Harju County, home to the capital, Tallinn, accounted for €24 billion of Estonia‘s total GDP of €38 billion last year, new data from Statistics Estonia (Eesti Statistika) has revealed.
Taken alone, Tallinn accounted for half (€19 billion) of the country’s total GDP.
Other counties to account for a notable share of GDP included Tartu County and Ida-Viru County, whose share of GDP stood at 12% and 7%, respectively.
“Although the indicator shows that Harju County has exceeded the 60% mark since 2011, a consistent increase in the share of Tartu County is noticeable, which is mainly due to the influence of the city of Tartu,” commented Kail Karilaid, chief analyst at Statistics Estonia.
Services sector growth
Another notable takeaway from the findings was that the services sector’s share of the Estonian economy hit a record last year, of 73%, which was matched by a year-on-year decline in agriculture, industry, and construction.
Again, Tallinn and Tartu were the leading cities driving services sector growth – in Tallinn, this was supported by trade, real estate, and finance, while Tartu’s share was driven by education, health, and trade. At the other end of the scale, Ida-Viru County reported the lowest services industry share, of 48%.
Industry and construction
Industry and construction accounted for 25% of GDP in Estonia last year, with both reporting their lowest share historically, although in Ida-Viru County, the share of these sectors reached 51%.
Agriculture’s contribution fell to 2%, again its lowest level to date, with the largest shares seen in Põlva, Jõgeva, and Järva counties.
In 2023, Estonia’s GDP per capita rose to €27,868, which was €851 higher than the previous year. Again Harju County led the way, with a per capital GDP that was 32% above the national average. Valga County recorded the lowest GDP per capita, at 52% of the average. Read more here.
