1. By: Dana Wei

2. Located in Eastern Europe and borders the Baltic
Sea and Gulf of Finland, in between Latvia and
Russia.
Capital: Tallinn

3. BACKGROUND
 History
• Previously ruled by Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian
governments, but finally free to govern itself in 1994
Religion
• Estonians are considered the most non-religious people in the 25-
member EU, according to the Eurobarometer Poll 2005
Demographics
• Population:1.3 million (July 2010)
67.5% of the population is between15-64 years
• Literacy Rate: 99.8%
• Urban Population: 73%
• Rising middle-class in the last five years- the number of Estonians
who have minimum purchasing power continues to fall

4. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
PPP-based GDP
•$24.53 billion; ranked 114 compared to other countries
Imports
• Primary commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, mineral
fuels, chemical products, foodstuffs 6%, plastics, and textiles
•Total Imports: $10 billion (2009)
 Fast-growing GDP
• 2000–2008: GDP grew at 7% per year
Placed Estonia among the three countries in the EU with the
fastest growing real GDP
Estonia took a big jump in the improvement of average standard
of living
•In 2010, the annual GDP grew by 3.1% compared to the previous
year.

5. ECONOMIC FREEDOM
Estonia is considered one of the most liberal economies in
the world
The Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic
Freedom 2011 ranks Estonia 14th out of 183 countries.
Economic Freedom of the World 2010 ranks Estonia12th out of 141
countries
Heritage Foundation’s Economic Freedom Index ranks Estonia 16th
In the late1990s, Estonia's trade regime was so liberal that adoption of
EU and WTO standards actually forced Estonia to impose tariffs in certain
sectors which had previously been tariff-free (i.e. agriculture)

6. COMMERCIAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
 Estonia is noted for its advanced use of information technology, which
demonstrates its commitment to global competitiveness- 76% of the
population are Internet users
Estonia considered to be the leader in Eastern Europe for broadband
DSL access. In terms of DSL penetration per telephone line, Estonia
presently ranks among the top ten in the world

7. THE ESTONIAN CONSUMER
 In 2000 Estonia had an upper-income class of about 10,000 and a
growing middle-class numbering about 60,000- fueling domestic retail
demand; this number has seen tremendous growth in the last five years
as quality of life continues to improve
Estonians are characterized by economic growth and high consumer
confidence, which has contributed to the consumer goods boom

8. BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

9. FEW BARRIERS TO ENTRY
Few political, policy or economic risks or barriers exist
 Estonia began to adopt free-market policies even before it declared
independence
 Government sets privatization as a priority
An integral part of Estonia's transition to a market economy during the early
1990s involved reorienting foreign trade to the West and attracting FDI in
order to improve the country's industry and commerce.
 Today foreign companies dominate in several sectors of the Estonian
economy. Banking and telecommunications are dominated by the Nordic
players, but the food and electronics industries also rely heavily on foreign
capital.
In 1999, Estonia joined the World Trade Organization
In 2004, Estonia became a NATO member state as well as an EU member

10. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
Estonia's open economy, excellent transportation links and
central location make it an ideal base for production and
distribution
Its location is a crossroads of East and West.
•Estonia lies just south of Finland and across the Baltic Sea from
Sweden, both EU members and to the east are the huge potential
markets of northwest Russia.
Estonia possesses modern transportation and communication links:
•Captures a considerable share of the rapidly growing transit trade
through the Baltic Sea.
•Passenger and freight links provide fast sea crossings across the
Baltic Sea
•Direct air connections to Tallinn give easy access to major European
capitals.

11. RECOMMENDATION
Yes, enter the Estonian beverage
market!
 RISING middle class population
 Hospitable environment for foreign investment
Central location and excellent transportation and distribution links
Little state-owned enterprise competition; privatization placed as a
priority
Member state of the WTO, EU, and NATO

12. WORKS CITED
http://estonia.eu/
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5377.htm
http://www.bbn.ee/?PublicationId=c30a8977-9687-4267-b963-13879470689c
http://globaledge.msu.edu/resourcedesk/mpi/
http://blog.timesunion.com/scrimshaw/files/2009/07/estonia-song-festival-
people1.jpg
CIA World Factbook
Statistics of Estonia, 2010

13. Questions?