That dollar amount results from a 19.6% upturn from $16.8 billion 5 years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Estonia shrank by -14.8% starting from 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, Estonia uses the euro which depreciated by -3.5% against the US dollar since 2019 but appreciated by 2.6% from 2022 to 2023. The weaker European Union currency since 2019 made Estonia’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.
Where Estonia’s Top Trading Partners Are Located
The latest available country-specific data shows that 74.6% of products exported from Estonia was bought by importers in: Finland (15.4% of the Estonian total), Latvia (11.6%), Sweden (9.1%), Lithuania (8.1%), Germany (6.4%), Russia (5.9%), Netherlands (3.8%), Norway (3.34%), Poland (3.26%), Denmark (2.8%), United States of America (2.7%) and the United Kingdom (2.1%).
From a continental perspective, 85.8% of Estonia exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 9.2% was sold to importers in Asia. Estonia shipped another 3.5% worth of goods to buyers in North America.
Smaller percentages went to customers in Africa (0.8%), Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand, then Latin America (0.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Estonia’s population of 1.332 million people, its total $22.4 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $16,800 for every resident in the northern European country. That per-capita dollar amount exceeds the average $16,200 in 2022.
Estonia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Estonian global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Estonia.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: US$2.8 billion (14% of total exports)
- Wood: $2.1 billion (10.4%)
- Machinery including computers: $1.9 billion (9.3%)
- Vehicles: $1.8 billion (9%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $1.78 billion (8.8%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings: $1.2 billion (5.9%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $822.4 million (4.1%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $591 million (2.9%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $553.5 million (2.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $533.2 million (2.7%)
Estonia’s top 10 export product categories generated over two-thirds (69.8%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Vehicles represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 39.4% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes which advanced by 11.3%.
Estonia’s shipments of machinery including computers posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 2.7%.
The leading decliner among Estonia’s top 10 export categories was the mineral fuels including oil grouping, which fell -62.1% year over year.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, Estonia’s most valuable exports are cars (4.8% of the Estonian total), phone devices including smartphones (4.7%), electrical energy (2.3%), refined petroleum oils (2.3%), prefabricated buildings (also 2.3%), high-temperature distilled coal tar oils (2.1%), wood carpentry and joinery (2%), fuel wood, wood chips and sawdust (1.9%), palm oil (also 1.9%), then electrical converters and power units (1.4%).
Products Generating Estonia’s Greatest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Estonian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Wood: US$1.2 billion (Up by 18.6% since 2022)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $1.1 billion (Up by 20.9%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $614.1 million (Up by 8.8%)
- Cereals: $179.4 million (Down by -18.1%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $157.7 million (Up by 10.6%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $140.6 million (Down by -0.3%)
- Woodpulp: $114.3 million (Up by 26.3%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $83.7 million (Down by -62.3%)
- Tanning, dyes, paints, varnishes, ink: $78.4 million (Up by 72.6%)
- Ships, boats: $74.5 million (Up by 102.4%)
Estonia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of lumber. In turn, these cashflows indicate Estonia’s strong competitive advantages under the wood product category.
Products Causing Estonia’s Biggest Trade Deficits
Estonia incurred an overall -US$2.1 billion trade deficit during 2023, expanding by 136.6% from -$874.5 million in red ink one year earlier for 2022.
Below are exports from Estonia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Estonia’s goods trail Estonian importer spending on foreign products.
- Vehicles: -US$991.3 million (Up by 53.2% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$702.6 million (Up by 100.8%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$665.5 million (Up by 25.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$486.9 million (Up by 47.2%)
- Iron, steel: -$374.7 million (Up by 81.2%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$147.8 million (Up by 37.9%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$129.1 million (Up by 29.2%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$126.5 million (Up by 0.9%)
- Other chemical goods: -$121.1 million (Up by 37.3%)
- Gems, precious metals: -$120.7 million (Up by 791.6%)
Estonia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for cars and, to a lesser extent, tractors, trucks, tanks and motorcycles.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Estonia’s competitive disadvantages in the international vehicles market, but also represent key opportunities for Estonia to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.
Estonian Export Companies
Given that Estonia is an emerging economy, it should come as no surprise that not one Estonian corporation appears on the Forbes Global 2000 list.
Wikipedia does outline some Estonian exports-related companies. Selected examples are shown below.
- Estonia Piano Factory (pianos)
- Liviko (vodka, other alcoholic beverages)
- Narva Oil Plant (shale oil)
- Rakvere Lihakombinaat (meat products)
- Rexer Ltd (automobiles)
- Saku Brewery (beer, cider, soft drinks, water)
- Tartu Mill AS (grains)
- Tondi Elektroonika (hearing aids)
In macroeconomic terms, Estonia’s total exported goods represent 31.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($64.6 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 31.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 37.2% one year earlier. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Estonia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeline.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Estonia’s unemployment rate averaged 6.376% in 2023, up from an average 5.571% one year earlier in 2022 according to International Monetary Fund metrics.
Estonia’s capital city is Tallinn.
See also Finland’s Top 10 Exports, United States Top 10 Exports, America’s Top Trading Partners, Top United States Trade Balances and Top EU Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Country Profiles. Accessed on November 5, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on November 5, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on November 5, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on November 5, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 5, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 5, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on November 5, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Estonia. Accessed on November 5, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on November 5, 2024