Economy in Numbers

(last updated: 18.09.2015)

Key Facts

• Currency: from 1 January 2011 Estonia is member of eurozone and the currency in Estonia is euro.
• Estonia became the OECD's 34th member country on 9 December 2010.
• Tax system: 20% flat income tax, reinvested corporate profit is tax free; 20% VAT

International Credit Ratings

• Moody's: A1, outlook stable (July 2015)
• Standard & Poor’s: AA-/A-1+, outlook stable (June 2015)
• Fitch: A+, outlook stable (May 2015)

Key Indicators

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Population as of 1 January (million)	1.34	1.34	1.33	1.33	1.33	1.32	1.32
GDP at current prices (billion EUR)	16.5	14.1	14.7	16.7	18.0	19.0	20.0
Real growth of GDP (%)	-5.4	-14.7	2.5	7.6	5.2	1.6	2.9
GDP per capita at current prices (EUR)	12 353	10 600	11 054	12 556	13 613	14 427	15 186
GDP per capita (PPS) (EU-27=100)	69	62	63	68	71	73	73
Annual FDI (million EUR)	1 249.1	1 324.1	772.9	700.5	1 221.4	416.4	740.9
FDI position, as of 31 December (million EUR)	11 101	10 996	11 442	12 311	14 193	15 194	15 895
FDI position per capita, as of 31 December (EUR)	8 284	8 206	8 603	9 256	10 671	11 511	12 042
Consumer price index compared to previous year (%)	10.4	-0.1	3.0	5.0	3.9	2.8	-0.1
Unemployment rate** (%)	5.5	13.8	16.9	12.5	10.2	8.6	7.4
Average monthly wage (EUR)	825	784	792	839	887	949	1 005
Current account balance (% of GDP)	-8.7	2.5	1.8	1.4	-2.5	-1.4	-0.1
Deficit (-)/Surplus of general government (% of GDP)	-2.7	-2.2	0.2	1.2	-0.2	-0.2	0.6
Export (billion EUR)***	8 470	6 487	8 743	12 003	12 521	12 297	12 083
Import (billion EUR)***	10 896	7 270	9 268	12 727	14 097	13 891	13 735
Trade balance (billion EUR)***	- 2 426	- 783	- 525	- 724	- 1 575	- 1 593	- 1 651
General government consolidated dept (% of GDP)	4.5	7.0	6.5	6.0	9.7	10.1	10.6

Sources: Population Register, Bank of Estonia, Ministry of Finance, Statistical Office of Estonia,

GDP by Main Fields of Economic Activity (as a % of total GDP)

Field of Activity	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Manufacturing	15.7	14.2	15.8	16.5	16.1	15.9	16.0
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles etc.	12.8	11.7	11.8	12.1	12.4	12.7	12.7
Real estate activities	9.7	10.6	9.8	9.7	9.8	10.2	10.5
Construction	9.6	7.1	5.9	7.0	7.5	7.5	7.1
Transport and storage	7.7	8.0	9.0	8.7	8.9	8.7	8.0
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	6.6	8.0	7.5	6.9	6.7	6.8	7.0
Information and communication	4.9	5.5	5.3	5.0	4.9	5.0	4.9
Education	4.8	5.5	5.0	4.6	4.4	4.5	4.6
Administrative and support service activities	3.5	3.8	3.7	3.6	3.5	3.7	4.0
Professional, scientific and technical activities	4.9	5.3	5.3	5.0	5.1	4.7	5.0
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.7	2.4	3.2	3.9	4.1	3.6	3.7
Financial and insurance activities	5.4	4.4	4.1	4.0	3.7	3.3	3.5

Source: Statistical Office of Estonia

Main Trade Partners in 2014, as a % of total trade

Country	Exports	Country	Imports
1. Sweden	18.0	1. Finland	15.3
2. Finland	15.3	2. Germany	11.5
3. Latvia	10.7	3. Sweden	10.7
4. Russia	9.8	4. Latvia	8.5
5. Lithuania	5.3	5. Lithuania	8.3
6. Germany	4.9	6. Poland	7.6
7. Norway	3.9	7. Russia	6.2
8. USA	3.7	8. Netherlands	3.5
9. Netherlands	2.7	9. China	3.5
10. Denmark	2.6	10. United Kingdom	3.2
Others	23.1	Others	21.5

Main Exports and Imports in 2014, as a % of total trade

Main Commodity Groups	Exports	Main Commodity Groups	Imports
Machinery and appliances	29.1	Machinery and appliances	28.1
Mineral products	11.1	Mineral products	12.9
Agricultural products and food preparations	10.1	Agricultural products and food preparations	10.8
Wood and articles of wood	9.2	Transport equipment	8.6
Miscellaneous manufactured articles	7.5	Chemical products	8.1
Metals and products thereof	7.2	Metals and products thereof	8.0
Transport equipment	5.4	Articles of plastics and rubber	5.3
Chemical products	5.7	Textile products	4.6
Articles of plastics and rubber	3.2	Wood and articles of wood	2.9
Textiles and textile articles	3.1	Miscellaneous manufactured articles	2.3
Paper and articles of paper	2.7	Medical and measuring apparatus	2.2
Others	6.4	Others	6.2

Source: Statistical Office of Estonia

According to Statistics Estonia, in 2014 the exports of goods from Estonia at current prices totalled 12.1 billion euros and imports 13.7 billion euros. In 2014 exports of goods decreased by 2% and imports by 1% compared to 2013.

