Estonia

To which language should you translate to localize in Estonia?

In the last two decades, Estonia has shot to fame as one of the most digital countries in the world. Although grandmas are still pickling tomatoes in the traditional way and two-thirds of the Estonian population lives outside of the capital, modern courier robots have taken to the streets to deliver goods and (e-)residents sign legally binding documents on their phones while hanging in hammocks in remote fishing villages. As a country with low population intensity, 50% forest coverage and the highest number of start-ups per capita in Europe (including unicorns), Estonia relies on the digital systems put in place to allow people to work, vote and run businesses remotely. In fact, Estonia enjoys digital signatures and paperless communication with 99% of its government services. Everything is available from the comfort of one’s home and lots of Estonians even compete in filing their tax returns the fastest.

Estonian

Eesti on viimase kahe aastakümne jooksul kogunud kuulsust kui üks digitaalsemaid riike maailmas. Kuigi siinsed vanaemad marineerivad tomateid endiselt traditsioonilisel moel ja kaks kolmandikku riigi elanikkonnast elab väljaspool pealinna, on linnatänavatel vaikselt suhisemas kaupu tarnivad kullerrobotid ning (e-)residendid allkirjastavad juriidiliselt siduvaid dokumente kaugetes rannakülades võrkkiikedes lebades. See on Skandinaavia ideaal: olla võimalusel üksi ja samal ajal teistega koos. Eesti on madala asustustiheduse riik, mis on 50% ulatuses kaetud metsaga ning kus paikneb Euroopa suurim arv idufirmasid (sh ükssarvikuid); riik, mis tugineb digisüsteemidele, mis võimaldavad inimestel kaugvormis töötada, hääletada ja ettevõtteid juhtida. Eestis toimub 99% suhtlusest riigiasutustega paberivabalt ja digiallkirjade toel. Teenused on mugavalt kodust kättesaadavad ja eestlased võistlevad vahel isegi selles, kes oma tuludeklaratsiooni esitamises kõige kiirem on.

Marion, English/Estonian translator

Official language

Estonian (68.5%)

Actual languages

Estonian (68.5%), Russian (27.6%), Belarusian (1.4%), Finnish (0.7%), Ukrainian (0.6%), other (1.2%)

What the top 150 best localized websites in the world do in Estonia

(Top 150 websites listed in the Global by Design ranking – published annually by Byte Level Research, this report provides a list of globally localized websites, showcasing best practices and emerging trends in their globalization)

• 56/150 localize by translating into Estonian
• 4/150 localize by translating into both Estonian and Russian
• 2/150 localize by translating into Russian
• 1/150 localizes by translating into both Estonian and Estonian Sign Language
• 1/150 localizes by translating into both Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Russian, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean
• 1/150 localizes by translating into both French and German
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Russian, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Romanian, Polish, Turkish, Thai, Ukrainian, Hungarian and Bahasa Indonesia