that period.

“The data of the population survey are not directly comparable to the number of crimes recorded by the police, because in the survey the respondent may mark as crimes [incidents] which are specified as misdemeanour pursuant to legislation or which do not have the necessary elements of a criminal offence for the purposes of relevant legislation,” noted analyst Kutt Kommel. “A certain number of differences can also be explained by the circumstances that the police are not informed about all crimes — mainly because not all incidents are considered important enough for that,” he added.
22% of the adult population - 232,000 persons - was exposed to crime against property during the year. The rate of victimization was higher in cities, and the share of non-Estonians was larger among victims. The 20–29-year-old population fell victim to crime more often than others.

Compared to the Crime Victimization Surveys conducted in Estonia during 1993–2004, this latest survey of Statistics Estonia showed a declining trend in case of nearly all types of criminal offence. According to the similar surveys conducted in 2000 and in 2004, one third of respondents had fallen victim to crime per year.
(Ref. SE)

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