Economic activity at Keskturg (Tallinn Central Market)
The official estimate of Estonia’s third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was released today by Statistics Estonia. The number is grim, but if you squint and tilt your head a bit you might—just possibly—be able to see the glass as half-full.
The total value of all goods and services produced by Estonia in the July-through-September period this year declined by 15.3% compared to what was produced in the comparable period of 2008.
To place this in a regional perspective, Estonia’s GDP collapsed more than did Lithuania’s (down 14.3%), but it wasn’t quite as bad as Latvia’s (down 18.4%).
SEB economist Mikael Johansson (quoted in this Dow Jones wire report) sees in the 3rd quarter data a sign that the Estonian economy has stabilized. His cautious optimism is supported by this Statistics Estonia chart:
The bars show the ugly quarterly GDP declines, stretching back nearly two years. But optimists will want to focus on the pink line, which shows that the rate of decline in Estonian exports bottomed out in the 1st quarter and that exports have been shrinking more slowly over the past 6 months; and the red line, which suggests a bottoming of industrial decline in the 2nd quarter.
One footnote: Statistics Estonia notes that the -15.3% GDP figure is a preliminary, “flash” estimate; a more accurate 3rd quarter GDP estimate will be released on the 9th of December. Mark your calendar.
Estonia is making achingly-slow progress toward gender equality, and the country still has a long way to go. According to the World Economic Forum’s 
