Estonia: Tax Blessed—Again
Estonia's tax code maximizes revenue, minimizes distortions, and its marginal rates are low.
Estonia GDP and Economic Data
Includes Estonia real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Estonia economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Estonia best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 0.8 billion (2018)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 30.3 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 45.0 billion (2018, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| 7.7% | -5.4% | -14.7% | 2.3% | 7.6% | 4.3% | 1.9% |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | ||
| 2.9% | 1.9% | 3.5% | 4.9% | 3.9% |
*Estimate
GDP per capita - current prices
USD 22,989.9 (2018, estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2019 |
| N/A | N/A | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.03% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 2.2%
- industry: 24.8%
- services: 59.9%
(2018 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)
1.3% (2017)
OECD, data retrieved October 2019
Inflation
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 0.1% | 0.8% | 3.7% | 3.4% | 2.5% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 6.2% | 6.8% | 5.8% | 5.4% | 4.7% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 9.8% | 9.2% | 9.2% | 8.3% | 8.2% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 0.1% | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.5% | -0.2% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: AA-
Moody': A1
Standard & Poor's / Moody's
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
1.7 % (2018 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
75.2% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.09% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.13% (2018)
Export commodities
Machinery and electrical equipment 30%, food products and beverages 9%, mineral fuels 6%, wood and wood products 14%, articles of base metals 7%, furniture and bedding 11%, vehicles and parts 3%, chemicals 4% (2016 est.)
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Import commodities
Machinery and electrical equipment 28%, mineral fuels 11%, food and food products 10%, vehicles 9%, chemical products 8%, metals 8% (2015 est.)
Exports - major partners
Finland 16.2%, Sweden 13.5%, Latvia 9.2%, Russia 7.3%, Germany 6.9%, Lithuania 5.9% (2017)
Imports - major partners
Finland 14%, Germany 10.7%, Lithuania 8.9%, Sweden 8.5%, Latvia 8.2%, Poland 7.2%, Russia 6.7%, Netherlands 5.9%, China 4.7% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 1,096 million | USD 1,712 million | USD 1,309 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 539 million | USD 744 million |
USD -22 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 114 million | USD -88 million | USD -654 million | USD 44 million |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking:
18 out of 190 countries
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 14 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 19 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 53 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 6 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 48 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 79 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 12 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 17 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 8 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 54 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
31 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 15 / Score: 76.6 (Mostly free)
(2019)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
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Languages
Estonian (official) 68.5%, Russian 29.6%, Ukrainian 0.6%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.1%(2011 est.)
Religions
Orthodox 16.2%, Lutheran 9.9%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 2.2%, other 0.9%, none 54.1%, unspecified 16.7% (2011 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| N/A | 1.4 million | 1.33 million | 1.32 million | 1.32 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2015 |
| 57.5% | 69.7% | 69.4% | 68.9% |
Literacy
Total population: 99.8%
Male: 99.8%
Female: 99.8%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
1% (last available estimate, 2015)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
32.7 (last available estimate, 2015)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Source
Freedom House rating
Free
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 26.1%
Mobile: 145.4%
(2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)