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One of Estonia’s main strengths for international investors is the abundance of a high-quality workforce, considering its relatively compact population. And now there’s more proof of this. The country has emerged as the Central European leader in “brain business” jobs, with 9.4% of working-age adults employed in highly knowledge-intensive sectors, according to a new index from the European Centre for Entrepreneurship and Policy Reform (ECEPR).
The country narrowly edges out Slovenia at 9.2%, while significantly outperforming larger European economies. Germany stands at 8.3%, France at 6.4%, and Poland trails at 5.6%.
Brain business jobs encompass highly specialised roles in technology, information and communications technology, advanced services, and creative industries. These positions typically sit high in the value chain and generate significant export revenues for their regions.
Estonia’s main strengths are in high-tech manufacturing, IT services and design
Estonia’s success stems from a combination of factors, according to ECEPR CEO Nima Sanandaji. The country benefits from 9.2% of adults being engineers and scientists, but punches above its weight thanks to favourable tax policies (OECD’s best system for 12+ years) and business-friendly regulations.
“Estonia has an even higher share of adults in brain business jobs than this figure would predict, thanks to favourable tax and business policy,” Sanandaji noted, adding that among younger generations, Estonia now has more experts than even Sweden.
The country has shown steady growth, rising from 9.1% the previous year. Approximately 6,250 people work in Estonia’s high-tech manufacturing sector, with another 3,900 in IT services.
At the European level, Switzerland and Ireland lead with 11.2% each, followed by Sweden at 10.3%. Among Central European capital regions, Bratislava, Prague, Budapest, and Bucharest top the rankings, with six of Europe’s top ten brain business regions located in Central Europe.
