Information and communications technologies sector gave 5% of the net sales of the business sector

100 of the enterprises of the ICT sector operated in manufacturing and 1,600 in service activities. In the 1st quarter the net sales of the sector was 5.6 billion kroons and value added 1.8 billion kroons. The value added of the ICT sector accounted for 9% of the total value added of the business sector. Labour productivity of the ICT sector was over two times higher than the average labour productivity in the business sector. The average labour productivity of manufacturing enterprises of the ICT sector was on the same level with manufacturing enterprises, but the labour productivity of service enterprises of the ICT sector was nearly three times higher than the average of service enterprises.

The number of persons employed in the ICT sector was over 16,500, accounting for 4% of the total number of persons employed in business enterprises. The average number of persons employed in an enterprise of the ICT sector was 10, the average number of persons employed in a manufacturing enterprise was 54 and the average number of persons employed in a ICT service enterprise was 7.

Statistics Estonia publishes the overview of the ICT sector for the first time and the results are released on the web site in the statistical database once in a quarter. The ICT sector comprises manufacturing and service economic activities, the products of which maintain, transmit or display data and information electronically. The economic activities of the ICT sector in manufacturing industries are manufacture of computers and peripheral equipment, manufacture of electronic components and loaded electronic boards, manufacture of communication equipment and consumer electronics, manufacture of magnetic and optical media. The economic activities of the ICT sector in service industries are wholesale of information and communication equipment, software publishing, telecommunications, computer programming activites, consultancy and related activities, data processing, hosting and related activities, web portals, repair of computers and communication equipment.

The economic activities and main indicators of the ICT sector are based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Indicators for the Information Society (WPIIS) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in order to guarantee the international comparability.