Government at a Glance 2015

Country Fact Sheetwww.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm

Estonia has sustained a primary general government budget surplusand low debt level since 2014

Estonia shifted from a primary deficit in 2013 to primary surplus of 0.7% of GDP in 2014. It is one of 5 OECD countries reporting higher than 1% cyclically adjusted structural budget surplus (1.9% in 2014). This is mainly due to improved tax collection and targeted efforts of the government in decreasing the share of grey economy. General government gross debt – according to the System of National Accounts definition - in Estonia in 2013 (13.5%) remained the lowest across OECD countries (109.2% on average). In 2014, gross debt slightly increased to 14.3%, but remained the lowest in the OECD.

Chapter 2: Public finance and economicsGeneral government primary balance and interest spending as a percentage of GDPGeneral government structural balance as a percentage of potential GDPGeneral government gross debt as a percentage of GDP

Public sector employment as a share of total employment increased slightlyfrom 2009 to 2013, and is higher in Estonia than the OECD average

In 2013, public sector employment in Estonia amounted to 26.1% of total employment compared to the OECD average of 21.3%. As a share of the labour force, it has increased from 23.1% in 2009 to 23.8% by 2013. This has been the result of a slight increase in public sector employment, coupled with a decline of the labour force. As a response, the Estonian Government has set a policy to keep constant the share of government employment to the labour force, which requires consolidation of the government sector. The policy has been continued by newly elected government in March 2015, requiring decreases in public sector employment as the labour force is expected to further decline.

Chapter 3: Public employment and compensationPublic sector employment as a percentage of total employmentPublic sector employment as a percentage of the labour force

Open government data availability, accessibility and support for reuseis below the OECD average in Estonia

Estonian open government data efforts, at 0.38, are below the OECD average of 0.58 (OURdata Index). The OURdata Index focuses on the national portal and assesses data availability on the portal, data accessibility and government support to innovative reuse of public data and stakeholder engagement. Estonia is behind in terms of data re-use, support and promotion, compared to the leading countries in open government data. The Government is currently undertaking important transformation of the national open government data portal, has adopted ambitious information society development agenda for 2020, has launched a global Es-tonian e-residency initiative and is aiming to develop a joint digital services development roadmap together with Finland.

Chapter 10: Digital governmentCentral/federal government support to Open Government DataOURdata Index: Open, Useful, Reusable government data

Estonia

Government revenues(2013, 2014)

Government expenditures(2013, 2014)

Government gross debt *(2013, 2014)

% of GDP % of GDP % of GDP

Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts

G@G /dataG@G /data

-15% -10% 0%-5% +5% +10% +15%

Estonia

-4.2%0.6%

2013 2013

-0.2%

2014

Fiscal balance *(2013, 2014)

% of GDP

Public investment(2013, 2014)

% of of total govt. expenditures

How to read the figures:

Estonia

Country value in blue (not represented if not available)

Average of OECD countries in green

Range of OECD country values in grey

Public Finance & Economics Public Employment & Compensation

Public Finance and Economics

GOVERNMENT INPUTS: FINANCIAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES

29.3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

46.2%Estonia

20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

2013

41.9%

38.8%(2014)

38.8%(2013)

Estonia

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

2013

7.8%

13.4%(2014)

13.3%(2013)

Estonia

13.5%

2013

14.3% 100%

0%2014

109.3%100%

0% 2013

0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250%

Estonia

Source: OECD National Accounts. * See Notes

Values have been rounded. n.a. refers to

data not available

Source: OECD/Eurostat National Accounts* SNA definition, see Notes

Public Employment and Compensation

G@G /data

58.0%

66.4%Estonia

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Public sector employment filled by women (2013)

Source: International Labour Organization (database)

Share of women ministers(2015)

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union Parline Database

Public sector employmentas % of total employment (2013)

Source: International Labour Organization (database)

21.3%

26.1%Estonia

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

2013

37.7%

39.4%(2014)

38.5%(2013)

Estonia

GOVERNMENT PROCESSES

Institutions Regulatory Governance Public Procurement Public Sector Integrity Digital Government

Digital Gov.

