The latest data on the balance of payments show that Estonia received 845 million euros in direct investment last year. The largest amounts of direct investment came from the Netherlands, Brazil and Germany. Foreign-owned, non-financial companies operating in Estonia paid out 453 million euros in dividend income to owners abroad in the fourth quarter of last year in advance of the rise in tax on it, and that amount was double what was paid out in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Foreign trade revived at the end of last year. Data from the balance of payments show the turnover of exports of goods increased by 7% in the fourth quarter, while imports increased by 8%. The turnover of exports of services was 6% up on a year earlier meanwhile, and the turnover of imports was up 7%.

Exports of goods received support at the end of last year from an improvement in demand within the euro area and outside it. The growth in demand has still not been as fast as was expected at the end of last year, primarily because of problems in the German economy. Exports outside the euro area, to the USA and the United Kingdom for example, actually rebounded by more. The turnover of exports to Scandinavia also grew slowly. The group of goods that led the growth in exports in the fourth quarter was wood and wood products, where the turnover of exports was up by 18%. The turnover of exports of machinery and equipment and from agriculture and food processing also increased. Even so there remained a lot of volatility in exports of goods at the end of last year, particularly in manufacturing.

The general growth in the global economy continues to support exports of services. Exports of telecommunications and computer services were up by 11% in the fourth quarter, and exports of business services by 7%. The turnover of exports of transport services was also up, mainly from rail services and maritime services. The growth in travel services was a little softer in the fourth quarter than in the previous quarter because of seasonal factors. The growth was mainly in private travel, which may be because the holidays at the end of the year were longer than usual.

The recovery of the Estonian economy at the end of the year brought an increase in the need for imports. The turnover of goods imports was up by 8% in the fourth quarter, while imports of services were 7% more than a year previously. The growth in imports of goods was driven largely by imports of transport vehicles, as there was a boom in car sales at the end of the year.

The data on the balance of payments show that Estonia received a net 845 million euros in direct investment last year. The largest amounts of it came from the Netherlands, Brazil and Germany. The outflow of direct investment income resulted from companies anticipating tax rises, as foreign-owned, non-financial companies paid out dividends from their profits earned in Estonia. The outflow from Estonia of dividends from non-financial companies was 453 million euros in the fourth quarter, which was 2.4 times the amount paid in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The current account was in surplus by 153.5 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2024, which was 1.4% of GDP. The current account was supported by the surplus on the services account, which was a little more than a year earlier at 726 million euros in the fourth quarter. The surplus on the current account also came from the surplus on the secondary income account.

An improvement in the opinion of businesses about both export orders and competitiveness was seen at the start of this year, which indicates that the improvement in the economy that started at the end of last year is continuing this year.

See also the statistical release on the balance of payments and the international investment position for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Additional information:
Hanna Jürgenson
Communications Specialist
Eesti Pank
Tel: 5692 0930
Press enquiries: [email protected]