Exports of services amounted to over €3 billion and imports to nearly €2.5 billion at current prices. The balance of foreign trade in services was in surplus by €548 million, which is €98 million less than in the first quarter of 2024.

Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, noted that, compared with 2024, exports of services to European Union countries increased by 4 percent in the first quarter of this year, while imports from these countries grew by 8 percent. Exports of services to non-EU countries rose by 6 percent and imports from these countries increased by 18 percent.

"The latter was mainly due to higher imports of services from Cyprus, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the first quarter, the largest import items were other business services from Cyprus, transport services from the United Kingdom, and telecommunications, computer and information services from the United States," Leppmets said in a statement.

The top services exported in the first quarter were other business services (incl. other business support services, advertising and management services) for €867 million. This was followed by exports of telecommunications, computer and information services (incl. computer programming and consultancy) for €860 million, and exports of transport services (incl. road freight transport) for €579 million.

Compared with the first quarter of last year, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of telecommunications, computer and information services (up by €83 million), while the largest decrease was observed in the exports of maintenance and repair services (down by €23 million).

The top partner countries for Estonia's exports of services in the first quarter were Finland (14 percent of total exports), the United States (10 percent), and Germany (8 percent).

The main services supplied to Finland were travel services. Telecommunications, computer and information services were the most exported service to the United States, and transport services were the biggest export item to Germany. The biggest rise was seen in exports of services to Germany (up by €41 million), to which more manufacturing services were sold than before. The greatest decrease occurred in exports of services to Hungary (down by €34 million), to which less construction services were sold.

The top services imported in the first quarter were other business services (incl. other business support services, advertising and management services) for €854 million. This was followed by transport services (incl. road and sea freight transport) for €623 million, and telecommunications, computer and information services (incl. computer programming and consultancy) for €500 million. Compared with the first quarter of 2024, the biggest rise occurred in the imports of other business services (up by €187 million). Imports of construction services decreased the most (by €53 million).

The top partner countries for imports of services were Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and Germany (each accounting for 7 percent of Estonia's total imports). The main services purchased were other business services from Lithuania and Germany and transport services from the United Kingdom.

The greatest rise was seen in imports of services from Cyprus (up by €59 million), from which more other business services were purchased than last year. The biggest decline occurred in imports of services from Hungary (down by €51 million), mainly due to decreased purchases of construction services.

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