Estonia vs. Finland

If I got a penny every time someone said that Estonia is basically the same as Finland I would have a lot of pennies by now. Even though these two countries share some similarities, like similar languages and maybe culture in some ways, these are still two very different countries with completely different mind sets. Here's our list of some major differences we think are important to understand.

Old Porvoo

First major difference you'll immediately notice is the architecture that starts to unveil the major differences of these two countries. When you approach Tallinn by ferry you'll see the beautiful, medieval skyline with thick towers along the city walls and the distinctive churches. In Finland you don't see quite a similar sight anywhere as the countries had their days of glory on quite different times. I always mention Tallinn having been in the hanseatic league in the early middle ages but this is indeed such an important thing to mention as it defines the history and the culture in so many ways, even today.

Flying over Helsinki in a hot-air balloon

However, if you fly into Tallinn by plane you'll see quite a different view being composed by so many long lines of soviet time apartment complexes surrounding the city from the huge districts of Mustamae to Lasnamae and beyond. Again, this is a strong reminder of more recent history when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union, something that many of us consider quite a dark time period for the Estonians.

Tallinn from above

Finland, however, had quite a different history being under the rule of Sweden and later Russia. Finland doesn't really have such strong architectural reminders of the historical events. As the biggest airport in Helsinki-Vantaa is in the capital area you don't see too many historic buildings on the way as Helsinki was made the capital only in the year of 1812. Before that, the biggest town in Finland was Turku, another hanseatic town, which was settled in the 13th century, around the same time as when Tallinn got it's town rights. Turku was, however, badly destroyed in the great fire of Turku in 1827 after which majority of the city had to be rebuilt. So you see lots of buildings from the 17th-19th century in both Turku and Helsinki. When arriving to Helsinki by ferry to the Katajanokka terminal, you will probably pass by Suomenlinna, an island fortress (18th century) that is currently a popular place to enjoy a nice day out sightseeing, have a picnic and so on. A few moments later you see the beautiful, white Helsinki Cathedral (completed in 1852) and the orthodox Uspenski Cathedral (completed in 1868). Tallinn, however, has more and older historic sights going back to the middle ages.

Estonia has a more colorful history

Because of it's great location and access to the Baltic Sea, Estonia has been in the interest of many larger countries in the region. Estonia has been under the rule of present day Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Russia which has affected the culture, cuisine and the language. As Estonia was in the Hanseatic league, it was influenced by even a larger amount of nearby nations involved in the trade.

Christmas market in Tallinn, closed for the night

Finns are more tolerant

Generally I would claim that the Finns are way more tolerant than the Estonians when it comes to racial differences, sexual minorities and gender equality. Estonians tend to be quite traditional, and not always in the positive ways.

Estonians are healthier and have better genes

Since Estonia has been occupied by many different nations, it means that there have been much more different genes walking around than in remote Finland. Due to this, Estonians tend to be healthier than the Finns, well, at least when it comes to hereditary illnesses. Finns also suffer from allergic diseases (food allergies, hay fever and such) much more than the Estonians.

Midnight sun in Estonia

Tallinn has a more central-European vibe than Helsinki

Tallinn has many cafe's (purely for drinking non-alcoholic beverages or a nice glass of wine) that stay open until late in the evening. In Helsinki it is difficult, almost impossible, to find a cafe to that's open in the evening and is not filled with people who have had a little too much alcohol. Also, and I'm claiming this purely from my own experience, Estonians visit museums, theaters and other cultural events more often than the Finns. In Estonia, you dress up when going to such event (to see a play at the theater, for example) and wearing something like jeans and a sweater to such event is often frowned upon.

Island of Kökar in Finland

Finns are (more) religious

I was 9 when I moved to Finland. First thing that surprised me at school was that religion was one of the subjects being taught throughout the whole educational cycle. Up until this, religion didn't play any part in my life what so ever so you can imagine the confusion I experienced. Aside this, kids say grace before eating lunch at school, although I believe this only applies to the younger pupils in smaller schools and maybe it's not done as often as it was in the 90's. Teenagers attend confirmation school around the age of 15 and every school year ends with a divine service at a local church. This might be different in larger cities or in schools with a significant amount of foreigners.

In the Evangelical Lutheran Church (which is about 75% of the Finns) children are baptized about 6 weeks after birth and the christening event takes place either in a church or at home. On average every child has 2-4 godparents. Imagine the confusion when some of my classmates found out that I was actually non-religious (read: an atheist), wasn't baptized and also had no godparents at all! Also, the weddings and funerals are very often held in churches. Finns also pay something that's called the church tax. "All members of either the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Finnish Orthodox Church (the two state churches of Finland) pay an income-based church tax of between 1% and 2%, depending on the municipality. (Wikipedia)"

Estonia, on the other hand, is one of the least religious countries in the world. More than 50% of Estonians don't believe in God, at least not in the traditional way. You can read more about this on Wikipedia. Baptism isn't very common in Estonia as names for newborns are registered at the city hall. Actually nowadays you can do all this online. While funerals are often held in churches, weddings not so often, although personally to me it does seem that church weddings are becoming somewhat more popular in Estonia.

