National Human Development Report Estonia: 2008
![Publication report cover: National Human Development Report Estonia: 2008](/sites/default/files/styles/500x750/public/images/2008nhdrestoniacover.jpg?itok=GmwpMMTb)
Download Report by Language
Document
English
(20.93 MB)
Citation
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2008. National Human Development Report Estonia: 2008. New York.
National Human Development Report Estonia: 2008
Posted on: January 01, 2008
The data on which the 2008 Human Development Report is based shows us Estonia in retrospect, capturing the moment when the wave of economic growth was cresting and the population’s expectations for improvements in their standard of living were optimistic. However, the risks and weaknesses of Estonia’s development were already visible a year or two ago. The topics that are familiar from previous reports include the depletion of current resources for economic development, the problems in education, insufficient cohesion of the society and weakness of civil society. Even more crit- ical issues are discussed in this year’s overview, especially the problems related to the population’s health, the social prob- lems that threaten the viability of the society, the spread of consumerist attitudes, as well as social and ethnic tensions. While addressing these common concerns, however, the authors also provide the readers with a picture of a society that has developed rapidly and, during the last few years, has almost caught up with “Western standards of living” in terms of well-being, the availability of information, lifestyles, and the level of satisfaction with life – something that seemed very distant and even unachievable ten or twenty years ago. The Human Development Report proves that the Estonian soci- ety entering this period of global crisis is neither poor nor helpless. Instead, we have managed to accumulate a relatively healthy reserve of strength. Increased well-being provides the basis for moving toward a broader understanding of a good life. Money alone cannot achieve a quality of life that is based on spiritual values, deep human relations, healthy lifestyles, happy children and a strong commonality; one must invest one’s time, intellect, emotions and will.