Estonia’s global image

The more the world recognizes Estonia’s unique strengths, the more our reputation strengthens. We measure this perception annually through renowned international surveys like the Global Soft Power Index and the Nation Brands Index.

The 2024 results reveal that while Estonia is not yet widely known globally, those who discover our story hold us in high regard. This highlights the potential of Estonia’s brand to inspire trust and admiration as we continue to share our values and achievements on the world stage.

For more insights into the survey findings, please contact the Brand Estonia team ([email protected]). We’re always happy to provide a deeper look into how Estonia is making its mark globally.

The Global Soft Power Index is an annual study by Brand Finance , evaluating all 193 United Nations member states on how they are perceived across areas such as business and trade, governance, sustainability, international relations, and more.

The 2024 survey reflects the insights of 170,000+ respondents from over 100 countries worldwide. The data was collected in the end of 2023 through an online sampled panel.

It’s important to note that these results represent the perceptions and opinions of people rather than an objective measure of reality. Below is a brief overview of this year’s results for Estonia.

International relations, business, and education are driving Estonia’s reputation globally

The Global Soft Power Index measures a country's reputation across eight key topics using 35 specific metrics. According to the 2024 results, Estonia performs best in areas related to sustainability, education, business, and governance.

People perceive Estonia positively for being helpful to countries in need (25th globally), trustworthy media (25th), strong education system (29th globally), favorable business environment (33rd globally). Estonia is also positively perceived for its efforts in addressing the global climate crisis (29th) and for being a leader in technology and innovation (35th).

In addition to improving its overall familiarity, Estonia would benefit from having stronger and well-known brands and products associated with the country, one of the most important drivers of reputation. By products, we do not mean only businesses but also brands like strong digital nation, e-residency, business hub, etc.

Business conditions far ahead of the rest

For ten consecutive years, Estonia has ranked at the top of the OECD tax competitiveness rankings . Favorable business conditions have become a defining characteristic of Estonia, shaping our presence on the global stage. Research shows, that Estonia is associated 2.4X more with ease of business than the global average.

In the past 2.5 years, Estonia's international recognition and reputation have been significantly influenced by the war in Ukraine. Estonia is seen as a bold advocate for democratic values, which has led to increased awareness and trust in Estonia.

The graph below illustrates selected drivers of reputation and Estonia's reputation in relation to the global average.

The Anholt Nation Brands Index (NBI) assesses the awareness and perception of 50 countries on topics such as governance, culture, exports, tourism, people, investment and immigration. The study has been conducted quarterly since 2005 and annually since 2008 to measure the images of the world’s nations and to track their profiles as they rise or fall.

Estonia was reintroduced to the panel in 2024, having been previously included in 2009. The data represented in the 2024 findings was collected in August 2024 through online panels in 19 high and middle-income countries that play important and diverse roles in international relations, trade, and the flow of business, cultural, and tourism activities.

Awareness of Estonia is low

Estonia ranks 50th on familiarity in the 2024 Nation Brands Index: it is the country that global respondents (general population) say they are least familiar with. As most of those 50 countries are the best known in the world, Estonia’s position is unsurprising. The results are consistent with the Global Soft Power Index - Estonia has low overall global awareness and familiarity.

Awareness among age groups

The 2024 Nation Brands Index provides a detailed overview of how familiar people in different age groups are with Estonia. Among those aged 28 to 37, 17% report being familiar or very familiar with the country, while 14% of those aged 38 to 47 feel the same way.

However, the index also reveals that, despite a decrease in the number of individuals unfamiliar with Estonia as age increases, many still recognize Estonia only by its name. On average, approximately 40-50% of people do not consider themselves to have any knowledge of Estonia beyond its name. See more from the graph below.

The demographic group most familiar with Estonia consists of males aged 18‑27 in Germany, who are employed in full‑time work and earn an income in the upper third quartile. On the other hand, the least familiar group is females aged 18‑27 in South Africa, who are employed full‑time and earn an income in the upper third quartile.

It’s important to keep track of our national brand’s health over time. This helps us understand how well we are doing, where we can get better, and what effect we have on the economy.

In 2024, Brand Estonia worked with Brand Finance to evaluate our brand’s strength and impact.

Potential for reputation growth in key areas

Estonia has a good reputation in areas like international relations, education, media, and sustainability. However, we can improve our image in business, values, culture, and governance.

The scores for investment (see 'reality' in the graph below) are calculated based on various metrics and indices for infrastructure, policies for doing business, human capital, etc. Globally, Estonia ranks 31st in investment, which is relatively high, especially when considering our rank in perceptions, which is 74th. This suggests that investment is not getting translated into perceptions as well as for other nations likely as a result of having low familiarity (125th in the world).

The graph shows calculated scores for key pillars. If the number is below 100%, it means there is potential for reputation growth. If it is over 100%, it means our reputation exceeds reality. For example, even though we have a good perception of business and trade, there is more potential to grow even further. For international relations, our reputation is very high, considering our size in relation to other countries on a global scale.

Brand value of Estonia

A nation's brand, much like any other brand, has considerable value. It represents how a country is perceived and is tied to its economic performance and the investments made in that brand. Over the past year, the value of Estonia's brand has risen by 10%, totaling 47 billion euros, maintaining its position from 2023, following €1 billion improvement year on year.

The extent of Estonia's nation brand value growth has been hindered by reduced external demand from Nordic countries, lower private consumption due to high inflation, and a slowdown in investments caused by economic uncertainty. Despite these challenges, stronger growth is anticipated by 2025 through increasing familiarity and perception.

Brand Estonia team continues to monitor Estonia's nation brand value in 2025 with Brand Finance.

Summary

Over the past 15 to 20 years, our focus on digital innovation, transparency, and strong governance has built Estonia a solid brand. The 2024 Global Soft Power Index and Nation Brands Index results show that Estonia is perceived as a leading digital nation.

While the evolving economic and security landscape requires adaptation, we must also find ways to maintain our competitive advantages and key selling points to attract foreign investment and ensure we retain our position and narrative.

In recent years, Estonia’s involvement and commitment to democratic values have had a large impact on our global perception according to both surveys. A clear, value-driven foreign policy reassures the rest of the world that Estonia is a reliable partner, making it safe for investment and business operations here. This proves that everything we communicate and do impacts our reputation and, ultimately, our economic success.

We continue to monitor Estonia's perception and familiarity through the Global Soft Power Index in 2025. For more detailed survey results, reach out to us at [email protected].