# Estonia and Finland compared

Estonia and Finland side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, their chronicles record no events of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/est-vs-fin
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Estonia: 24 February 1918 — The independent Republic of Estonia is declared
- Finland: 6 December 1917 — Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire

## Economy

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $43 B | 2024 | $299 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $31,428 | 2024 | $53,150 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | -0.1% | 2024 | 0.4% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.5% | 2024 | 1.6% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 151.0% | 2024 | 83.5% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1.4 m | 2024 | 5.6 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 79.3 yrs | 2024 | 82.3 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 70.7% | 2024 | 74.3% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.2 | 2024 | 1.3 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 81.6 | 2024 | 89.3 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 77.8 | 2024 | 80.1 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 76.6 | 2024 | 86.7 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 76.9 | 2024 | 85.8 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 82.5 | 2024 | 91.8 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 81.6 | 2024 | 92.2 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 7.8% | 2024 | 10.5% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 3.47 | 2022 | 3.61 | 2021 |
| Under-5 mortality | 2.0 | 2024 | 2.4 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 83.0% | 2024 | 94.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 98.9% | 2024 | 99.6% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 99.9% | 2011 | — | — |
| Education spending | 5.2% | 2022 | 6.4% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 97.8% | 2024 | 98.9% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 108.5% | 2024 | 142.4% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 65.7% | 2024 | 110.3% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 1.8% | 2023 | 3.1% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 4,800 | 2023 | 8,315 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 92.2% | 2024 | 93.7% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 151 | 2024 | 126 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 18.4% | 2024 | 9.3% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 42,730 km² | 2023 | 303,960 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 57.1% | 2023 | 73.7% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 23.1% | 2023 | 7.4% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 7.8 | 2024 | 5.5 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 38.0% | 2021 | 50.2% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 1.7% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 1.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.8% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 980 kt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Estonia | Observed | Finland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 3.4% | 2024 | 2.3% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $1.4 B | 2024 | $7.0 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 7,000 | 2020 | 22,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/EST.md and https://terralore.co/country/FIN.md.

## Entangled histories (0 events)

Neither nation's sourced chronicle names the other — across both archives, no recorded event crosses between them. That is a fact about the two records as they stand, not a gap filled here.

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/EST/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/FIN/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Estonia and Finland compared", terralore.co/compare/est-vs-fin, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.
