Estonia is a relatively recent addition to the European Union having joined in 2004, and it is one of the most successful and affluent of the new members too. In just a few short years the Estonian government transformed theirs into a modern market economy and by 2007 Estonians’ per capita GDP, as measured using the purchasing power parity method, will be on a par with Portugal’s which sits at around 70% of the EU average…an impressive rise in economic fortunes in such a short period of time.

Contributing to the economic success of the nation is the fact that Estonia has an attractive flat tax rate, it has developed impressive electronics and telecommunications sectors and has strong trade links with some of the more affluent nations surrounding it such as Finland and some of the largest economies in mainland Europe such as Germany. The rise in economic fortunes of Estonia has seen unemployment halve in a few short years and as GDP has grown so has the mortgage market in Estonia – it has grown by 80% in actual fact.

Read the rest of this entry »