Estonia has digitalized 100% of its public services, working to make system proactive – e-Estonia adviser

Petra Holm, a digital transformation adviser at e-Estonia, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"We started digitalizing as soon as we got our independence back as a national strategy. There was not much else we could have succeeded at, because there are few people and natural resources in Estonia. We needed to find a way to build a lean state and try not to become as heavily bureaucratic as established democracies," she said.

Holm noted that technologies were a way for Estonians to build an efficient state and added that any interaction with the state has a digital option. The exception is certain municipal-level services, which vary by region.

"Quality of life is the reason we built the digital state. We want people not to waste time, energy, brain cells, and nerves on interacting with it. Things should be automatic, efficient, and hopefully one day proactive," the adviser said.

She explained that in a proactive system, public services are provided automatically – for example, child benefits – without requiring an application.

Holm added that individuals who arrive in Estonia legally, including those with refugee status, immediately receive an ID card and gain access to the digital infrastructure.