the global investor
Estonia:
A small country that conceals great digital possibilities
E
stonia is a small Eastern European country that shares a border with Russia. It has 1.3 million citizens and an area of 14 thousand (17 thousand ). It has young democracy that has been restored in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1994, the government decided to popularise IT, all schools received Internet access and IT classes were added to the teaching programme. Technology education and computer skills as a basic knowledge were popularized among both young and old, largely on the initiative of the private sector. Later in 2002, Estonia started using
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ID cards as the main identity document which allowed for a digital breakthrough to happen. Jelizaveta Katsan reports. Estonians benefit from e-country ideology on multiple levels. Currently, statistics show that 98% of 16 to 44 year olds in Estonia use the Internet on a daily basis while 90% of households have the Internet at home. Use of ID cards as a primary document and government webpage eesti.ee allowed to link all the services to one platform – education, health care, policing, voting, legislation, taxes and banking. Last year, 99% of bank transfers were made
electronically, 98% of tax returns were filed electronically and 95% of prescription drugs were purchased on digital prescription. Every digital service is available through personal identity ID card, that gives access to the database with all the relevant information about individuals’ relatives, medical history, working experience, taxation etc. Recently, Estonia became very friendly towards foreign businesses. If you decide to expand your business and open a branch in Estonia, you could apply for an E-Residency. In 2014 Estonia was the first country that allowed foreign entrepreneurs to
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