Download e-Estonia - estonia.eu

Visit
Work
Study
Invest
Trade
Research
e-Estonia
About Estonia » Economy & IT » E-Estonia
Fri Oct 14, 2016, 01:05
ECONOMY IN NUMBERS
e-Estonia
ESTONIA AND THE EURO
" e -E stonia " is the term commonly used to describe Estonia's emergence as one of the
most advanced e-societies in the world – an incredible success story that grew out of the
partnership between a forward-thinking government, a pro-active ICT sector, and a
switched-on, tech-savvy population. Thanks to this success, Estonians and the Estonian state enjoy a wide
range of e-solutions that those living elsewhere can only dream about.
A DYNAMIC ECONOMY
For citizens of Estonia, e-services have
become routine: e-elections, e-taxes,
e-police, e-healthcare, e-banking, and
e-school. The "e" prefix for services
has almost become trite in the sense
that it has become the norm. Most
Estonians would not even consider
doing things the old-fashioned way,
like physically visiting an office when
the process could easily be completed
online. The e-state gives people
freedom – to spend time in the forest,
the countryside, in our countless bogs,
or even in Tallinn's famous Old Town.
Almost any activity can be taken care
of over the internet in just a few clicks.
LINKS ABOUT ESTONIAN ECONOMY
CURRENT INFORMATION ABOUT
ESTONIA'S ECONOMY
E-ESTONIA
ESTONIAN INTERNET VOTING SYSTEM
In Estonia you can access wi-fi internet even in forests
Electronic ID card
As of January 2012, more than 1.1 million people in Estonia (almost 90% of inhabitants) have ID cards. The
Estonian ID card serves as an identity document and, within the European Union, also as a travel document.
In addition to its physical use, the card is also used as proof of ID when utilising online services. In other
words, the ID card is the ke y to a lmost e ve ry innova tive e -se rvice in E stonia . Inside this small
document is a chip that not only holds information about the card's owner, but also two certificates, one of
which is used to authenticate identity and the second to render a digital signature. Thanks to its security, the
card is used in many web environments where ID verification is needed. Internet banking, participation in eelections, buying public transportation tickets, and much more can be accomplished using the electronic ID
card. The ID card is secure, since PIN codes are also required for the card's operation.
In addition to the ID card, one can also use a mobile phone to ide ntify one se lf for online se rvice s .
This is even more convenient since one doesn't need an ID card reader for the computer. A mobile phone can
act as a card and a card reader at the same time.
E-services for citizens
e-Elections
Since 2005, everyone in Estonia has had the opportunity to vote electronically via the internet. Using an ID
card or mobile ID , a voter may cast his vote from home or even while travelling abroad. Held a few days
before the paper balloting process, ivoting is the most comfortable way to
vote. An ID card and PIN code establish
the voter's identity, but the vote
remains anonymous, since immediately
after voting, the vote is separated from
the voter's connecting digital signature.
In the 2015 parliamentary elections,
176 328 voters used the i-voting
system, which is 19.6% of all the
people who voted. The number of ivotes and voter turnout in recent
elections indicates the positive effect of
the i-voting system on general voter
turnout.
www.valimised.ee
The e-state gives people freedom
e-Tax Board
Estonian citizens can declare their income taxes electronically over the internet. Estonia's e-Tax Board offers a
pre-completed form which makes it easy and fast to submit your tax return. The system identifies persons
with the help of an ID card or mobile ID. A citizen must only log on to the e-tax system, check the information
that is automatically assembled, make additions or changes (if necessary), and approve the declaration. The
service has become so popular among Estonian residents that in 2012 over 94% of income tax declarations
were presented through the e-tax system.
www.emta.ee
e-Business
An entrepreneur may create a company in Estonia through a completely bureaucracy-free process directly at
http://estonia.eu/about-estonia/economy-a-it/e-estonia.html
ESTONIA.EU is developed by the Estonian Foreign Ministry and Enterprise Estonia
1
his personal computer. The e-business portal's record for the set-up and registration of a company is 18
minutes. Creating a company via the internet requires only an Estonian ID card, but the system also
recognises ID cards from Belgium, Portugal, Lithuania, and Finland, and work is currently underway to enable
increasing numbers of other nations' citizens to electronically register businesses in Estonia.
https://ettevotjaportaal.rik.ee
e-Banking
Citizens accustomed to the e-state also demand paperless solutions from the private sector. One of the best
examples of this is banking. The expression "going to the bank" has all but disappeared from the Estonian
language. An Estonian will generally "log in" to the bank instead. For ten years now, Estonians have not been
required to physically visit the bank. Most people are unconcerned with what time the bank opens or closes or
where it's located, since the internet bank is open 24 hours a day. Currently, 98% of banking transactions are
conducted via the internet. Internet banking is safe, since identity is verified via an ID card or a mobile ID
system. Both of these are many times more secure than the popular password card system, which Estonia still
has in parallel use.
e-Ticket
Only tourists buy paper tickets on Estonia's capital city's public transportation system. Locals buy their bus
tickets via the internet and their virtual ticket is registered in their personal ID card, which can be checked by
a card reader carried by conductors. Paper tickets have been almost completely consigned to the dustbin of
history.