In 2014 78% of Estonia’s total trade was with EU member countries. Estonia’s main trade partners are  Finland, Sweden, Latvia and Germany. In 2014 the value of goods exported from Estonia to the EU28 countries was 8.7 billion euros, accounting for 72% of Estonia’s total exports.

Imports from the EU28 countries to Estonia totalled 11.4 billion euros with the share of 83% of Estonia’s total imports in 2014.

Direct Investment Position in Estonia by Countries

as of 31 December 2014

Country	Million EUR	% of total
EU28	12 724.7	80.1
Euro-zone18	7 207.2	45.3
CIS	1 000.7	6.3
1. Sweden	4 190.0	26.4
2. Finland	3 470.2	21.8
3. Netherlands	1 654.6	10.4
4. Norway	880.4	5.5
5. Russia	876.7	5.5
6. Cyprus	544.2	3.4
7. Denmark	508.2	3.2
8. Lithuania	425.3	2.7
9. Latvia	423.2	2.7
10. USA	343.7	2.2
Others	2 578.2	16.2
Total	15 894.7	100.0

Source: Bank of Estonia

Estonia's Direct Investment Position abroad by Countries

as of 31 December 2014

Country	million EUR	% of total
EU28	4 353.7	83.7
Euro-zone18	3 033.5	58.3
CIS	634.2	14.6
1. Cyprus	1 370.6	26.3
2. Lithuania	1 028.1	20.8
3. Latvia	931.7	17.9
4. Finland	281.1	5.4
5. Ukriane	279.6	5.4
6. Russia	214.0	4.1
7. Netherlands	110.9	2.1
8. USA	104.7	2.0
9. Italy	103.0	2.0
10. Belarus	94.3	1.8
Others	631.6	12.1
Total	5 204.6	100.0

Source: Bank of Estonia

Telecommunications and IT

• 88% of population aged 16 to 74 are Internet users (2015, Statistics Estonia).
• 88% of households have access to the Internet at home (2014, Statistics Estonia).
• All Estonian schools are connected to the Internet.
• All Estonian towns and villages are covered by the network of public Internet access points.
• There are more than 1 006 free wireless Internet zones around the country. More information: www.wifi.ee
• Incomes can be declared to the Tax and Customs Board via Internet. In 2014, the percentage of electronic tax declarations was 95.4.
• The Government has changed Cabinet meetings to paperless sessions using a web-based document system
• All of Estonia is covered with digital mobile phone networks
• There are more mobile phone contracts than residents - 139 per 100 people

With its policies and innovative initiatives the Estonian Government is helping companies make the information technology sector one of the fastest growing in the country. The World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2015 - The Networked Readiness Index, also indicates a strong Estonian standing in government and the community readiness to participate in and benefit from ICT developments: the study ranks Estonia 22nd out of 143 countries thanks to its regulatory framework for ICT, making Estonia the leader among the Central and Eastern European countries.

Economic Development Perspectives - Growth and associated factors 2014-2019

Main economic indicators	2014	2015*	2016*	2017*	2018*	2019*
GDP real growth (%)	2.9	1.7	2.6	3.4	3.2	3.0
GDP (in nominal terms, billion EUR)	20.0	20.6	21.7	23.1	24.6	26.0
GDP deflator (%)	2.1	2.0	2.6	2.9	3.0	2.7
Consumer price index (%)	-0.1	-0.3	2.0	2.9	3.0	2.9
Employment (15–74 years old, thousands)	624.8	631.2	627.5	625.4	622.8	621.5
Employment growth (%)	0.6	1.0	-0.6	-0.3	-0.4	-0.2
Unemployment rate (ILO)	7.4	6.5	6.3	7.2	8.4	9.4
Average wage (EUR)	1 005	1 049	1 096	1 155	1 224	1 297
Wage real growth (%)	5.7	5.0	2.4	2.4	3.0	2.9
Current account (% of GDP)	1.0	2.4	1.6	1.3	1.0	0.6
Deficit(-)/Surplus of state budget (% of GDP)	0.6	0.4	-0.2	0.1	0.8	1.4
General governement consolidated debt (% of GDP)	10.4	10.0	na	na	na	7.6

* Forecast;
Source: Ministry of Finance, September 2015

A Comparison of Economic Forecasts from Various Institutions 2015-2016

	Economic growth, %		Consumer price index, %		Current account, % of GDP
	2015	2016	2015	2016	2015	2016
IMF	2.5	3.4	0.4	1.7	-0.4	-0.7
OECD	2.1	3.3	n.a	n.a	0.8	0.6
European Commission	2.3	2.9	0.2	1.9	1.7	-2.1
Bank of Estonia	2.2	3.1	0.5*	2.8*	1.1	-0.3
Ministry of Finance	1.7	2.6	-0.3	2.0	2.4	1.6

* Harmonised consumer price index
Source: Ministry of Finance, European Commission, Bank of Estonia, IMF, OECD

 

More about Estonia's economy:

Bank of Estonia
Statistical Office of Estonia
Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications
Tallinn Stock Exchange
Enterprise Estonia
Estonian Investment and Trade Agency
Trade with Estonia (Estonian exporters database)
ICC-Estonia
Estonian Development Fund
Estonian Business Association
Transformations in the Estonian economy