Estonia has claimed its third consecutive victory in the Reinvantage IT Competitiveness Index, scoring 65.45 points from a possible 100 and reinforcing its position as a digital leader. The Baltic nation of 1.4 million people tops a field that has expanded this year to include 32 countries across emerging Europe, the Mediterranean, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

The 2026 edition of the Future of IT report, published today, reveals that small countries with smart policies continue to dominate the digital economy. Cyprus, a first-time entrant with the same population as Estonia, has landed directly in second place with 61.92 points, outperforming Poland (38 million people, third place) and demonstrating that scale provides no inherent advantage in the digital age.

“The lesson from this year’s expanded index is unambiguous,” said Craig Turp-Balazs, Head of Insight and Analysis at Reinvantage. “In the digital economy, institutional quality and policy coherence matter far more than population or landmass. Estonia and Cyprus, both with around 1.4 million citizens, are outcompeting nations twenty times their size. That’s not an accident—it’s the result of deliberate strategic choices about education, infrastructure, and business environment.”

Future technologies pillar separates leaders from laggards

The 2026 index introduces a fifth pillar for the first time: future technologies, which examines how countries regulate and deploy AI, IoT, and blockchain technologies. Estonia dominates this metric with a score of 86.77—the highest any country achieves on any pillar in the entire index. Jordan, despite ranking only 13th overall, scores an impressive 76.61 in future technologies, demonstrating how middle-income countries can compete through strategic focus.

“Future technologies is the most revealing metric we’ve introduced,” Turp-Balazs explained. “It separates countries preparing for tomorrow’s economy from those still struggling with today’s. Estonia saw AI coming and prepared. Countries scoring below 40 on this pillar—and there are several—are not positioning themselves for success in an economy increasingly driven by algorithmic decision-making.”

The index’s five pillars—talent, infrastructure, economic impact, business environment, and future technologies—reveal stark gaps between countries. Romania, for instance, ranks third in infrastructure (71.85) but has fallen to 15th overall due to an anaemic talent score of 34.97. Belarus scores 54.71 in infrastructure but only 15.83 in business environment, illustrating how authoritarian governance undermines digital economy potential.

Mediterranean and Central Asian entrants show wide variation

Among the nine new entrants, Cyprus’s second-place debut stands out dramatically. Greece takes tenth (53.72 points), whilst Turkey ranks eleventh (52.42 points), possessing the highest talent score among newcomers. Central Asian republics cluster in the bottom half, with Kazakhstan 18th, Uzbekistan 20th, and Tajikistan bringing up the rear at 32nd with just 29.96 points overall.

“The Central Asian republics face a common challenge: weak institutions and underdeveloped future technologies infrastructure,” said Turp-Balazs. “Tajikistan scores merely 11.79 in future technologies and 11.44 in business environment. These are countries still emerging from decades of sclerotic governance. The path forward requires comprehensive reform across multiple dimensions simultaneously—difficult for any government, impossible for dysfunctional ones.”

Ukraine, despite ongoing war, ranks 17th with 47.31 points and achieves a creditable 62.23 in future technologies. Poland has risen from fourth to third place through steady improvement across all metrics. Serbia has climbed from 13th to ninth, demonstrating that balanced attention to all pillars yields results.

Policy coherence trumps natural advantages

The expanded index reinforces a counterintuitive finding: natural advantages matter less than policy choices. Serbia, Georgia, and Jordan all outperform on specific metrics despite facing geopolitical challenges or limited resources.

“The digital economy is unforgiving,” Turp-Balazs noted. “It rewards competence and punishes dysfunction with brutal efficiency. Countries that score well across all five pillars are positioning themselves for success. Those with weak talent pools, hostile business environments, and indifference to emerging technologies face a choice: reform or irrelevance. There’s no middle ground.”

Two countries are notably absent from the index. Turkmenistan provides no data at all, whilst Kyrgyzstan publishes education statistics only once every five years, making annual assessment of talent impossible. “In the information age, opacity remains the enemy of progress,” Turp-Balazs observed.

The full 2026 report includes detailed country profiles, comprehensive pillar analysis, and examination of wage gaps, productivity metrics, and talent flows across the region.

The full report is available for purchase here.