Estonia is quite a well-kept secret, still relatively unknown in many parts of the world. Across the bay from Finland and Sweden, we are a country of only 1.3 million residents living on 45 000 square kilometres. What we lack in numbers, however, we more than make up for in spirit and big ideas! Here are just some of the reasons why we think Estonia is an awesome place:
Perfectly natural
Almost a third of all Estonians live in the capital city – Tallinn. And yet we never feel overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of city life, because wherever you are in Estonia, untouched wilderness is only 30 minutes away. Over 50% of the country is covered in forests, the air quality is one of the best in the world, and yet you still get the big city feel while walking between the skyscrapers in Tallinn. Usually, those two things don’t go together, but Estonians wouldn’t have it any other way!
Startup spirit
You may have heard of a little thing called Skype. You know, the program that lets you call anyone anywhere in the world? Well, that was developed by Estonians. Although Skype may still be our most well-known success-story, Estonians have created several other extremely successful companies in the recent years, such as Transferwise, Bolt and Adcash. Promoting an entrepreneurial mindset is a big thing in Estonian schools, universities and in the wider society – that is why most universities have startup programs for their students and startup entrepreneurship is even being taught as a separate curricula.