Tallinn, Estonia
What Tallinn is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 6,727 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.
Business register for this city: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 — named shops, offices, trades and services, which undercounts businesses that are not mapped.
6,727 businesses on file · 139 trades · 27 sectors · registry population 452,563 · built from geonet.estonia on 2026-10-27
Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Tallinn → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.
The local economy
What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.
Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.
Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.
What this city is specialised in
Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 26 metro tables worldwide. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.
Thin against the national pattern
Common trades that are under-represented here. For someone deciding what to open, this is the more useful half of the table — though a gap can mean unmet demand or a market that does not work here, and this does not tell you which.
The base against the entry screen
Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.
How to read the survival figure
Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.
Weighted over 100% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And what it does not measure
A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.
Who lives here, and who the city is for
The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.
No census subdivision is mapped for ee-tallinn in local/census-map.json, so this page carries no census figures. The mapping is kept explicit because Canada has several places called London, Toronto and Kelowna, and attaching the wrong one would put another city's demographics on this page.
People and languages
Who lives here and the languages business runs in: population and age from the statistics offices, and the share who can hold a conversation in English and other languages from the EU’s 2024 language survey. Each figure says whether it covers the city, the region or the whole country.
Languages spoken
- Official: Estonian
- Estonian 49.9% (city, 2021) Statistics Estonia
- Russian 42.3% (city, 2021) Statistics Estonia
- Ukrainian 1.6% (city, 2021) Statistics Estonia
- English 0.6% (city, 2021) Statistics Estonia
- Finnish 0.5% (city, 2021) Statistics Estonia
Doing business in English (and other languages)
- English 58% can hold a conversation (country, 2023) European Commission
- Russian 50% can hold a conversation (country, 2023) European Commission
- Finnish 18% can hold a conversation (country, 2023) European Commission
- German 14% can hold a conversation (country, 2023) European Commission
Special Eurobarometer 540: share of residents aged 15+ who can hold a conversation in English as a non-mother-tongue language (EU27 average 47%). Fieldwork Sept-Oct 2023, published May 2024.
Age: under 15 14.8% · 15–64 66.3% · 65 and over 19% (city, 2025) Eurostat · 220,739 households, 2.06 people each
Not established: Wikipedia (Tallinn article) cites Tallinn City Council: 'As of 2026, 53% of the city's residents were native speakers of Estonian, whereas 42% had Russian as their first language.' Underlying report not identified.; Statistics Estonia census news (via search snippet): 81% of Tallinn's population speak a foreign language (2021). Not opened.
The communities the register shows
A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.
| Community | Institutions | Worship | Trade | Where it shows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonian | 2 | — | 5 |
Estonian Kennel Union · Estonian Cancer Society |
| Thai | — | — | 7 | |
| Chinese | — | — | 2 | |
| Italian | — | — | 2 | |
| Swiss | — | — | 2 | |
| Irish | — | — | 2 | |
| Korean | — | — | 1 | |
| Greek | — | — | 1 | |
| Dutch | — | — | 1 | |
| German | — | — | 1 | |
| French | — | — | 1 | |
| Caribbean | — | — | 1 |
Where the communities are
Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.
What the city is made of
Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 6,727 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.
