Estonia: The best growth story that hasn’t been told
Estonia last week re-elected Andrus Ansip as Prime Minister in one of the most overlooked elections of the past twenty years. The importance of this vote has been critically understated by the mainstream media. In the 16 years since the breakup of the Soviet Union, no former republic has ever elected a government for a second term, until this election.
This is not surprising, as many of the former Soviet republics have since been mired in a form of “outlaw capitalism,” that has stripped these countries of vital assets and done nothing but enrich a few corrupt politicians. Estonia on the other hand, has implemented the most business friendly policies of the bunch. Their flat tax system and desire for foreign skills and capital have been the basis for the 11.5% increase in GDP last year. This number makes China and India look like slow growers, not to mention the rest of the former Soviet republics. In a region where no government has been expected to succeed, the citizens of Estonia have sent politicians a message: Free market reforms have worked for us, and we want them to stay.
In 2006, a highly publicized report on the most business friendly countries in the world had Estonia in the number 8 slot, ahead of both the United States and Australia. Such policies have allowed the software business to thrive, as many companies are recognizing the country as an alternative to India, the traditional IT outsourcing country utilized by most companies today. In fact, Estonia has become so technology savvy that 90% of it citizens have a computerized ID card, by which they were able to log on to a computer and vote last week. This online voting process was the first of its kind in the world, and Estonia is undeniably the leader and sole pioneer in the electronic voting industry.
While its natural resource industry pales in comparison to others in the region such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia proper, its business friendly policies make Estonia the greatest growth country that no one is talking about. International investors looking for the great potential over the next decade are advised to consider possible investments in Estonia.
Photo credit: neilalderney123 via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC
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