Of the respondents interviewed for the survey, four percent expected revenue to decrease and 14 percent anticipated a drop in profit. Altogether 32 percent of Estonian business operators expected exports to increase, however, Grant Thornton said.

The company also highlighted the business operators' assessment of the shortage of qualified labor — according to the survey, 44 percent of respondents consider the shortage of qualified labor to be an issue in the next 12 months. Of the 36 countries surveyed, the average indicator concerning this issue was somewhat lower at 35 percent.

"The survey was conducted in 36 countries and interviewed 2,500 businesses," Grant Thornton marketing and communications manager Gerli Soosalu told BNS. "The survey was carried out in Estonia by pollster Kantar Emor, during which 50 Estonian business operators were interviewed. The survey was conducted over the phone, at random, and interviews were carried out either with the company's CEO or CFO." The survey was carried out in the second quarter of 2017.

According to the results of the survey, 67 percent of businesses in Sweden, 79 percent of businesses in Germany, 70 percent of businesses in the U.S., 62 percent of businesses in the U.K. and 31 percent of businesses in Russia expect their revenue to increase in the next 12 months.

"The highest growth expectations were registered in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, and this is good news for Estonia, as two of the aforementioned countries are very important trade partners and the Netherlands is also among Estonia's ten largest export partners," highlighted Mati Nõmmiste, managing partner of Grant Thornton.