Business, industries, counties and taxes in numbers. Every chart has one sentence with its key takeaway above it and the data source noted below.
Business Register and Tax Board open data · 2024 annual reports · calculated 6 October 2026
30% of registered businesses were founded in the last five years (2022–2026) and 77% are private limited companies (OÜ).
| Year | Private limited company (OÜ) | Sole proprietor | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (in progress) | 17 377 | 995 | 1 351 | 19 723 |
| 2025 | 22 787 | 1 196 | 1 904 | 25 887 |
| 2024 | 21 753 | 1 054 | 1 649 | 24 456 |
| 2023 | 18 733 | 892 | 1 673 | 21 298 |
| 2022 | 16 220 | 718 | 1 411 | 18 349 |
| 2021 | 18 904 | 576 | 1 460 | 20 940 |
| 2020 | 15 177 | 521 | 1 912 | 17 610 |
| 2019 | 15 643 | 528 | 1 524 | 17 695 |
| 2018 | 14 119 | 571 | 11 532 | 26 222 |
| 2017 | 13 800 | 498 | 2 481 | 16 779 |
| 2016 | 11 927 | 480 | 1 501 | 13 908 |
| 2015 | 9 950 | 580 | 1 472 | 12 002 |
| 2014 | 8 829 | 609 | 1 154 | 10 592 |
| 2013 | 8 542 | 404 | 1 249 | 10 195 |
| 2012 | 7 714 | 418 | 1 219 | 9 351 |
| 2011 | 7 282 | 456 | 1 039 | 8 777 |
| 2010 | 5 693 | 1 773 | 1 313 | 8 779 |
| 2009 | 5 182 | 5 974 | 1 241 | 12 397 |
| 2008 | 4 283 | 226 | 1 174 | 5 683 |
| 2007 | 4 861 | 185 | 1 028 | 6 074 |
| 2006 | 4 868 | 157 | 1 034 | 6 059 |
| 2005 | 4 008 | 161 | 934 | 5 103 |
| 2004 | 3 300 | 277 | 1 402 | 4 979 |
| 2003 | 2 720 | 338 | 1 122 | 4 180 |
| 2002 | 2 514 | 356 | 1 458 | 4 328 |
| 2001 | 2 292 | 892 | 1 760 | 4 944 |
| 2000 | 2 241 | 533 | 2 271 | 5 045 |
| 1999 | 1 860 | 823 | 3 713 | 6 396 |
| 1998 | 3 411 | 800 | 3 192 | 7 403 |
| 1997 | 4 580 | 1 001 | 2 160 | 7 741 |
| 1996 | 3 305 | 629 | 797 | 4 731 |
Deleted companies are not in the open data, so older years are smaller than they really were: the chart shows how many companies founded in each year still exist today. The last, lighter bar is 2026 — that year is still in progress.
Share of all registered businesses (367 814). Apartment associations and non-profits are in the register too, but they are not commercial companies.
Wholesale and retail trade accounts for 38% of reporting companies' revenue. Most people work in manufacturing (17%); the largest profit is made in finance and insurance.
Total sales revenue of reporting companies, 2024 annual reports.
Industry = EMTAK 2008 section (same as the EU's NACE). Data: 2024 annual reports. 60 114 reporting companies (25%) have no industry code; they appear on the “Industry not specified” row.
One county stands out: Harju County has 60% of registered businesses and generates 72% of reporting companies' revenue.
Registered businesses with an address in this county (all legal forms).
The county is the company's registered address. The revenue of large groups is often booked at the head-office address, so it does not always match where the work is actually done. 26 547 businesses have no address or a foreign address and are left out here.
97% of reporting companies are micro-enterprises (under 10 employees): they generate 33% of revenue and 28% of jobs. 185 large companies (250+ employees) generate 19% of revenue.
Size class is by average headcount (the EU SME definition). Each of the three rows adds up to 100%.
The largest 1% of companies (1 593 firms) generate 63% of total revenue; the largest 10% generate 90%.
Based on 159 212 reporting companies with positive revenue; total revenue 91,3 bn €.
56% of reporting companies ended 2024 in profit and 32% in loss; 12% landed exactly on zero.
A profit of exactly zero may indicate that the company has no activity. Based on 209 800 reporting companies whose report states a profit figure.
Q2 2026: companies paid 4,3 bn € in state taxes (+5,9% vs. a year earlier) and 2,2 bn € in labour taxes.
Bar values: billions of euros
| Quarter | State taxes | vs. year ago | Labour taxes | vs. year ago | Employees | vs. year ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 4,27 bn € | +5,9% | 2,21 bn € | +0,2% | 678 527 | +1,2% |
| Q1 2026 | 4,20 bn € | +0,3% | 2,21 bn € | +2,5% | 666 661 | +0,8% |
| Q4 2025 | 4,23 bn € | – | 2,22 bn € | – | 663 345 | – |
| Q3 2025 | 4,17 bn € | – | 2,23 bn € | – | 668 382 | – |
| Q2 2025 | 4,03 bn € | – | 2,21 bn € | – | 670 797 | – |
| Q1 2025 | 4,19 bn € | – | 2,16 bn € | – | 661 244 | – |
Tax and Customs Board open data by company, summed up. State taxes and labour taxes are separate columns in the Board's file; they are not added together here. The latest quarter has data on 189 210 companies.
Our own calculations from open data — in-depth stories about what is happening with Estonian companies.
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The statistics are recalculated after every data update. You are free to use the numbers; please credit entity.ee.