aastaaastalt

Aastaaastalt is an Estonian expression used to describe year-to-year changes in data, commonly found in financial reporting, statistics, and journalism. It signals an analysis that compares a given period with the corresponding period of the previous year, i.e., a year-over-year perspective.

Etymology: The word is built from aasta, meaning year, with a suffixal form that marks reference to a prior period. In usage it functions as an adverbial modifier indicating the basis of the comparison.

Usage: It is used to describe changes in revenue, production, employment, or other indicators. While widely understood in Estonian media and business contexts, aastaaastalt is more informal than formal statistical terminology and may be replaced by the English term year-over-year in precise reports.

Limitations: As a colloquial or journalistic expression, its exact scope can vary; readers should look for explicit base period specification (which year or quarter is the comparator) to avoid ambiguity.

Example: Käive kasvas aastaaastalt 4% võrreldes eelmise aastaga.

See also: year-over-year, time series analysis, growth rate.