News

Estonian communications services have good coverage and are fast by international standards, and mobile internet is affordable and very competitive internationally. However, cable connection prices are high compared to neighbouring countries, especially for very fast connections, according to the Foresight Centre’s recent report “Trends and Competitiveness in the Electronic Communications Sector”.

Foreign investors are showing growing interest in the competencies of Estonian companies and universities in the field of valorisation of rare earth elements, which creates a good opportunity for Estonia to become a European centre of excellence, according to the Competitiveness Expert Council in its report “Status and Prospects of the Estonian Economy 2025” submitted to the Riigikogu.

Over the past decade, gross domestic product and average salaries have grown twice as fast as public funding for higher education. The Foresight Centre finds in its new short report that if the state’s contribution to higher education will no longer increase after 2026, the only alternative is the introduction of tuition fees.

According to the Foresight Centre’s new short report, Estonian agricultural producers are operating at a loss, despite investments and growth in productivity. Rising costs and a low level of value added to raw materials reduce competitiveness.

According to the new report by the Foresight Centre, attracting industries with high energy consumption to Estonia requires the added value of the projects per unit of energy to not be lower than the average. Establishing energy-intensive industries would only be justified if they could bring opportunities for economic activities that would create more added value in Estonia.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the import of goods and services from Russia and Belarus has decreased nearly tenfold, while exports have increased, according to the recent short report by the Foresight Centre.