Estonia’s exports of services were boosted by trade with Finland
According to Statistics Estonia and Eesti Pank, in the first quarter of 2022, Estonia’s exports of services grew by 22% while imports of services fell by 10% year on year. In the first quarter of this year, Estonia’s exports of services totalled 2 billion euros and imports of services 1.5 billion euros.
The balance of foreign trade in services was in surplus by 494 million euros, which is 531 million euros more than in the first quarter of 2021. The trade surplus was mainly due to increased exports of travel services and telecommunications, computer and information services, and decreased imports of telecommunications, computer and information services.
Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, in the first quarter of 2022, Estonian enterprises exported more services than they imported, resulting in a positive balance for trade in services. “Exports were primarily boosted by increased trade in transport services, telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services. The fall in imports was mainly due to decreased purchases of telecommunications, computer and information services,” added Leppmets.
Exports to EU countries accounted for 63% and imports from EU countries for 68% of foreign trade in services. Despite the increase in foreign trade in services, there was a fall in the purchase of services from EU countries. At the same time, there was a rise in the sale of services to EU countries and also in overall trade in services with non-EU countries.
In the first quarter, the most exported services were transport services, telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of travel services (up by 109 million euros), telecommunications, computer and information services (up by 107 million euros), and transport services (up by 73 million euros). Exports of travel services were influenced by a rise in both business and recreational travel. A decrease was recorded in the exports of charges for the use of intellectual property, which fell by 2 million euros, and exports of manufacturing services, which fell by 3 million euros.
Finland was still the top partner country for exports of services in the first quarter of 2022. The main services supplied to Finland were transport services, other business services and travel services. Finland was followed by Sweden and the United Kingdom. The biggest increase occurred in exports to Finland and Latvia. In the case of both countries, exports of travel services grew the most.
The main services imported to Estonia were transport services, other business services, and telecommunications, computer and information services. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, the imports of transport services, travel services and other business services increased the most. The imports of transport services grew by 159 million euros, the imports of travel services by 100 million euros and the imports of other business services by 84 million euros. The biggest decline occurred in the imports of telecommunications, computer and information services (down by 512 million euros).
In the first quarter of 2022, the top partner country for imports of services was Germany which mainly supplied transport services to Estonia. Germany was followed by Finland and Lithuania. The biggest rise was recorded in imports from Finland (up by 49 million euros) and Ireland (up by 33 million euros) – this was primarily due to increased purchases of transport services from Finland and greater purchases of telecommunications, computer and information services from Ireland.
| Country of destination, group of countries | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Country of consignment, group of countries | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 2,030 | 100 | 22 | TOTAL | 1,536 | 100 | -10 |
| EU-27 | 1,271 | 63 | 24 | EU-27 | 1,050 | 68 | -23 |
| Euro area 19 | 976 | 48 | 26 | Euro area 19 | 858 | 56 | -28 |
| Non-EU | 759 | 37 | 18 | Non-EU | 654 | 43 | 90 |
| 1. Finland | 333 | 16 | 20 | 1. Germany | 152 | 10 | -79 |
| 2. Sweden | 159 | 8 | 14 | 2. Finland | 151 | 10 | 48 |
| 3. United Kingdom | 136 | 7 | 34 | 3. Lithuania | 99 | 6 | 26 |
| 4. USA | 131 | 6 | 20 | 4. United Kingdom | 97 | 6 | 26 |
| 5. Latvia | 118 | 6 | 50 | 5. Latvia | 87 | 6 | 13 |
| 6. Germany | 112 | 6 | 17 | 6. Sweden | 82 | 5 | 21 |
| 7. Lithuania | 106 | 5 | 35 | 7. Ireland | 78 | 5 | 74 |
| 8. Russia | 82 | 4 | 17 | 8. Russia | 63 | 4 | 19 |
| 9. Switzerland | 71 | 4 | 39 | 9. Poland | 54 | 3 | 23 |
| 10. Netherlands | 70 | 3 | 57 | 10. USA | 52 | 3 | 0 |
| Type of service (according to EBOPS 2010) | Exports of services | Imports of services | Balance, million euros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 2,030 | 100 | 22 | 1,536 | 100 | 100 | 494 |
| Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others (SA) | 79 | 4 | 14 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 57 |
| Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. (SB) | 45 | 2 | -7 | 24 | 2 | -5 | 20 |
| Transport (SC) | 586 | 29 | 14 | 570 | 37 | 39 | 16 |
| Travel (SD) | 187 | 9 | 140 | 175 | 11 | 132 | 12 |
| Construction (SE) | 78 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 1 | -20 | 69 |
| Insurance and pension services (SF) | 5 | 0 | 78 | 10 | 1 | 2 | -5 |
| Financial services (excl. insurance and pension services) (SG) | 32 | 2 | 77 | 33 | 2 | -1 | -1 |
| Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. (SH) | 10 | 0 | -27 | 14 | 1 | 7 | -4 |
| Telecommunications, computer and information services (SI) | 486 | 24 | 28 | 316 | 21 | -62 | 170 |
| Other business services (SJ) | 484 | 24 | 9 | 339 | 22 | 33 | 145 |
| Personal, cultural and recreational services (SK) | 25 | 1 | 31 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Government goods and services (SL) | 14 | 1 | 32 | 8 | 0 | -6 | 6 |
Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data on foreign trade in services in cooperation with Eesti Pank, as commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, with the aim to determine how exporting and importing enterprises are performing in Estonia.
See also the foreign trade section on our website.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database. Due to rounding, the sum of rows in some tables may differ from the sum total of the column.
For further information:
Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9191