Estonia No 1 in UN ranking of e-services, Tallinn 3rd

TALLINN – Estonia is ranked first in the United Nations' global digital services scoreboard for 2022, while the e-services of the country's capital Tallinn are ranked third.

On Sept. 28, the UN published its E-Government Survey 2022, in which Estonia's public sector e-services were rated as the best in the world. The e-services of the city of Tallinn were rated the third best globally after Berlin and Madrid.

Mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kolvart described the city's third place as a great achievement, which the city's digital service and many other staff in the city's organization have been working towards for years.

"The survey highlights the growing role of digital governance in creating a sustainable future and coping with multifaceted crises. In recent years, digital technologies have been playing an ever increasing role in solving the challenges of the global health crisis and ensuring essential public services in a period of isolation, uncertainty and vulnerability," said Kolvart

Tallinn's digital director Martin Mannil said that while Tallinn's e-services get regular mention in  various rankings, the recognition from the United Nations is significant for Tallinn.

He said that the assessment of e-services looks at, among other things, how many of the city's services are available as e-services, their ease of use, and the availability, reliability and security of open data. The accessibility of services for people with special needs, citizen involvement, data protection and other human rights related aspects are also important.

"Tallinn's success story is the result of more than 20 years of systematic and dedicated work in developing e-services, to which the heads of services at the agencies and all units of the digital service have made a contribution," Mannil said.

The UN report offers an assessment of e-government in the largest cities of all 193 UN member states. The report highlights the use of open data in increasing transparency and the availability of services, creating value and involving stakeholders in urban development planning processes as one of Tallinn's strengths.