Estonia‘s economy expanded by 2.4% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to new data from Statistics Estonia.
The period marked the strongest GDP performance for Estonia since the first quarter of 2022, the data showed.
Commenting, Robert Müürsepp, national accounts service manager at Statistics Estonia, noted that the country’s GDP “increased for the fourth quarter in a row”.
Estonia’s GDP at current prices totalled €10.2 billion during the quarter.
Sector by sector
Manufacturing remained the main driver of growth for the third consecutive quarter, with value added in the sector increasing by 7%. Administrative and support service activities also made a strong contribution to the economy, with value added rising by 11.6%.
Additional positive contributions came from agriculture, forestry and fishing (+10.2%), energy supply (+5.5%), arts and entertainment (+5%), as well as professional, scientific and technical activities, construction, and transportation and storage, Statistics Estonia noted.
However, several sectors weighed on overall economic growth, with information and communication recording the largest decline – value added fell by 10.9%. Trade also contracted slightly, by 0.8%, while health and social work activities declined by 4.8%.
Accommodation and food service activities (-4.9%), mining and quarrying (-5.4%), and water supply and sewerage (-4.5%) also declined, although Statistics Estonia said their overall impact on GDP was limited.
Value added
Overall value added in the economy increased by 1.5% during the quarter. Value added grew across most institutional sectors, including non-financial corporations (+0.7%), financial corporations (+2.2%), non-profit institutions (+2.4%), and government (+4.7%).
Müürsepp said growth during the quarter was relatively broad-based because value added increased in nearly every sector except household spending.
Government final consumption expenditure increased by 4.8% in the quarter, driven primarily by higher defence spending.
Statistics Estonia added that revised national accounts data for 2022–2025 will be published on 14 August. Read more here.
