Helsinki

Economic relations between Estonia and Finland are very close and active. Finland has long been Estonia’s most important economic and trade partner. All the major economic agreements have been concluded between Estonia and Finland, including agreements on economic co-operation and aid, avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion, an aviation agreement, and an agreement for reciprocal customs aid and road transport. As of May 1, 2004 Estonia and Finland’s bilateral economic relations are regulated by the rules of the EU internal market.

All economic figures originate from the Statistical Office of Estonia (link to https://www.stat.ee/)

TRADE

As of 2024, Finland continues to be Estonia’s largest trading partner. Finland is our main import partner (13,1%) and the main export partner (15,8%). The main export articles to Finland are machinery and equipment, electronics and electronic devices, metals and metal products.. The main articles imported from Finland to Estonia are mineral products, machinery and equipment.

More information on trading with Estonia: https://tradewithestonia.com/ and Irene Surva-Lehtonen, export adviser, [email protected]. 

INVESTMENTS AND BUSINESS

Finland has been one of the biggest investors in the Estonian economy during the entire period of Estonian independence. According to the Bank of Estonia (31.03.2025), 21% of the total amount of direct investment to Estonia came from Finland, totaling 7.4 billion euros. The greatest investment has been in the real estate sector, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade.

More information on investing to Estonia: https://investinestonia.com/  and Pilvi Hämäläinen, Director of Business Development in Finland, [email protected].

TOURISM

Finland is Estonia’s most important tourist destination. The share of all Finns in the total number of tourists hosted in Estonia based on 2024 data is, as in previous years, very high. According to Bank of Estonia statistics, there was a total of 1.8 million visits from Finland to Estonia in 2024 of which 1 million were overnight stays.

Finland has also been the main foreign travel destination of Estonians. According to the data of the Estonian Statistics Centre, in 2024  538 000 Estonian tourists visited Finland, 410 000 of them stayed for more than one day.

More information on visiting Estonia: Visit Estonia and in Finnish: Lähde Viroon, on sen aika!

E-RESIDENCY

E-Residency of Estonia is a government-issued digital identity which gives global entrepreneurs remote access to the world’s most digital country. It provides the possibility to securely authenticate yourself online and sign documents using the most secure and efficient electronic signatures. Plus, the ability to start a company 100% online from anywhere. There are 6 690 Finnish citizens who have registered as e-residents of Estonia and they have established 1 124 businesses in Estonia.

More information on e-residency: https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/

Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, Trade Association and Chamber of Commerce

Since 2002, the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency has had a representative office in Helsinki. Its purpose is to introduce Estonia’s opportunities to Finnish investors (Invest in Estonia) and to assist Estonian companies entering the Finnish market (Trade with Estonia). Since autumn 2022, the EIS representative office has been located in the Embassy. Additionally, under the joint agency operates Visit Estonia, which actively works on developing tourism relations between Estonia and Finland.

Since 1990, the Finnish-Estonian Trade Association (SEKY) has been active in Finland. It mainly brings together Finnish companies operating in Estonia and companies interested in Estonia. SEKY’s main goal is to strengthen relations between Estonian and Finnish business communities and to facilitate relevant contacts. In Estonia, a similar organization with similar goals is the Finnish-Estonian Chamber of Commerce (FECC), which mediates business contacts between Finnish entrepreneurs and subsidiaries operating in Estonia and Estonian companies, and provides its members with information about the Estonian economy.

 

News and updates in English on the Estonian economy can be found on the homepage of Bank of Estonia, Statistics Estonia and from the Economics section in the public broadcasting ERR News. For more information, please contact the Embassy’ Economics Counsellor Triin Tirp, [email protected].