Skip to main content
invest in estonia

Chatbot

ComparEST

Use our unique location attractiveness comparison tool to compare Estonia's investment attractiveness to that of other European countries.

Choose your business opportunity to begin:

Estonia's attractiveness as an investment location

World-class human capital, unique digital capabilities and a competitive business environment make Estonia a smart, agile location for businesses with global ambitions.

Our comparison tool uses a universal, yet unique model that describes five major pillars of a country's attractiveness for investment: human resources, taxation, business environment, (lack of) political and financial risks, infrastructure.

Based on analysis of 200+ recent successful investment projects in Estonia and 2,000+ recent enquiries to Invest Estonia, we have created presets of scale weights for major business opportunities that Estonia offers. As each business is unique, you are welcome to change the scale weights applied to the pillars, as well as countries for comparison (automatically pre-selected according to the amount of investments from your current location and regional competition) manually.

Please note that all scores on the graphs are relative, i.e they depend on the countries chosen for comparison, highest score in the chosen set of countries displayed as 100/100.

Down
Settings: Scale weights and countries

Scale weights and countries

Please choose countries to compare Estonia to and set the importance of each of the five pillars of a country's attractiveness for your business.
Countries for comparison
At least one country is needed for comparison!
Importance of elements of location attractiveness
Select a preset for scale weights based on:
Successful projects Enquiries
Or select the weights manually:
Human resources
Taxation
Political and financial risks
Business environment
Infrastructure
Down
Graph 1: General location attractiveness

Compare Estonia's investment attractiveness

The general attractiveness score for each country is based on 5 pillars: Human resources, Taxation, Business environment, Infrastructure, (Lack of) political and financial risks. Scale weights have been applied to each element.

Highest score among chosen countries = 100/100

Each of the pillars is further discussed and its containing indices explained in the next graphs.
Request e-Consulting Download report
Down
Graph 2: 1:1 comparisons

Compare Estonia

Use our unique location attractiveness tool to compare Estonia's business environment to that of other European countries.

For 1:1 highlights of the Estonian business environment, please choose a country for comparison from the right.

Compare Estonia's labour force

Estonia's key assets in human resources are strong IT skills, good knowledge of foreign languages, high quality vocational and higher education, liberal labour legislation and an entrepreneurial mindset.

While according to the model, Estonia scores considerably higher than its competitors in human resources, the average labor cost is considerably lower than in Western Europe.

Highest score among chosen countries = 100/100

The score for Human Resources has been calculated based on:
  • Education: OECD, PISA rankings, Maths 2022,
  • Education: OECD, PISA rankings, Science 2022,
  • Education: OECD, PISA rankings, Reading 2022,
  • Skills: WEF, Human Capital Report 2017,
  • Entrepreneurship: WEF, Entrepreneurial Activity in Europe 2021.
For average hourly labour costs, data from Eurostat (2023) has been used.
Request e-Consulting Download report
Down
Graph 4: Taxation

Compare Estonia's tax environment

There is no corporate income tax on retained and reinvested profits.

This means that Estonian resident companies and the permanent establishments of foreign entities (including branches) are subject to 0% income tax for all reinvested and retained profits and a 20% income tax only for all distributed profits (both actual and deemed).

Highest score among chosen countries = 100/100

The score for Taxation is based on the Tax Foundation's International Tax Competitiveness Index (2023), an index taking into account how corporate, individual, consumption, property and cross-border taxes are collected.


Request e-Consulting Download report
Down
Graph 5: Political and financial risks

Compare Estonia's political and financial risks

Since regaining its independence, Estonia has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. Innovation and openness to foreign capital have attracted numerous international companies to Estonia. The level of perceived corruption is low and the credit ratings high.

Highest score among chosen countries = 100/100

The score for Financial and Political Risks is based on:
  • Transparency International, Corruption Perception Index 2021,
  • Standard and Poor's, Sovereign Credit Ration 2022.

Request e-Consulting Download report
Down
Graph 6: Infrastructure

Compare Estonia's infrastructure

Estonia's industrial parks, free trade zones, and digital infrastructure offer a great possibility to start your business operations quickly and easily.