| Sector | Businesses | Share | What is in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | 1,541 | 22.9% | supermarket (138) · pharmacy (125) · gifts (92) · convenience (89) · jewelry (83) · bakery (46) · electronics (44) · books (34) |
| Business | 799 | 11.9% | association (11) · religion (3) · logistics (3) · staffing (2) · consulting (1) · foundation (1) · research (1) |
| Dining | 716 | 10.6% | restaurant (712) · deli (4) |
| Fashion | 491 | 7.3% | clothing (414) · shoes (76) · wig (1) |
| Beverage | 423 | 6.3% | coffee (336) · alcohol (70) · wine (14) · beverages (3) |
| Beauty | 414 | 6.2% | beauty salon (216) · barber (126) · cosmetics (51) · pet grooming (12) · tattoo (8) · nails (1) |
| Living | 351 | 5.2% | furniture (87) · florist (82) · theatre (30) · dry cleaning (24) · childcare (16) · houseware (16) · sewing (11) · locksmith (9) |
| Automotive | 310 | 4.6% | car repair (166) · car wash (68) · auto parts (42) · tires (17) · motorcycle (16) · truck (1) |
| Travel | 302 | 4.5% | hotel (86) · museum (60) · car rental (23) · laundry (14) · bed and breakfast (12) · boat (3) · travel agent (1) |
| Health | 246 | 3.7% | optician (55) · doctor (24) · massage (18) · hospital (14) |
| Entertainment | 242 | 3.6% | bar (156) · casino (27) · nightclub (19) · cinema (9) · music (9) · charity (6) · video game (5) · party (4) |
| Construction | 103 | 1.5% | electrical (9) · flooring (8) · HVAC (5) · pottery (4) · paint (3) · tile (3) · swimming pool (2) · carpet (2) |
| Energy | 92 | 1.4% | fuel (92) |
| Sports | 90 | 1.3% | sporting goods (43) · bicycle (33) · fishing (10) · hunting (4) |
| Education | 74 | 1.1% | library (26) · university (12) · music lesson (9) · college (9) · driving school (7) · training (4) |
| Realty | 53 | 0.8% | real estate (25) · apartment (17) · studio (11) |
| Food | 50 | 0.7% | candy (19) · ice cream (11) · cheese (7) · seafood (6) · spices (4) · health food (3) |
| Tech | 38 | 0.6% | computers (37) · computer repair (1) |
| Finance | 30 | 0.4% | accounting (3) |
| Design | 19 | 0.3% | art (10) · frame (5) · graphic design (3) · painting (1) |
The franchises already here
Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.
18 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.
| Brand | Category | Here | Worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald's | hamburger | 7 | 31,800 |
| Burger King | fastfood | 5 | 11,000 |
| Calvin Klein | mensunderwear | 4 | — |
| The Body Shop | retail | 3 | — |
| Tommy Hilfiger | retail | 3 | 122 |
| Max Mara | retail | 2 | — |
| Armani Exchange | retail | 1 | 108 |
| Baskin Robbins | dessert | 1 | 2,800 |
| DHL Express | post | 1 | 6,500 |
| Radisson name only | upscalehotel | 4 | — |
| Aldo name only | retail | 3 | — |
| Honda name only | car | 3 | — |
| Toyota name only | car | 3 | — |
| Esprit name only | retail | 2 | — |
| Europcar name only | car | 2 | 2,825 |
| Armani name only | fashion | 1 | — |
| Aveda name only | retail | 1 | — |
| CircleK name only | convenience | 1 | 4,600 |
| Diana name only | supermarket | 1 | 3 |
| Fotex name only | retail | 1 | 76 |
| Hyatt name only | upscalehotel | 1 | — |
| Lacoste name only | — | 1 | — |
| Lexus name only | luxurycar | 1 | — |
| MANGO name only | retail | 1 | 850 |
| Sokos name only | retail | 1 | 21 |
| Stockmann name only | retail | 1 | 7 |
| Versace name only | designerclothing | 1 | 61 |
Real estate as a local trade
Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.
Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.
Selling homes
5312Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.
Named in the register
- Arco Vara — Rävala pst 5
- Domus kinnisvara — Pärnu mnt 130
- Elum — Roseni 9
- Estre Kinnisvaravahenduse OÜ — Pärnu mnt 160e
- Howden — Pärnu mnt 158/1
- KV Jahutus OÜ — Pärnu mnt 142
- Lahendused Pluss KV OÜ — Pärnu mnt 142
- MAVE — Pärnu mnt 160e
- Plus Kinnisvara — Pärnu mnt 110
- Re al kinnisvara — Lembitu 14
- Scandium — Hallivanamehe 4
- Solid House — Tartu mnt 24
- Uus Maa Arena — Hallivanamehe 4
- Uusmaa Pluss — Kaupmehe 7
Owning and letting
5311Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.
