E-residents set up a record 4.8K companies in Estonia in 2024

Estonia's e-residents opened 4,818 new companies in 2024, an average of 400 new companies per month, which is an absolute record in the 10 years of the program's operation. 

Most new Estonian companies were established by e-residents with citizenship of Spain (711), Ukraine (387), Turkey (305) and Germany (299). Overall, the number of new Estonian e-residents in 2024 increased by 11,484, which is 3% more than a year earlier. Over the past year of operation, they brought €66.8M to the Estonian budget in the form of taxes and duties.

Liina Vahtras, head of the e-resident program, said that the founder of every fifth company founded in Estonia last year was an e-resident, and more companies were founded than ever before. However, she believes that in addition to quantity, the authorities should also focus on quality, i.e. the growth of companies in Estonia, so that their tax revenues and contribution to the Estonian economy continue to grow over time.

The Estonian e-residency program has been in operation since December 1, 2014. E-residency is still the first and so far the world's largest government program that allows foreign citizens to use electronic identification and digital signature, as well as the possibility to create and manage Estonian companies. However, obtaining e-residency does not entail an obligation to found a company, so it is a voluntary wish of the e-resident himself.