EGovernment in Estonia

The legal foundations for realization of eGovernment in Estonia were laid down in 1996-2001, when the Estonian Parliament adopted Personal Data Protection Act (1996), Databases Act (1997), Digital Signatures Act (2000) and Public Information Act (2000). In 1998 Government of Estonia adopted the principles of the Estonian Information Society as well as Information Policy Action Plan - the country's first Information Society strategy documents. [ [http://europa.eu.int/idabc/servlets/Doc?id=21036 IDABC] ]

The technical infrastructure laid for the development of eGovernment in previous years (data exchange layer X-Road, ID card, public key infrastructure) serves as a good basis for the elaboration of new services. [ [http://www.riso.ee/en/pub/yearbook_2005.pdf Information Technology in Public Administration of Estonia. Yearbook 2005.] ]

Main Information Society Indicators in Estonia

* Proportion of households with a PC: 41% (2003)Fact|date=May 2008
* Internet usage by individuals: 42% (2003)
* Internet usage by enterprises of 10+ employees: % (year)
* Use of broadband connection: households %, enterprises % (year)
* Usage of Internet by individuals for purchasing / ordering goods or services (excl. shares / financial services): 7% (2003)
* Enterprises having purchased via Internet: 14.6% (2003)
* Enterprises having received orders via Internet: % (year)
* Internet usage by individuals for interaction with public authorities: obtaining information %, obtaining forms %, returning filled forms 14.4% (2003)
* Internet usage by enterprises for interaction with public authorities: obtaining information %, obtaining forms %, returning filled forms % (year)

References

* [http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/2005/all_about/benchmarking/eeurope_plus_benchmark_report/index_en.htm eEurope +, Central and Eastern Europe Information Society Benchmarks 2004]