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The Community Innovation Survey is conducted in European countries every two years, with the most recent survey covering the reference period 2022–2024. Innovation means the introduction of new or significantly improved products or services or the implementation of improved business processes. A product or process innovation could mean the introduction of new technical solutions, the innovative combination of existing and already used technologies, or the application of knowledge available within the enterprise. Hanno Evard, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that innovative enterprises play

Buses transported 41.6 million passengers and travelled 39 million kilometres in the first quarter. Anton Kardakov, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, noted that the most used type of bus transport was once again urban bus lines. “In the first quarter, the number of bus passengers on urban lines increased by 6% year on year, reaching 34.2 million. However, this did not fully compensate for the loss of trolleybus passengers due to the closure of the last trolleybus routes in Tallinn. The number of tram passengers decreased by about 2% compared with the same period last year, standing at 5.1

Märt Umbleja, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the dwelling price index, which increased rapidly in 2021 and 2022, has continued to rise in the last three years but at a more modest rate ranging from 5.2% to 6.1%. “The increase in 2025, calculated as the average of four quarters, was 5.9% for house prices and 5% for the prices of apartments. Last year, apartment prices were up by 5% in Tallinn, by 4.1% in areas bordering Tallinn and in Tartu and Pärnu cities, and by 6.9% elsewhere in Estonia,” added Umbleja. The total value of transactions in 2025 increased year on year, both

Johanna Linda Pihlak, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that retail trade volume, which had grown by 7% in March year on year, did not grow as fast in April. “In April, the increase in the volume of retail trade turnover was influenced by enterprises engaged in the retail sale of automotive fuel and by stores selling manufactured goods,” added Pihlak. The turnover volume of enterprises engaged in the retail sale of automotive fuel increased again in April but at a significantly lower rate. “Compared with April 2025, the turnover volume of these enterprises was up by 3%,” said Pihlak

“According to the GDP flash estimate, there are several indications of economic improvement in the first quarter, compared with both the first and the last quarter of 2025,” said Robert Müürsepp, the National Accounts Service Manager at Statistics Estonia. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, the seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP grew by 0.6% according to the flash estimate. What is a flash estimate of GDP? The official data on GDP for the first quarter of 2026 will be published by Statistics Estonia on 29 May, but based on the information already available, it is possible to assess

Robert Müürsepp, team lead of national accounts at Statistics Estonia, said that although the economy has shown slight growth for two consecutive quarters, the contribution of most sectors has remained insignificant. “Manufacturing was the biggest positive contributor to GDP in the third quarter, with its value added growing by 7.9%. The last time this sector performed so well was in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, it must be noted that production figures were still modest,” noted Müürsepp. In addition to manufacturing, the largest positive contributors to the economy were the energy

Riin Kadarik, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that manufacturing output continued to decline in April, similarly to March and February. “The main reason for this was the 8% decrease in the manufacture of food products. In this activity, there has been a year-on-year decline in output for fourth months in a row. It is likely that the conflict in the Middle East has started to affect supply chains, and inflation also continues to influence food manufacturing,” added Kadarik. In April, the volume of production increased in slightly more than half of manufacturing activities. Looking

In the first quarter, the balance of foreign trade in services was in surplus by 765 million euros. The surplus increased by 114 million euros compared with the first quarter of 2025. Jane Leppmets, foreign trade analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that exports of services to European Union (EU) countries were up by 7% and intra-EU imports by 5%. She added that extra-EU trade in services declined, with exports falling by 1% and imports by 9%. “The fall in extra-EU exports resulted from the decreased supply of telecommunications, computer and information services to the USA and lower exports of

Lauri Veski, the Consumer Price Statistics Service Manager at Statistics Estonia, said that diesel fuel and petrol prices have risen to record levels due to the armed conflicts in the Middle East, and this had a significant impact on the consumer price index for March. The rise in the consumer price index in March year on year was influenced the most by the increase in the prices of food products (4.2%), transport (7%) and health products and services (11.7%). “In transport, prices were mainly driven up by the higher cost of diesel fuel and petrol. The increased prices in the health group are