The digitalization of Estonia began in the 1990s after regaining independence. The goals were to prioritize IT infrastructure, develop digital signatures and tax filing, mobile payments, and e-government services. A key solution was the X-Road system allowing databases to interact securely. Estonia introduced digital ID cards in 2002 enabling online voting, medical records access, and more. Other digital services included e-business registration and e-health records. Estonia's digital transformation has increased government transparency, data exchange, and quality of public services while supporting business and entrepreneurship.

1. The digitalization of Estonia
For Taiwan Legislative Yuan
by Estonian Office
Julia Vassiljeva
April 21, 2017

2. Content
1.The birth of digital Estonia
2.The goals
3.The solutions
4.The results

3. The key drivers
• 1991- regaining independence
• Few resources
• Small country
• Desire to move forward
• Not being afraid to take a risk “When you want to succeed as bad as you want
to breathe, then you'll be successful.”
Eric Thomas
“Small country cannot
think small”
Kersti Kaljulaid, the President of Estonia

4. The first steps
• 1996 Tiger Leap project
Goal: To prioritize Information Technology infrastructure
ü1994 Information Policy passed
ü1996 Personal Data Protection Act
ü1996 First internet bank
technology-savvy
skills
sustainable and
healthy IT industry
private sector
growth
high-tech solutions
Government
BusinessCitizens
Path to the
future

5. Next: e-Estonia
• 2000
• Digital Signatures Act
a digital signature has the same legal
consequences as a hand-written signature
• e-Tax
ca 95 percent of tax declarations are filed electronically
• Mobile Parking
90% of Estonian parking payments
• e-Cabinet
typical meeting lasts 30-90 minutes; ministers can take part remotely

6. X-Road
• 2001
Open and decentralized system that links together various
services and databases
• BENEFITS:
• Allows databases to interact, making integrated e-services possible
• Institutions are not locked into any one type of database or software
provider
• Invisible, fast, secure

9. The beginning of ID-card
• 2002
• ID-card introduced
• Law on e-Election passed
• 2005
• First i-Elections
11 000 working days saved which is around
504,000 euros in average wages (2011)
• e-Police
• 2007-2008
• Cyber Security expert
• NATO’s Cyber Defense Center

10. Other e-services
• 2007
• e-Business register
registering a company in no more than 18 minutes
• 2008
• e-Health system
increased efficiency in the health care system, more patient friendly
• 2010
• e-Prescription
centralized, paperless system for issuing and handling medical prescriptions.
Once you go digital,
you never go back

11. ID-card: one card to rule them all
• Using the 2048-bit public key encryption, it is used as definitive proof
of ID in an electronic environment.
• Examples of how the ID Card is regularly used in Estonia:
• As a national ID card for legal travel within the EU for Estonian citizens
• As the national health insurance card
• As proof of identification when logging into bank accounts from a home computer
• As a pre-paid public transport ticket
• For digital signatures
• For i-voting
• For accessing government databases to check one’s medical records, file taxes, etc.
• For picking up e-Prescriptions

12. E-residency
A government-issued secure digital
identity available to everybody in the
world interested in running a location
independent international business
online.
“ Estonia is the first country to have a state-run
app store. The platform is called e-Residency
and instead of games, calendars or yet another
word processor it gives you government.”
Taavi Kotka, e-Residency Advisor
• E-residents receive a smart ID-card to
use for:
• secure digital authentication
• digital signing of any documents
• This way, the eID gives access to
digital services otherwise available
only to Estonians

13. The results of e-Estonia
• Transparency and accessibility in government
• Safe, convenient and flexible exchange of
private, government and corporate data
• A healthier, better educated population with
easy access to social services
• A prosperous environment for business and entrepreneurship

14. Feedback from a citizen
• Proud of my country
• Want to share the experience with others
• Being an active citizen even if you live away
from home
• Voting
• Keeping documents up-to-date
• Paying bills on time
• Reduced corruption and bureaucracy
• Trust and confidence in services provided
• Saved time By Julia Vassiljeva

15. Thank you! Aitäh!
Contact
Ms. Julia Vassiljeva
estonia@ebataiwan.org
European Business Association
in Taiwan
+886 928 451 403
Sources:
www.e-estonia.com
www.eas.ee