Skip to content
NCBNational
Capability
Benchmark

Capability agenda

Estonia

Generated 2026-08-30

The frame includes 52 countries. Each dimension runs from 0 to 100, with no overall ranking. Confidence sits beside each score. Read the known limits of the data before quoting one.

Open the profile: indicators, values, years and sources

Where Estonia stands

DimensionScoreConfidenceTrend
Anticipation63.90.64+14 over 10 years using 5 indicators
Agency84.80.61+2.6 over 10 years using 4 indicators
Coordination94.60.16no trend
Trust61.80.16no trend
Learning56.80.53+0.7 over 10 years using 3 indicators
Experimentation30.20.39+7 over 10 years using 2 indicators
Adaptability64.10.47-7.3 over 10 years using 4 indicators
Building30.80.54-2.9 over 10 years using 4 indicators
Shared Purpose82.40.26+2.7 over 10 years using 2 indicators
  • weak0 to 25
  • below middle25 to 50
  • above middle50 to 75
  • strong75 and above
  • very thin0.00 to 0.25
  • thin0.25 to 0.45
  • usable0.45 to 0.65
  • good0.65 and above
  • very thin: The score rests on one or two indicators. Do not quote it on its own.
  • thin: A minority of indicators, or evidence old enough to have moved. Read with care.
  • usable: Enough evidence to compare countries, with known holes.
  • good: Most indicators observed, recent, from official or intergovernmental sources.

What to raise

These are the lowest scores with usable evidence. Thin evidence appears below.

Building

30.80.54

How capable is the country of turning plans and knowledge into functioning systems?

Uses 5 observed indicators. -2.9 over 10 years using 4 indicators.

Highest usable scores: Ireland 75.3, Singapore 71.2, China 64.9.

Related deliveries in other countries: Pix instant payment system (Brazil); GOV.BR federal identity and service platform (Brazil); Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana bank accounts (India); Electricity supply rebuilt on renewable sources (Uruguay); Plan Ceibal, one connected laptop per child (Uruguay); Sistema Unico de Saude, universal public health system (Brazil); Programa Nacional de Imunizacoes, and its erosion (Brazil); Luz para Todos, rural electrification (Brazil); Bolsa Familia and the single registry behind it (Brazil); Fully electronic national elections (Brazil); Deepwater and pre-salt oil production (Brazil); Seguro Popular, and its abolition (Mexico); Sure Start children's centres, and their erosion (United Kingdom); Grid power, and load shedding (South Africa); Measles elimination, and its erosion (United States); BNDES, the national development bank (Brazil); Casa da Moeda do Brasil, the national mint (Brazil); Housing and Development Board, public housing at scale (Singapore).

Missing indicators: Large project delivery, Firm scale-up rate.

Rejected datasets: Logistics infrastructure quality.

What to measure first

The evidence is too thin to manage these dimensions confidently.

What to keep watching

These scores are at least 50 with usable evidence. They still need watching.

  • Agency84.80.61
  • Adaptability64.10.47
  • Anticipation63.90.64
  • Learning56.80.53

Missing data

26 requested indicators have no comparable dataset. Each lowers confidence. A gap can become an indicator when a comparable series covers at least two countries.

DimensionMissing indicatorWhat it asks
AnticipationGovernment foresight capacityExistence, mandate and continuity of a national strategic foresight function.
AnticipationLong-horizon research shareShare of gross R&D expenditure classified as basic research.
AgencyAdult digital skillsShare of adults who can perform standard digital tasks.
AgencyPerceived control over lifeSelf-reported freedom of choice and control over the course of one’s life.
CoordinationUniversity-industry collaborationIntensity of research collaboration between universities and firms.
CoordinationCivil society strengthAutonomy, density and participatory reach of civil society organisations.
CoordinationPublic-private collaborationFrequency and scale of joint public-private delivery of national objectives.
TrustTrust in public institutionsConfidence in national government, courts and civil service.
TrustCooperation beyond the in-groupReported trust in people met for the first time and in people of another nationality.
TrustCourt case clearance rateCivil and commercial cases resolved in a year as a share of cases filed in the same year.
LearningAdult learning participationShare of adults in formal or non-formal education and training in the last 12 months.
LearningResearch citation impactField-normalised citation impact of national research output.
ExperimentationVenture capital investmentVenture capital deployed as a share of GDP.
ExperimentationRegulatory sandbox activityNumber and breadth of live regulatory sandboxes and controlled trial regimes.
ExperimentationUniversity spinoutsCompanies formed to commercialise university research, per million people.
ExperimentationBusiness share of R&DShare of gross R&D expenditure performed by business enterprises.
AdaptabilityLong-term unemployment shareUnemployed for 12 months or more, as a share of total unemployment.
AdaptabilityExport diversificationInverse concentration of the export basket by product.
AdaptabilityDisaster preparedness and recoveryDemonstrated capacity to prepare for and recover from major shocks.
AdaptabilityInstitutional responsivenessSpeed at which rules and public programmes are changed in response to new conditions.
BuildingLarge project deliveryCost and schedule performance of major public infrastructure projects.
BuildingFirm scale-up rateShare of young firms reaching significant employment or turnover thresholds.
Shared PurposeSense of national belongingReported pride in and identification with the national community.
Shared PurposeVolunteeringShare of adults who volunteered time to an organisation in the last month.
Shared PurposePolitical polarisationDegree to which political differences run along a single hostile divide.
Shared PurposeCivic participationActive membership in associations, unions, parties and community organisations.

Institutional change: deliveries that don't move scores but move Estonia.

These are documented institutional changes in Estonia that the framework files as evidence. They sit beside the score and do not change it or its confidence.

  • X-Road national data exchange layer (Building)

    Estonia has run one data exchange layer for the whole state since 2001, and in July 2026 it carried 374.9 million queries between 1,000 connected organizations, 251 of them government bodies, across 3,785 services.

  • Internet voting in national elections (Shared Purpose)

    Estonia has run legally binding internet voting since 2005, and at the 2023 Riigikogu election 312,182 votes, 51.1 percent of all votes cast, came in online, the first national election anywhere in which more than half the vote was digital.

  • Estonian Defence League, national defence rebuilt after independence (Adaptability)

    The Estonian Defence League was re-established in February 1990, before the country regained independence, and operates as a voluntary national defence organisation under the Ministry of Defence with territorial units and its own training structure.

Contribute

Fill a gap, file evidence or challenge an indicator at github.com/envisioning/national-capability-benchmark. The docs explain the method and decisions.