Since regaining its independence, Estonia has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. Quick reforms, westernisation of the economy, innovation, and openness to foreign capital have attracted numerous international companies to Estonia – Ericsson, ABB, Kuehne+Nagel, Stora Enso, Symantec, Stoneridge, to name a few. Skype is a good example of Estonian first-class innovation – complete research and development done in Tallinn with the support of foreign capital.
Positions in various indices:
- #1 – OECD Tax Competitiveness Index 2023
- #2 – Freedom on the Net, Freedom House 2023
- #3 – Global Cybersecurity Index 2020
- #7 – Digital Economy and Society Index, European Commission 2021
- #7 – Index of Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation 2022
- #18 – Ease of Doing Business, The World Bank 2020
Estonia has some of the highest international credit ratings in the region:
- Standard & Poor’s: AA-
- Moody’s: A1
- Fitch IBCA: A+
The Estonian Government demonstrates flexible and needs-based legislation with priority on the facilitation of entrepreneurship. This has resulted in a simple, transparent, and nimble business environment that is one of the key drivers of foreign direct investment in Estonia.
Structure of economy
IT plays a central role in life in Estonia because people trust the IT solutions our companies create and are eager to use them to make everyday life easier. Our ambitious startup community dares to create innovative solutions that change the world including services as different as Mobile Parking and self-driven delivery robots. The common denominator for Estonian IT companies is their creativity and the ability to ignore the concept of the impossible.
Estonia combines elements of both the old and new economy – while the success of the technology sector has made the startup scene blossom, the country is also moving up in the value chain in sectors such as forestry and oil shale.
Round 51% of the country is covered by forest and Estonia has become the largest exporter of wooden houses in Europe, building the tallest timber buildings in the world.
In the oil shale sector, our talented engineers have mastered energy extraction from oil shale and are now exporting the technology across the world.
Foreign direct investment
Estonia is among the leading countries in Central and Eastern Europe regarding foreign direct investments per capita.
The country is highly developed in the FDI-attractive fields of IT, biotechnologies, and green industries. A balanced budget, a free trade regime, a fully convertible currency, a competitive banking sector, and an investment-favorable environment have all contributed to the success of the country.
