Considering the fact that the IT sector is the fastest growing part of the economy of almost every modern country in the world (including in Europe), you could easily predict the future.
If you know what are the cities with the fastest growing IT industry in Europe, you already know the answer of the question.
It is quite simple – the faster the IT industry of one country or city grows, the better are its chances to become a desired place to live and work over the next few years.
It is a fact that can’t be denied: the IT sector is the petrol of the 21st century.
So what are fastest growing IT centers in Europe today?
Tallinn, Estonia
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia had always been a poor and underdeveloped peripheral part of the communist bloc.
The country suffered because of its serious lack of natural and mineral resources.
Most people were living in poverty, suffering because of the very low standard of living.
In 1991, the USSR collapsed. The situation in Estonia started to gradually change and improve.
On May 1, 2004, Estonia became a member of the European Union and that was a very strong impulse for positive changes.
Initially, Estonia was one of the poorest countries in the community.
Over the last few years, however, the country has experienced dramatic changes.
With the rapid penetration of the information technology in the lives of the modern Europeans, some countries appeared to be faster advancing than others.
It turns out, Estonia is among the best in this respect not only in Europe but in the world. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is one of the cities in the world with the fastest growing IT industry.
Moreover, Tallinn has the ambition to become the most important IT hub on the planet over the next years.
Undoubtedly, this will have a huge impact on the economic development of the small Baltic country.
The change is already noticeable.
The IT sector creates a huge number of jobs, making the life of the local people much better.
The city experience a real startup boom and the best thing of all is that the young people have a constantly improving environment for professional development.
As one of the most progressive cities in Europe, Tallinn shouldn’t worry for its future.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Bulgaria today is still the poorest country in the European Union.
However, this will soon change dramatically.
As we’ve seen many times throughout history, it is very common poor countries to become rich and rich to become poor.
For this reason, what we are going to see over the next few years should not surprise us.
Although for many people Bulgaria is a synonym of a poor country, it hasn’t always been like that.
Actually, Bulgaria remembers times when the country was one of the richest and most developed nations in the world, not very different from Austria or Switzerland.
But let’s talk about today.
Nowadays, in times when the IT industry is becoming more and more important to the prosperity of every country, when information technology is dictating the progress and economic development of the world, Bulgaria is in much better situation than most other countries in the world.
The country, like Estonia, is experiencing a very large boom in information technology.
The Bulgaria’s IT sector is developing better than the IT sectors of almost any other country in the world and the center of all this progress is the city of Sofia.
The capital of Bulgaria could easily be described as one of the five most progressive IT centers in Europe and would certainly taken a very prestigious leading place in the world.
And while in Bulgaria the standard of living is still low compared to other countries in Europe, the people working in the IT industry have living standard which is not lower than this of their colleagues in the richest Western European cities such as Paris, Berlin, London or Madrid.
Today in Sofia you can find some of the best IT professionals in Europe and entrepreneurship in this sector is now flourishing.
In percentage terms, the IT industry usually experiences annual growth in salaries of around 8% per year.
The industry’s needs of skilled workers are so huge that even with the best will the newly opened job positions can not be occupied completely.
Due to the rapid development of the sector, the unemployment rate in Bulgaria is now melting down, and recently ranks among the lowest in Europe.
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm is one of the best cities to live in the world but actually this is not the reason why you are seeing the Swedish capital here.
An interesting fact is that Stockholm is one of the very few cities in Europe which are very well developed and at the same time experience very strong growth in the IT industry.
In the case of Stockholm, the reason for its IT progress is the extremely favorable startup environment. In this respect, the beautiful Scandinavian metropolis really has a lot to teach us.
Stockholm offers excellent conditions for starting a new business, and actually, this is the reason why so many world-renowned IT professionals have decided to establish their companies here.
Among the reasons which make the city so attractive are the possibility to start and close your business easily, the clear and easy to understand tax policy, as well as the huge number of very good specialists.
Another advantage to run your IT business in the Swedish capital and to move here is that Stockholm is practically the most desirable city to live in Europe at the moment and this trend obviously will not change in the near future.
Bucharest, Romania
Bucharest, the capital of Romania, has become one of the world’s fastest growing IT centres.
The Eastern Paris, as they often call the capital of Romania because of its beautiful architecture, is considered probably the best place in Europe when it comes to outsourcing.
A number of large, small and average IT companies have decide to transfer part of its business in Bucharest over the last few years.
What attracts the business is the complex combination of factors such as low taxes, stable business environment, huge number of highly qualified IT professionals and of course the ability to hire high-skilled staff without spending too much for salaries because Bucharest is much cheaper place to live than London, for example.
The rapid development of the IT industry certainly has a very favorable impact on the quality of life in the Romanian capital.
Recently, the city even attracts settlers from other countries in Western Europe.
Many of these people have arrived here to live and to do business because of the constantly improving business conditions in the city.
Dublin, Ireland
Talking about the rapid developing IT industry in Europe, we couldn’t miss the name of the Irish capital Dublin.
The city, which over the last few years has experienced unprecedented for a developed country economic progress, can boast one of the fastest growing IT industries in Europe.
Although Dublin, together with Stockholm, Sofia, Tallinn and Bucharest, still gives way to the older IT centers in Europe such as London, Paris and Munich, its future is bright and can transform Dublin into the most developed high-tech city in Europe.
Besides the large number of highly qualified IT specialists coming here from all across Europe, the city offers excellent opportunities for starting a business.
It is extremely easy, and taxes in this fast growing center are among the lowest in Europe.