E-services in health care
Digital prescription
On 1 January 2010, an IT solution was applied to Estonia's health care—a digital prescription system. In the
past, patients had to carry paper prescriptions with them to the pharmacy. This system had several
weaknesses: it was easy to lose the paper, the handwriting of the doctor could be illegible, etc. Electronic
prescriptions have solved these problems because all prescriptions are sent to a central database. When the
patient goes to the pharmacy, the pharmacist receives the prescription from the central database—there is
no chance for the patient to lose the prescription or any risk that it might be unreadable.
www.digilugu.ee
e-Health record
In January of 2010 Estonia began using a medical information system with which people can view their own
digital medical history. The system contains information on diagnoses, doctor's visits, tests, hospital
treatments, medications prescribed by a doctor, etc. A person gains access to their information through the
patient portal by confirming their identity using an ID card.
www.etervis.ee
E-services in education
e-School
As of 2003, it is possible for all Estonian schools to use the web-based school-home communication
environment e-School (eKool). The purpose of e-School is to engage parents more actively in the study
process, make information on subjects more available to children as well as to parents, and to facilitate the
work of teachers and the school management. For example, via e-School one can follow the marks given to
students, their absence from classes, the content of lessons, and homework and assessments given to
students by teachers at the end of the study period.
www.ekool.ee
University via internet
At the end of high school, all Estonian students are required to take state exams. Exam results are input
directly into the information system and every high school graduate may retrieve them through the state
portal eesti.ee, or opt to receive the results via text message to a mobile telephone. Upon completing high
school, students may submit applications to universities via the state's internet-based application system. The
system unites the higher-education databases with the students' exam results, thus greatly simplifying the
exchange of information between the user and the university.
e-Governance Academy
The e-Governance Academy is a non-profit information society, development and analysis centre that aims to
share Estonia's experience in the areas of e-government, e-democracy, and information technology
education. More than 700 individuals from 36 different nations have come here to study, including
representatives from Canada, Japan, Georgia, India, Namibia, and Pakistan. Estonian experience and
knowledge have aided many nations in making their election processes more transparent, democratic, and
less encumbered by bureaucracy.
www.ega.ee
Mobile applications
http://estonia.eu/about-estonia/economy-a-it/e-estonia.html
ESTONIA.EU is developed by the Estonian Foreign Ministry and Enterprise Estonia
2
Use of electronic services does not always require a computer.
One can use his mobile phone to pay for parking his car (mpa rking ) by phoning a certain number or sending an SMS. To
inform the parking controller that the payment is being effected
by phone, an m-parking sticker is stuck on the windshield or the
right-side window of the vehicle. The m-ticke t service allows
one to purchase a ticket on public transport without cash. It's
possible to buy theatre tickets and pay at the grocery store
using a mobile phone. M-services developed in Estonia have
been successfully applied in other countries as well.
e-Estonia at a Glance
80% of the population aged 16-74 years uses the internet
(Statistics Estonia, 2013).
83% of households have internet capabilities (Statistics
Estonia, 2014).
98% of households with children have Internet capabilities
(Statistics Estonia 2014)
All Estonian schools are connected to the internet.
Using a mobile phone to pay for
Rapid wi-fi internet connections are available in more than
parking is common in Estonia.
1007 public places; in many places that service is free of
charge. The area of wi-fi internet is constantly growing and
encompasses all of Estonia: www.wifi.ee
98% of banking transactions in Estonia are conducted through the internet.
Income tax declarations can be made electronically via internet. In 2013, over 95% of income tax
declarations were presented through the e-Tax Board.
Cabinet meetings have been changed to paperless sessions using a web-based document system.
There are more mobile phone contracts than residents - 139 per 100 people (Estonian Competition
Authority, 2011).
Estonia is completely covered by digital mobile phone networks.
According to the research undertaken by the World Economic Forum on the use of information
technology in 148 countries (The Global Information Technology Report 2014) Estonia ranks 21st in the
Networked Readiness Index and is the highest-ranking Central and Eastern European country.
http://estonia.eu/about-estonia/economy-a-it/e-estonia.html
ESTONIA.EU is developed by the Estonian Foreign Ministry and Enterprise Estonia
3