"Estonia Completes Digitalization of Administrative Procedures...Aims to Set Global Standards"

Kristiina Kriisa, Head of International Relations at the e-Estonia Briefing Centre, stated, "Estonia is a small country with a population of 1.3 million, but with 30 years of accumulated experience in building a digital society, we are setting new global standards."

Speaking at the "Korea Initiative: The First Step Towards Digital G2" forum held at Seoul Gangnam Hashed Lounge on the 7th, Kriisa noted, "Currently, 100% of Estonian government administrative services have been digitalized."

Kriisa explained, "The Estonian government has digitized all administrative procedures and issued an Electronic Identity Card (EID) to every citizen. Now, most people use Smart-ID, a mobile app-based authentication system," adding, "I myself hardly ever use a physical ID card anymore. Without an ID card, I can book hospital appointments, pay taxes, change real estate information, and even shop online—all with Smart-ID."

She also emphasized that when a user enters information at one agency, all other government agency databases are automatically linked. Kriisa stated, "If you change your address once, your health insurance, taxes, and driver's license are all updated automatically," explaining, "This is the core of user experience (UX) in a digital society."

She continued, "We also completed the introduction of electronic voting early on. Now, even from abroad, from nursing homes, or while lying in bed, voting is possible," sharing, "My grandmother also voted from her hospital bed and said she felt that she fulfilled her role as a citizen with satisfaction." Electronic voting can be changed up to six times a day, and only the last ballot is valid. If one prefers paper ballots, it is still possible to vote at an offline polling station on election day. Currently, more than 50% of all voters use electronic voting, and this proportion is increasing.

Tax payment is also digitalized. Kriisa stated, "In the era of paper, the tax return was 11 pages, but now it is just 1 page, and most items are filled in automatically. The average time to submit is under 3 minutes." She added, "Digitalization is not just moving paper processes online," emphasizing, "True digital transformation means boldly eliminating unnecessary procedures."

Estonia also operates an e-Residency program. This allows foreigners to obtain a legal digital identity issued by Estonia and to handle the establishment of EU-based companies, digital signatures, tax filings, and more, all online.

Finally, Kriisa commented, "The goal of government services is to provide intuitive and efficient UX like Amazon and to save people’s time. The Estonian government will achieve 90% satisfaction in digital administration by 2030."