Named in the register
- Apartment
- Bob W Ambassador — Villem Reimani 8
- Bob W Kesklinn — Veski 1
- Bob W Telliskivi
- Daily Apartment — Tatari 56
- Hetke Living Kakumäe
- Larsen Apartments
- Larsen Apartments
- Mustjõe Proovikas — Kaera 8
- Silva — Laulu 14
- Sky Media — Pärnu mnt 139f
- Sume — Ehitajate tee 140
- Tallinn Apartment
- TV3
Who actually owns it
The full property record →From the /property research for this city, which asks a different question: not who trades in property here, but who owns it. An owner is named there only where a document says so. Owner public at €2 + VAT per look; sale prices only in groups of five.
Landowners
- Riigi Kinnisvara AS (Republic of Estonia) — 455 properties, 6.1 million m² of land, 791 buildings with 984,000 m² net floor area owned (31 Dec 2025, Estonia-wide)
- AS Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) — 67.03% Republic of Estonia — Old City Harbour; 16 ha for property development there
- AS Tallinna Lennujaam (Tallinn Airport) — Republic of Estonia — Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport; real estate via AS Airport City
- Kapitel group — 11.4 ha unbuilt at J. Smuuli tee 1, plus central parcels
Homebuilders
- Merko Ehitus (Merko Kodud) — 148 apartments sold in Estonia (358 group-wide), €67.8m
- Liven AS — 176 new sales contracts in 2025
- Hepsor AS — 141 apartments sold in 2025 (Estonia and Latvia)
- AS Pro Kapital Grupp — Kalaranna District: 387 apartments in 12 buildings, completed 2025
- Arco Vara AS — 48 apartments sold in 2025
- Kodusadam OÜ (Merko–BLRT joint venture) — 10 apartment buildings completed in Noblessner; 83 flats under way
Commercial landlords
- Linstow AS — Ülemiste 129,800 m² + two hotels 40,742 m²
- EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS — 16 assets listed under Tallinn, €165.0m fair value, c. 146,300 m² net leasable
- Kapitel group — Viru Keskus (control), Delta Plaza, Nordic Hotel Forum, Arter quarter, 11.4 ha at J. Smuuli tee 1
- Baltic Horizon Fund — 3 Tallinn assets, €42.7m, c. 25,400 m² net leasable
- Citycon Oyj — Rocca al Mare Shopping Centre (bought 2005 for €62.1m)
- Astri Grupp — Balti Jaama Turg, DEPOO and the Keskturg site
11 marquee buildings examined, 9 with an owner established.
On "how many doors"
How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the Tallinn property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.
Work on the go, mobile services
The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you. Each service opens a page on Ultimate 411 to request a quote or book a time.
A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 186 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 3 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.
The 186 Service=1 rows in search.local: work on the go, mobile services, where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.
home services
services
events
pets
luxury
healthcare
sporting goods
sports
business
outdoors
travel
construction
Schools and colleges
wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.
In the business register
Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.
Health and care
What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.
geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.
Mayor & politics
Who holds office here, from the official lists on /politics: the mayor and city council, and the national parliament members elected for the city. Each name opens its row there.
Funded & hiring here
Companies in this city that have raised money, and the careers pages of employers here, from the /employers research and the company database. For someone looking for work here, this is the shortlist.
Funded here — 2 companies have raised money
A fresh round usually means hiring. Largest raise first; the amount links to its source where one is on file, and the currency is as the source wrote it.
| Company | Raised | Staff here | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veriff softwareDepository credit intermediation | $200Mtotal after the $100M Series C, Jan 2022, at a $1.5B valuation (company release via Help Net Security) | — | Careers → |
| Starship softwareTech | $17.2M | — | Careers → |
Careers pages — 4 more employers here
Each link goes to the company's own careers page or official job board, not a third-party listing site. Largest local staff first.
What this record cannot tell you
Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.
- No census figures on this page: this region is not mapped to a census subdivision in local/census-map.json, so the community counts here are business-register institutions, which is a different measurement and cannot substitute for a population.
- wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
- No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
- 0.0% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 21.4%.
Built from
geonet.estonia— the local business registerwander.regions— city name, population, metrosearch.local— trait vocabulary and the come-to-you servicessearch.cozfranchises— 2,024 franchise brands