E-governance - The Estonian digital governance model

With 99% of its dematerialised public services, Estonia is a pioneer in the field of digital governance. This small country of 1.3 million inhabitants stands out on the international scene for its advance in new technologies, and is even nicknamed E-Estonia. When I decided to go on an Erasmus exchange, the Estonian digital governance model was one of the criteria that led me to come and live in this country to discover and experience this specificity. In this article, I will try to explain what digital governance is all about in practice, and what the challenges are.

Maakri district also known as the "Manhattan" of Tallinn

After its independence in 1991, Estonia very quickly wanted to catch up with other European countries. The idea of digital technology emerged quickly because it made it possible to meet two objectives:

- To provide quality services to the Estonian population, which is very scattered throughout the country

- Quickly catch up with the rest of Europe.

With an area of 45227km2, Estonia is one of the smallest countries in the world, so digital has been an opportunity to virtually expand its borders.

The first step in the digitization process was to equip schools and educate and train young Estonians in new technologies. Since 1999, all schools on the territory have had access to the Internet. In 2012, the Estonian government launched a programme to introduce young people to coding from the age of 7. The government's objective is to give its citizens the fundamental keys to understanding their digital environment.

The second step was to develop the Wifi network on the territory and its free access. Today, when we walk around the Estonian capital, free Wi-Fi is available everywhere (in coffees, schools, hospitals...).

The development of public-private partnerships has also played an important role. It allowed the co-construction and continuous improvement of the model through, in particular, the consultation of experts in the "private domain" on the issues generated.

Finally, E-administration has been the keystone of the country's digitization. Indeed, 99% of public services are now dematerialized and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Estonia's digitization process has been incredibly fast as it has become a European and even global reference in this field in less than thirty years of independence. But what does e-Estonia concretely consist in?

Digital citizenship has been one of the main components of the Estonian system since the adoption of the law on electronic signature in 2000. The X-Road platform was launched in 2001, it connects various government services online. Thus, for example, Estonians have access from the platform to their medical records and have the possibility of renewing their prescriptions. They can also pay their taxes, vote, bank, sign contracts, all online.

My Estonian electronic ID card

To perform all these operations, Estonian citizens simply insert their electronic identity card into a small box connected to the computer in order to authenticate themselves. The only administrative procedures that still require human contact today are marriage, divorce and the purchase of a property.

Thanks to the efforts of the Estonian government, 98% of the population now has a digital identity. However, this undeniably raises data security issues.

On April 27, 2007, Estonia experienced the world's first cyber attack on a state structure. States and international institutions then became aware of the dangers of a potential cyber war. As a result, NATO established in 2008 its cyber defense centre of excellence in Tallinn, Estonia's capital.

At the national level, in 2011, the government decided to integrate Blockchain* technology into X-Road in order to authenticate and secure the platform's data.

Citizens own their data and can know who is consulting them.

In order to reduce its digital vulnerability, Estonia opened the world's first data embassy in 2018. Located in Luxembourg, this embassy backs up the critical data of the Estonian information system and thus will be able to provide digital continuity in the event of a cyber attack.

Tallinn's Old Town with the Maakri district in the background

Although the threats associated with Estonia's digital model are significant, this challenge has enabled the country to rebuild quickly after independence and to occupy an important place in today's world. The success of this Baltic country and its perpetual ambition are recognized and praised all over the world.

*Blockchain is a transparent, secure information storage and transmission technology that operates without a central control body (Blockchain France definition).