"e-Estonia" is the term commonly used to describe Estonia's emergence as one of the most advanced e-societies in the world - an incredible success story that grew out of the partnership between a forward-thinking government, a pro-active ICT sector, and a switched-on, tech-savvy population. Thanks to this success, Estonians and the Estonian state enjoy a wide range of e-solutions that those living elsewhere can only dream about. (estonia.eu)

e-Estonia at a Glance

- 77% of the population aged 16-74 years uses the internet (Statistics Estonia, 2011).

- 71% of households have internet capabilities (Statistics Estonia, 2011).

- All Estonian schools are connected to the internet.

- Rapid wi-fi internet connections are available in more than 1100 public places; in many places that service is free of charge. The area of wi-fi internet is constantly growing and encompasses all of Estonia: www.wifi.ee

- 98% of banking transactions in Estonia are conducted through the internet.

- Income tax declarations can be made electronically via internet. In 2012, over 94% of income tax declarations were presented through the e-Tax Board.

- Expenditures made by the government can be followed on the internet in real time.

- Cabinet meetings have been changed to paperless sessions using a web-based document system.

- There are more mobile phone contracts than residents - 139 per 100 people (Estonian Competition Authority, 2011).

- Estonia is completely covered by digital mobile phone networks.

- According to the research undertaken by the World Economic Forum on the use of information technology in 142 countries (The Global Information Technology Report 2012 – The Network Readiness of Nations, www.weforum.org), Estonia ranks 24th in the Networked Readiness Index and is the highest-ranking Central and Eastern European country.

Learn more about Estonian e-development and business environment here.

Source: www.estonia.eu.