Internet in Estonia

In the northern European state of Estonia , 88% of the population used the Internet in 2016, according to other sources up to 95% , which is well above the global average of 51.7%. The top-level domain of Estonia is .ee . Estonia is one of the most connected and technically advanced countries in the European Union . The first connections in Estonia were introduced in 1992 in educational institutions in the capital Tallinn and the university city of Tartu . In 2016, 99.6% of bank transactions were made electronically.

distribution

In 2016, 88%, according to other sources up to 95%, of the population used the Internet.

In Estonia in 2011 there were over 2,440 public Wi-Fi hotspots intended for public use. The first of these was introduced in 2001. 4G internet covers 98% of the Estonian territory.

In 2001, the first nationwide ID card was introduced, which identifies citizens in both the real and the virtual world. This card, which is now owned by more than 86% of the Estonian population, is the most important identity document for most citizens. It is also possible to apply a digital signature that has the same legal value as a handwritten signature. By the end of 2013, the 1.3 million Estonians had signed online more than 130 million times. The X-road system enables encrypted data exchange with the help of the signatures. By the beginning of February 2017, even more than 240 million.

economy

The Estonian economy benefits greatly from the digital society that Estonia offers. Tallinn is also a popular starting point for start-ups; Estonia has the highest number of start-ups per capita in Europe. Other estimates even assume that it has the highest number of start-ups per capita in the world. The World Bank lists Estonia in the Ease of Doing Business Index at number 12, while Germany is only at number 20. In 2011, more than 14,000 new companies were registered in Estonia, 40% more than in the same period in 2008. The most important company founded and developed in Estonia is probably Skype Technologies , known for the IP telephony program Skype , which was launched in 2011 by Microsoft was bought up.

digitalization

Digitization in Estonia is well advanced and is often referred to as a prime example of digitization. The movement that has lasted since independence is called E-Estonia . At that time, Estonia turned down an offer from Finland to set up their analog exchange . Instead, the government under Mart Laar decided to set up its own digital telephone network.

E-learning

In 1996 a program was started that provided all Estonian schools with internet access and computers by 2000 .

In Estonia there is a tool for parents, teachers and students that connects the school. Teachers feed information such as assignments, grades and homework into the system, students can access this information and save their best work in a digital portfolio, and parents can see all the information and contact the teachers. The local administration also receives information and statistics on average performance on request.

E-government

Since 2011 there has been a program in Estonia, border queue management , which enables incoming motorists to reserve a seat. The program developed by the Estonian company GoSwift eliminates the queues at all three border crossings between Estonia and Russia. In 2015 he was honored with the Transport Achievement Award from the OECD Transport Forum. The program is also used by Finland, Lithuania and Russia.

E-tax

The e-tax system is an electronic tax system that was introduced in 2000. Around 95% of tax returns are now completed electronically. Users log in with a secure ID and make any necessary changes in automatically filled out forms. The process takes three to five minutes. The system is provided by Nortal, Cybernetica and Icefire .

E-police

The concept of the e-police is based on the idea that the best possible security requires the best possible communication and coordination. In Estonia there are two concrete things that are important to the e-police: mobile workstations in every police car and means of locating emergency vehicles for the headquarters. In the event of a traffic control, for example, the police officer can immediately access the central database, but also the weapons register, which shows whether the person to be checked has a weapon, the traffic insurance fund, which shows whether the driver has valid insurance, the population register, which includes basic information about the person like residence and phone number, and the Motor Vehicle Registration Center which shows information about driver's license, vehicle and security checkpoints. It can also be determined whether the vehicle has been stolen from a country within the Schengen area . This system is provided by Nortal.

E-election

Estonia's e-election service users by gender

	2005	2007	2009	2009	2011	2013	2014	2015
Number of e-voting users	9,317	30,275	58,669	104,415	140.846	133,808	103.151	176.491
Percentage of e-voting users among the voters	1.9%	3.4%	14.7%	9.5%	15.4%	21.2%	31.3%	30.5%

The idea of ​​an electronic voting system, also known as E-Election or E-Voting ( E stands for electronic ), first appeared in Estonia in 2001. The first elections held in Estonia on the Internet, among others, were the local elections in Estonia in 2005 . 9,317 voters voted using the e-voting system. That was seen as a success. 116 source countries were registered for the votes.

The Tallinn Bronze Soldier

→ Main article : Internet attacks on Estonia in 2007

The Tallinn Bronze Soldier is a memorial erected in 1947 by Soviet authorities. It is supposed to symbolize the Soviet "liberation" of Estonia from German occupation. The monument was removed by the Estonian authorities on July 27, 2007, on the grounds that the buried war dead would not be allowed to rest in their graves if the statue was in this place. This led to large demonstrations by the Russian minority in Tallinn, the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union . As a result, there were denial-of-service attacks on state organs, including the Estonian parliament , the state president as well as various ministries , banks and the media . Russia was held responsible for the attacks, which lasted several weeks, after two people were charged. Those allegations were later put into perspective.

As a result of the attack, backup servers were set up in Luxembourg and cyberwar research centers were set up, in which NATO is also involved.

Removal of content

There have been some incidents of content removal, but these are mostly limited to inappropriate and / or off-topic comments on online news sites.

Web links

• E-School Statement

Individual evidence

1. ↑ EUROPEAN UNION. In: Internetworldstats.com , accessed June 19, 2017 (English)
2. ↑ INTERNET USAGE STATISTICS The Internet Big Picture Internet World Stats. Last accessed on December 31, 2017
3. ↑ Sabine Adler : E-Government makes life easier. In: Deutschlandfunk , May 24, 2016, accessed on February 5, 2017
4. ↑ ^{a b} Facts. ( Memento of the original from June 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: E-Estonia.com , accessed on February 5, 2017 (English) 
5. ^ Lessons from the World's Startup Capital. In: E-Estonia , accessed on December 23, 2017 (English)
6. ↑ Not only Skype. In: The Economist , accessed December 23, 2017
7. ↑ Ease of Doing Business Index (1 = most business-friendly regulations) World Bank (English). Last accessed on December 23, 2017
8. ↑ "How did Estonia become a leader in technology? In: The Economist , January 6, 2012 by VD Archived from [web.archive.org]. Last accessed on February 5, 2017.
9. ^ E-School. In: E-Estonia.com , accessed on March 27, 2017 (English)
10. ↑ Border Queue Management. In: E-Estonia.com , accessed February 5, 2017
11. ↑ E-Tax. In: E-Estonia.com , accessed on June 19, 2017 (English)
12. ↑ E-Police. In: E-Estonia.com , accessed on June 19, 2017 (English)
13. ↑ Statistics about Internet Voting in Estonia Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon. Last accessed on December 15, 2016
14. ^ Results of the local elections of October 16, 2005 in Estonia. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, accessed on December 14, 2016 (PDF file)
15. ↑ Estonia. Freedom House , accessed December 23, 2017