More than half of Estonia’s population continues to support marriage equality, according to a new public opinion survey published by the Estonian Human Rights Centre, but the findings also point to increasingly negative attitudes towards transgender people and a sharp divide between Estonian speakers and the country’s largely Russian-speaking foreign-language population.
The survey, carried out by Turu-uuringute AS, found that 53% of people in Estonia support marriage equality – the right of same-sex couples to marry. The figure is unchanged from 2023, suggesting that support has held steady since Estonia legalised same-sex marriage.
Among Estonian speakers, support has risen to 60%, while among the largely Russian-speaking foreign-language population it remains significantly lower, at 38%.
Egert Rünne, the executive director of the Estonian Human Rights Centre, said the particularly high level of support among young adults was striking. Among people aged 18 to 29, 82% support marriage equality.
“This shows that for the new generation, cohabitation and equal opportunities for same-sex couples are self-evident and no longer a matter of social debate,” Rünne said.
Attitudes towards homosexuality have slightly worsened
The survey also found that 51% of Estonia’s population considers homosexuality acceptable, while 41% considers it unacceptable. Compared with the previous survey, overall attitudes towards homosexuality have worsened by five percentage points over three years, although positive attitudes still prevail.
A same-sex couple celebrating their wedding by the sea. Photo by A.C./Unsplash.
The divide between language communities remains clear. Among Estonian speakers, 58% consider homosexuality acceptable, compared with 34% among the largely Russian-speaking foreign-language population.
Liis Grünberg, head of research at Turu-uuringute AS, said the shift may be linked to the increasingly polarised debate over LGBT rights internationally.
“In recent years, the public and political debate on LGBT issues has become more polarised and confrontational around the world,” Grünberg said. “This may affect people’s actual attitudes as well as their willingness to express them in the survey.”
Support for transgender people has fallen
The most marked change concerns attitudes towards transgender people.
The proportion of people who believe that transgender people exist has fallen sharply over the past three years. In 2023, 61% of respondents said they believed transgender people existed. By 2026, the figure had dropped to 49%. At the same time, the share of people who do not believe transgender people exist, or who are unsure, has increased.
A new survey by the Estonian Human Rights Centre shows that acceptance of transgender people in Estonia has fallen. Photo by Kyle/Unsplash.
In 2026, 37% of respondents said they considered transgender people acceptable, while 45% said they considered them unacceptable. In 2021 and 2023, a majority of respondents expressed accepting attitudes towards transgender people, but the 2026 results mark a return to the more negative picture seen in 2019.
Kelly Grossthal, an equal treatment expert at the Estonian Human Rights Centre, said the continued support for marriage equality was encouraging, but warned that transgender people were increasingly being drawn into political conflict.
“This shows that the explanatory work has paid off – society understands the need for legal protection and recognition of minorities,” Grossthal said. “At the same time, we are seeing how one of the smallest minority groups, trans people, are increasingly being exploited in political turmoil and an imported culture war. The dissemination of misinformation and the denigration of the vulnerable must not be used as a means to gain power. What we really need is more space for the community’s own stories. Social understanding will follow.”
Estonia has tracked LGBT attitudes since 2012
The Estonian Human Rights Centre has published seven large-scale public opinion surveys on LGBT rights in Estonia since 2012, at roughly two-year intervals. The surveys are conducted by Turu-uuringute AS.
The 2026 survey was carried out in early April among residents aged 18 and over across Estonia. A total of 1,010 people were surveyed online and by phone.
The survey was sponsored by the Estonian economic affairs and communications ministry.
