Released on 15 June 2022, the IMD data explore multiple factors that affect the prosperity of 63 economies. Good results in the PISA tests, high public sector spending on education as a percentage of GDP, the compliance of primary and secondary education with a competitive economy, and the deepening of education by many students abroad. As reported by EIA, all these contribute to the high position of Estonian education, especially now in uncertain times. In addition, the little Baltic Tiger stands out positively in the sub-factor of the business legislation, where the ease of establishing a business, the number of newly founded companies, conducting the business establishment procedure in three steps, and the company median establishment time of 3.5 days. Estonia also has a relatively good position in the efficiency of the government’s work, where Estonia ranks 18th. This category takes into account the balance of the state budget, the level of taxes, the level of development of state institutions, business legislation, and the social framework.

The biggest leap is made in the sub-factor of Estonia’s domestic economy. The strengths are a relatively small drop in GDP of -2.9% in the first year of the Covid crisis, an acceleration of capital investment growth to 19%, and an increase in the share of capital investment to 31% of GDP. In foreign investment flow as a percentage of GDP, Estonia ranks 7th among the 65 countries, while it was 10th in terms of investment inflow as a percentage of GDP. A considerable rise in FDI inflow occurred, the absolute amount of FDI being the largest in the past 20 years. Estonia’s FDI inflow as a percentage of the GDP is the fourth-largest in Europe and the largest among the Baltic Sea countries featured in the rankings.

The Competitiveness Yearbook summarizes the 2021 results of the International Competitiveness Index compiled by IMD. The IMD rating shows how countries create and maintain a competitive economic environment. When calculating the competitiveness rating, 255 criteria are taken into account, of which 163 are statistical (quantitative) and 92 are data collected from company managers through a survey (evaluative).