Tallinn old town

Estonians are more innovative

In Estonia you can do many things online and the local ID card allows voting, doing your taxes, using public transportation (which is free for those that live in Tallinn, by the way) and more.

There's also e-Health meaning that over 95% of the data generated by hospitals and doctors has been digitized, which makes it easy for the doctors to store patient data digitally (e-estonia.com).

So technologically the country is quite advanced in this sense.

Enjoying traditional dinner in Naantali, Finland

Finns complain more, yet also take action

Personally I find the Finns to be the type of people that generally complain about things more than the Estonians do, but this isn't necessarily a negative trait as they actually do something about the complaints. Finns aren't shy about their opinions and often make them public and make sure the feedback or complaint reaches the required sources. If an Estonian gets bad service in a restaurant, hotel or a shop, they don't normally complain as these bad experiences are often forgiven because of the low salary of the impolite/unprofessional service employee.

Fall colors in Porkkalanniemi, Finland

Estonians get things done faster

While Estonians might not send out complaints as often as the Finns do, they still get things done by searching for alternatives. In working life Finns often seek for everyone's approval, while Estonia is more hierarchical in the sense that decisions are made fast(er) and not everyone's approval is necessary. It's sometimes good, like when Estonia legalized same-sex unions / partnerships.


Aesthetics are more important in Estonia than in Finland

Generally things look a little nicer in Estonia. People value aesthetics more in Estonia than in Finland. In Estonia it's important how things look, how you look, how your house looks. It's just a part of who we are. It has changed a lot in the last 20 years but even when you turn on an Estonian TV-channel, everything just looks.. better! Flip through a few of Estonian Facebook profiles and see the difference. The pictures are generally prettier, more thought through before posting.

The medieval old town in Tallinn

Estonians are more private

When you compare the social media behavior between these two nations, the difference is significant! Finns share more of their personal opinions, pictures, thoughts, anything. Estonians post a few pretty pictures here and there but don't post actual status updates or personal opinions very openly. Same applies to general communication. I feel that the Finns generally value openness and even honesty more than their southern neighbors. Estonians often make things look and sound a little nicer than they might actually be. It's not the case of dishonesty, it's about keeping your private life private. So they might tell you that they have a new great job, but don't mention that the employment contract is only for three months and their role in the company is actually lower level than in the previous company. A rough example, but you get the idea.
The Finns, however, often discuss even negative things more openly.

Summer in Nauvo, Finland

The (un)traditional naming habits

Even though we consider the Estonians to be quite a bit more traditional than the Finns, this definitely doesn't apply to the naming habits of children. While Finns are increasingly favoring older, more traditional names like Kerttu, Hilla and Elias and Vilho, Estonians prefer more international or modern names such as Mia and Arabella for girls, and Miron and Romet for boys.

Families are closer in Estonia

Families are much closer in Estonia compared to Finland. Estonians have more and bigger family gatherings, cousins are more important part of a family, grandparents are a huge part of the childs life and adult children generally take care of their elderly parents in Estonia. In Finland, unfortunately, families tend not to be that close. A good example of this is Christmas, when many Finns celebrate the holidays with their immediate family. In Estonia it is often slightly different, and the celebrations tend to be larger including even more distant family members like second cousins, in-law's and more. 

While in Estonia we don't know even one person that doesn't know their cousins, we do know many people in Finland that really don't have any interaction with theirs, ever.

Spending habits

A Finn would brag about the great deal or the low price they got on something they bought.
An Estonian doesn't brag about cheap prices. Estonians generally take pride in being able to afford expensive things and would feel slightly ashamed for having to search for a bargain. And if they did, they certainly wouldn't go around talking about it.

Both want to be better than their neighbor

Being better than your neighbor is actually a thing in both countries but how it's handled is sometimes different. When a Finn's neighbor buys a new car, the jealous acquaintance might call the tax authorities to start a check on the owner of the new car, to see if there's something shady going on as there's no way the neighbor could be doing better by honest means. And even if they were doing better financially, they should, at least, be paying more taxes (at least, according to the neighbor)!  Estonian will, however, work their butt off, get a huge loan and sell the shoes off their feet to get an even better, faster car that they can't really afford.

A Finn and an Estonian in their natural habitat