Estonia, the small Baltic country with little natural resources, has been working hard to position itself as an innovative, technology-friendly country. Proud of being the first e-state with numerous digital solutions that make tax-paying and voting easier for its citizens, a few years ago, Estonia started the first e-residency program to invite foreign citizens to open businesses in Estonia. But what do leading rankings and indices say about the country’s economic performance, its brand strength, and reputation?
Let’s take a closer look at:
- Estonia’s soft power and brand strength
- Its appeal to skilled labour, investors, and visitors
- The country’s global contribution to peace and wellbeing
- How well it fares in terms of happiness and sustainability
Estonia’s Soft Power and Brand Strength
In the Global Soft Power Index 2023 by Brand Finance, Estonia secured the 51st spot, a commendable improvement from the 91st spot it held last year. Impressively, its score has shown growth, rising from 29.9 in 2022 to 40 this year, helping the nation jump 40 positions.
In the U.S. News Best Countries 2023 ranking, Estonia secured the 56th position, behind Sri Lanka (54th) and Romania (55th). Notably, it does best in two key areas: open for business (28th), assessing cheapness of manufacturing costs, favourable tax environment, bureaucracy and corruption levels, and level of government transparency; and social purpose (28th), examining respect for animal and human rights, care for the environment, commitment to climate goals and social justice, gender and racial equality, religious freedom, trustworthiness, and distribution of political power.
Estonia has maintained its positioning from 2022, with its lowest scores in the movers and power factors.
Appeal to Talent, Investors, Trade, and Travel
The Expat Insider 2023 ranks Estonia 29th out of 53 countries, below Canada (27th) and Saudi Arabia (28th). Its best metrics are: Work Culture and Satisfaction (1st), Work and Leisure (7th), and Safety and Security (10th).
Estonia, classified as a high-income country within the European regional group, currently holds the 20th position in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2023. Notably, Estonia performs most remarkably in the GK Skills pillar, where it holds the 13th position, while its main challenge is the VT Skills pillar, where it ranked 33rd.
The Bloom Consulting biannual Country Brand Ranking Trade Edition 2022-2023 assesses investment-related variables, emphasising perceptions of a country’s trade-specific brand and evaluating branding performance. Estonia ranks 67th globally. Regionally, it currently holds the 26th position, experiencing a jump of eight positions, due to good performances in FDI inflows and social media, as well as an increase in CBS Rating.
In addition, the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Tourism Edition 2022-2023 places Estonia at 87th globally. Regionally, it now holds the 32nd position, maintaining its positioning from the previous ranking.
In the IMD 2023 World Competitiveness Ranking, Estonia secured the 26th position, dropping four positions from the 2022 ranking. Currently, it sits just behind Austria (24th) and Bahrain (25th), while surpassing Malaysia (27th) and South Korea (28th).
In terms of specific characteristics, Estonia’s economic performance dropped 21 positions, to the 54th spot in 2023. It holds the 15th position for government efficiency, maintaining its position from 2022. Lastly, the country dropped three positions to the 25th position for business efficiency and holds the 29th spot for infrastructure, dropping two positions since 2022.
According to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023, Estonia belongs to the second group, Strong Innovators. Its strengths are: Trademark applications, Lifelong learning, Public-private co-publications, International scientific co-publications, and Employment in innovative enterprises. The report sees its weaknesses in: Air emissions by fine particulate matter, Resource productivity, Government support for business, R&D Medium and high-tech goods exports, and Environment-related technologies.
Is Estonia a “Good” Country?
In the Caf World Giving Index 2023, Estonia secured the 49th position, trailing behind Iceland (47th) and Paraguay (48th). According to the study, 58% of its adult population helped a stranger, 52% donated money, and 21% volunteered. This overall ranking showcases a considerable jump for Estonia, as in the 2022 ranking, it ranked 64th.
In the Good Country Index, Estonia currently holds the 22nd position overall, with notable subfactors as follows: Science & Technology (28th), Culture (2nd), International Peace & Security (55th), World Order (84th), Planet & Climate (9th), Prosperity & Equality (29th), and Health & Wellbeing (36th). It’s worth mentioning that in 2022, the country was ranked 19th, and in 2021, it held the 14th position.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Democracy Index 2023, Estonia ranked in the light blue zone (7-8 range) with a score of 7.96 out of 10.
The 2022 Corruption Perception Index ranks Estonia 14th with a score of 74/100, tied with Canada, Iceland, and Uruguay. Its score has remained the same since 2021.
Peace and Happiness
The Global Peace Index 2023 ranks Estonia 25th, jumping one position from last year’s index. It now sits behind Norway (24th) and above Slovakia (26th). The country falls under the high sector of the ‘State of Peace’ spectrum as defined by the Institute for Economics & Peace.
The Institute for Economics & Peace similarly ranks Estonia within the high impact (green) zone in terms of the ‘Impact of Terrorism’ in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index. It ranks 93rd, tying with many countries for least impactful in terms of terrorism.
Meanwhile, the World Happiness Report 2023, which displays the Ranking of Happiness based on a three-year-average 2020–2022, ranks Estonia 31st.
Sustainability Performance
The 2022 edition of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks Estonia 14th, sitting between Germany (13th) and Latvia (15th). The EPI analyses the performance of 180 countries, scoring and ranking these countries on their environmental performance using the most recent year of data available, as well as providing calculable changes in scores over the previous decade. Estonia has experienced a change in score of +6.1.
The Sustainable Development Report 2023 ranks Estonia 10th, highlighting that, although in the top ten, it continues to face some major challenges.
Last updated in November 2023. More country profiles here.
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Disclaimer: The information in this article is intended to provide a general overview of Estonia’s economic and cultural landscape and facilitate comparison over time. While we strive for accuracy and completeness, we are not responsible for any typographical errors or inaccuracies. The data is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. Users should verify any information before relying on it for decision-making purposes.
