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e-Governance

In Estonia, 99% of public services are available online 24 hours a day. E-services are only impossible for divorces  – you still need to leave the house for this.

Thanks to a safe, convenient, and flexible digital ecosystem, Estonia has reached an unprecedented level of transparency in governance and built broad trust in its digital society. As a result, Estonia saves over 1400 years of working time annually and has become a hassle-free environment for business and entrepreneurship.

e-Governance is a strategic choice for Estonia that aims to improve the competitiveness of the country and increase the well-being of its people. Our aim is to keep the government working seamlessly 24/7. This is supported by digital identity, secure data exchange, and high-quality databases. E-Governance consists of transparent and efficient use of ICT in state administration (e-Administration), user-friendly public services provision online (e-Services and active involvement of citizens in decision-making processes(e-Participation). The development of the Estonian e-Governance ecosystem has been supported by strategic vision,trust of citizens and cooperation with the ICT sector. Personal data protection is the cornerstone of building trust towards e-Government. Citizens have the right to know who is using their personal data. Enforcement of ‘once-only’ principle means that citizens only have to submit their data once to the government to be used and re-used. Estonia is striving for provision of proactive and invisible services by relaying on the efficient use of data which the state already has. Proactive service delivery means that the government starts service provision without waiting requests from citizens.

e-Services & registries

In Estonia, all databases are responsible for describing their kept information in the catalogue of interoperability resources (RIHA). Following the once-only principle, collecting the same data in separate databases is not allowed. RIHA serves as the national registry of systems, components, services, data models, semantic assets, and more. The purpose of RIHA is to guarantee the transparent, balanced, and efficient management of public sector information systems. Registration with RIHA for public databases and information systems is mandatory and enforced by law.

Among some of the most popular digital services in Estonia are: the Tax and Customs Board, the Patient Portal, e-File, and the e-Business Register.

99%

state services are online

Contact

Visit us physically or virtually

We host impactful events both in our centre and online for government institutions, companies, and media. You’ll get an overview of e-Estonia’s best practices and build links to leading IT-service providers and state experts to support your digitalisation plans.

Questions? Have a chat with us.

E-mail:
Media:
Call us: +372 6273157 (Monday to Friday, 9:00-16:30 Estonian time)
Regarding e-Residency, visit their official webpage.

Find us

The Briefing Centre is conveniently located just a 2-minute drive from the airport and 15- to 20-minute drive from the city centre.

You will find us on the ground floor of Valukoja 8, at the central entrance behind the statue of Mr Ernst Julius Öpik. We will meet the delegation at the building’s reception. Kindly note that a booking is required to visit us.

Valukoja 8
11415 Tallinn, Estonia