In Q3 2024, exports of services totaled €3.2 billion, while imports came to €2.4 billion, the agency said.

Overall, the balance of foreign trade in services was in surplus by €751 million, €180 million more than a year earlier, Statistics Estonia added. This represents a rise of 31.5 percent, or almost a third.

Jane Leppmets, a foreign trade analyst at Statistics Estonia, noted that growth was driven by travel services and other business services.

She said: "In Q3 2024, exports to EU countries increased by 8 percent, and imports from the EU grew by 4 percent."

"Exports to non-EU countries also rose by 8 percent, though imports from these countries fell by 4 percent, mainly due to a drop in purchases from the U.S.," Leppmets added.

The most exported services in the third quarter were other business services, worth €860 million, followed by telecommunications, computer and information services (which was worth €750 million), and transport services (€688 million).

Compared with Q3 2023, exports of travel services rose by €61 million, other business services by almost as much, at €60 million, and telecommunications and IT services also were up by €60 million.

The biggest decline was in exports of construction services, which fell by €34 million.

Estonia's top export partner was Finland (16 percent of total exports), followed by Germany (9 percent of the total), the U.S. (7 percent), and Sweden (also 7 percent).

Travel services were most often exported to Finland, transport services to Germany and Sweden, and telecommunications services to the U.S.

The biggest rise in exports occurred with those to Germany (up by €50 million, or 22 percent) and the U.K. (which rose by €29 million, or 17 percent).

Exports of transport services to Germany and IT services to the U.K. saw the largest year-on-year growth.

On the import side, the main services were other business services (which totaled €688 million in Q3 2024) and transport services (€638 million).

Purchases of travel services rose by €33 million, other business services by €21 million, and transport services by €10 million.

The biggest increases in imports came from Poland (up by €15 million, or 17 percent), Germany (€13 million, or 7 percent), and Bulgaria (€13 million, or 93 percent).

Meanwhile, imports from Lithuania and the U.S. declined by €18 million each, with a drop in telecommunications services from both countries, Statistics Estonia reported.

More detailed information is available from the Statistics Estonia website here and here.

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