Highest score among chosen countries = 100/100

The score for Infrastructure is based on:
  • IMD, World Digital Competitiveness Index, Technological framework 2020,
  • ITU, ICT Development Index 2017,
  • World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Index, Infrastructure subsection 2019.

Request e-Consulting Download report
Down
Graph 7: Business environment

Compare Estonia's business environment

Estonia’s competitive economy supports multinational companies to high growth startups. We are a Northern European hub for industrial, global business services and supply chain sectors and a world leader in IT.

Highest score among chosen countries = 100/100

The score for business environment is based on:
  • World Bank, Doing Business Report 2020,
  • World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness report 2019,
  • INSEAD, Global Innovation Index 2020,
  • World Economic Forum, Global IT report, Networked Readiness Index 2020,
  • ITU, Cyber Security Index 2020,
  • World Economic Forum, Global Enabling Trade Report 2016.

Request e-Consulting Download report
Down
Your next steps
  • How to invest in Estonia?
    You have an investment plan, but don´t know how to proceed?

    Estonian Investment Agency offers comprehensive, one-stop investment consultancy services, free of charge, which are always tailored to meet potential and existing investors’ precise needs.

    Our mission is to help foreign investors grow their businesses and improve their competitiveness. We also help create conditions needed for sustainable development in the Estonian economy.

    To contact us, please fill out the request e-consulting form and tell us more about your investment plan.

  • What is comparest?

    comparest is Invest Estonia's unique investment location attractiveness comparison tool that allows you to compare Estonia's investment attractiveness to that of other European countries.

  • What model is the comparison based on?

    Our comparison tool comparest uses a universal, yet unique model that describes five major pillars of a country's attractiveness for investment: human resources, taxation, business environment, (lack of) political and financial risks, infrastructure.

    The model of investment location attractiveness is based on a modified version of Deloitte's Location Selection Framework (by van Herwaarden & Popovici, 2017), with its five above-mentioned pillars compiled using various internationally recognized indices. The scales used are based on values of importance provided by the user.

  • How are the presets for importance of the elements of attractiveness compiled?

    Though the presets for importance of elements are based on analysis of information collected by Invest Estonia, and are used to help the user find a set suitable levels for the business opportunity chosen, they should only be considered as 'friendly suggestions'. Any business decisions should not be made based on the presets as the data may have various limitations.

    The successful projects preset is based on the combined analysis of 200+ recent successful investment projects in Estonia and the enquiries preset on 2,000+ recent enquiries to Invest Estonia.

    As each business is unique, we encourage you to change the levels of importance applied to the pillars of the location attractiveness model, according to your specific needs.

  • How is the preset of countries for comparison compiled?

    The preset list of countries for comparison is based on your current location (the country you are accessing the tool from). The preset list is based on various factors, such as the amount of investments from the country of access to the countries included in the model (if available).

    We encourage you to modify the list of countries according to your needs.

  • How is machine learning used in the comparest tool?

    Each application for e-Consulting in the comparest tool is analyzed using machine learning to aid your personal advisor in compiling a relevant value proposition for you.

  • What are the terms of use for the comparest tool?
    The results provided in the tool make no representations or warranties, express or implied. Estonian Investment Agency assumes no liability in relation to the contents of, or use of the report, including any indirect, special or consequential loss or for any business losses, loss of revenue, income, profts or anticipated savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation or goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data. Your use of the tool in any form signifes your agreement that the exclusions and limitations of liability set out are reasonable. The statements of fact, information, opinions and estimates contained in this tool have been obtained and compiled by Estonian Investment Agency from sources believed to be reliable and in good faith, but no representation or warranty expressed or implied is made as to their accuracy, completeness or correctness. Further information is available via e-mail [email protected]
  • How to give us feedback?
    It's super easy. Just send us an e-mail to [email protected]. We will be grateful for any comments, corrections and bug reports.

Request e-Consulting

News & events

Need more information?

Need more information?

What is it like to run a business in Estonia? How to benefit from the e-solutions and the efficiency of our business culture? What are the opportunities in specific sectors? Who to partner up with?

The Estonian Investment Agency’s team is happy to help you via its complimentary e-Consulting service, organize online or offline follow-up events such as virtual investment visits and guide you through the fairly simple process of investing in Estonia.

Request e-consulting