Technology, innovation and R&D

According to Statistics Estonia, in 2021, the biggest increase compared to the previous year occurred in people’s use of the internet for participating in online courses. The popularity of e-commerce also grew, with 62% of the population aged 16–74 having made online purchases. Among enterprises, the use of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software continues to increase. Enterprises are also trying out AI technologies.

According to Statistics Estonia, in 2019, the expenditures on research and development (R&D) in Estonia amounted to 453 million euros, which is 24% more than in 2018. The share of R&D expenditures in the gross domestic product was 1.61%, making it the highest share in the last five years.

According to Statistics Estonia, 56.5% of the population aged 16–74 used e-commerce in the last three months. Compared to last year, the overall popularity of e-commerce has remained the same, but the amounts spent on purchasing goods and services have increased. The results of the enterprise survey showed that more than half of the companies using the internet use paid cloud services.