High Moderate Low

30%59%11%

ModerateEstonia

G@G /data

Level ofinfluence of the

Centre of Governmentover line ministries

(2013)

Institutions

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Centre of Government

Primary lawsSubordinateregulations

Stakeholder engagement to inform o�cials about the problem and

possible solutions

Primary lawsSubordinateregulations

Consultation on draft regulations or proposed rules

For some primary laws

For all primary laws

For all subordinate regulations

For some subordinate regulations

For all primary laws /subordinate regulations

For major primary laws /subordinate regulations

For some primary laws /subordinate regulations

NeverNotapplicable

3%15%65%15%2%

6%9%

62%23%0%

68%6%

18%6%2%

53%18%24%5%0%

Estonia

G@G /data

Source: OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook (forthcoming)

Stakeholder engagement and consultation (2014)

Regulatory Governance

Strategic public procurement - Objectives(2014)

G@G /data

Public Procurement

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

29.0%

50%

35.7%

Estonia

Source: OECD National Accounts

Procurement expenditure(2013)

% of government expenditures

Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Public Procurement

Public Sector Integrity

2632

6444

Judicial Branch “At risk” areasLegislative BranchExecutive Branch

Low level

Medium level

High level

53

EstoniaEstoniaEstoniaEstonia

79

40

11

Level of disclosure of private interestsacross branches of government

(2014)

Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Managing Conflict of Interest in the Executive Branch and Whistleblower Protection

0.58

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0.38Estonia

OURdata Index:Open, Useful, ReusableGovernment Data (2014)

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 1 highest

Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Open Government Data

Support for greenpublic procurement

A strategy / policy has been developed by some procuring entities

A strategy / policy has been developed at a central level

Support forSMEs

Support for innovativegoods and services

13 26 1

A strategy / policy has been rescinded

A strategy / policy has never been developed

2 10 25 0 3 10 23 0 3

Estonia

GOVERNMENT OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES

Notes Fiscal balance as reported in the System of National Accounts (SNA) framework, also referred to as net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of government, is calculated as total government revenues minus total government expenditures. Structural fiscal balance, or underlying balance, represents the fiscal balance adjusted for the state of the economic cycle (as measured by the output gap which resulted as the dif ference between actual and potential GDP) and one-off fiscal operations. Government gross debt is reported according to the SNA definition, which dif fers from the definition applied under the Maastricht Treaty. It is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. All debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial derivatives are not debt.

Core Government Results and Service Delivery

Out of pocket expenditure as a % of final household consumption Access to healthcare (2012)

Source: OECD Health Statistics 2014

Satisfaction and confidence across public services (2014)

71%

Judicial system

Education system

51%

20

40

60

80

100

Health care

67%52%

54%54%

National government42%41%

Estonia

Average

Range

Source: Gallup World Poll

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

EstoniaTop10%

-4.5%

Bottom10%

-1.5%

Top10%

Bottom10%

-1.6% -0.8%

Changes in household disposable income,by income group (2007-2011)

Source: OECD Income Distribution Database

Limited government powers(2014)

Estonia0.79

0.76

[0.37-0.92]

Source: The World Justice Project

Equity in learning outcomes (2012)PISA mathematics score variance by socio economic background

14.8%

5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

8.6%Estonia

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 results: Excellence through equity, 2013

% of citizens expressing confidence/satisfaction

Government at a Glance 2015With a focus on public administration, OECD Government at a Glance 2015 provides readers with a dashboard of key indicators assembled with the

goal of contributing to the analysis and international comparison of public sector performance across OECD countries. Indicators on public finances

and employment are provided alongside composite indexes summarising aspects of public management policies, and indicators on services to

citizens in health care, education, and justice. Government at a Glance 2015 also includes indicators on key governance and public management

issues, such as regulatory management, budgeting practices and procedures, public sector integrity, public procurement and core government

results in terms of trust in institutions, income redistribution and efficiency and cost-effectiveness of governments.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2015-en

The Excel spreadsheets used to create the tables and figures in Government at a Glance 2015 are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication:

For more information on the data (including full methodology and figure notes)and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets: www.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm

2.8%

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%

2.0%Estonia