Demographics of Latvia | |
---|---|
![]() Latvia population pyramid in 2020 | |
Population | ![]() |
Growth rate | ![]() |
Birth rate | 8.5 births/1,000 population (2022) [3] |
Death rate | 16.4 deaths/1,000 population (2022) [4] |
Life expectancy | 76.1 years (2023) [5] |
• male | 71.7 years (2023) [6] |
• female | 80.2 years (2023) [7] |
Fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2023) [8] |
Infant mortality rate | 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023) [9] |
Net migration rate | 11.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022) [10] |
Sex ratio | |
Total | 0.86 male(s)/female (2022) [11] |
At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female (2022) [12] |
Under 15 | 1.06 male(s)/female (2022) [13] |
15–64 years | 0.97 male(s)/female (2022) [14] |
65 and over | 0.50 male(s)/female (2022) [15] |
Nationality | |
Nationality | noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian |
Major ethnic | Latvians (62,4%) (2023) [16] |
Minor ethnic | Russians (23.7%), Belarusians (3.0%), Ukrainians (3.0%) (2023) [17] |
Language | |
Official | Latvian |
Spoken | Latvian (62.0%), Russian (34.6%) (2022) [18] |
As of 1 May 2024, Latvia had a total population of 1,862,700. [19] Demographic features of the population of the historical territory of Latvia include population density, ethnic background, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Latvia was settled by Baltic tribes some three millennia ago. The territories along the eastern Baltic first came under foreign domination at the beginning of the 13th century, with the formal establishment of Riga in 1201 under the German Teutonic Knights.
Latvia, in whole or in parts, remained under foreign rule for the next eight centuries, finding itself at the cross-roads of all the regional superpowers of their day, including Denmark (the Danes held on lands around the Gulf of Riga), Sweden, and Russia, with southern (Courland) Latvia being at one time a vassal to Poland-Lithuania as well as Latgale falling directly under Poland-Lithuania rule. Through all this time, Latvia remained largely under Baltic German hegemony, with Baltic Germans comprising the largest land-owners, a situation which did not change until Latvia's independence.
Historically, Latvia has had significant German, Russian, Jewish, Polish, Belarusian and Lithuanian minorities. The majority (roughly two thirds) of Latvians, under Swedish influences, adopted Lutheranism, while the minority (the remaining third) of Latvians under Poland-Lithuania, Latgale in particular, retained their Catholicism. Aglona, in Latgale, has been the site of annual Catholic pilgrimage for centuries, even through to today. During the Second World War the Jewish population was largely decimated by Nazi Germany as part of the holocaust.
Recently[ when? ] introduced immigration law in Latvia provides framework for immigration through investment in various financial areas or real estate. In 2012, solely 2,435 [20] applications for residence permit by investment in real estate were received by Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs. Main immigrant countries are Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania (Lithuania is in the European Union, thus no investment is needed). Moreover, Latvia receives residence permit applications from people of nationalities such as Afghans, Chinese, Libyans and people from various other distant countries.
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1863 | 1,240,988 | — |
1897 | 1,929,387 | +1.31% |
1914 | 2,552,000 | +1.66% |
1920 | 1,596,131 | −7.52% |
1925 | 1,844,805 | +2.94% |
1930 | 1,900,045 | +0.59% |
1935 | 1,950,936 | +0.53% |
1943 | 1,760,162 | −1.28% |
1950 | 1,943,146 | +1.42% |
1959 | 2,079,948 | +0.76% |
1970 | 2,351,903 | +1.12% |
1979 | 2,502,816 | +0.69% |
1989 | 2,666,567 | +0.64% |
2000 | 2,377,383 | −1.04% |
2011 | 2,070,371 | −1.25% |
2021 | 1,893,223 | −0.89% |
2024 | 1,862,700 | −0.54% |
Source: [21] [22] [23] |
Over 130,000 persons have been naturalized as Latvian citizens since 1995 and 182,375 persons, as of 2022, live in Latvia with non-citizen's passports. Large numbers of Russians, as well as some Ukrainians and Belarusians remained in Latvia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
According to the provisional results of the Population and Housing Census 2011, the total population of Latvia on 1 March 2011 was 2,067,887. Since the previous census in 2000 the country's population decreased by 309,000 or 13%. [24] Based on the Population and Housing Census 2021, the total population of Latvia on 1 January 2021 was 1,893,223. Since the previous census in 2011 the country's population decreased by 174,664 or 8,5%. The proportion of ethnic Latvians increased to 62.7% of the population. [25] Livonians are the other indigenous ethnic group, with about 250 of them remaining. [26] Latgalians are a distinctive subgroup of Latvians inhabiting or coming from Eastern Latvia.
According to rankings provided by the United States Census Bureau—International Data Base (IDB)—Country Rankings, Latvia is estimated to have a population of 1,249,812 in the year 2050. [27]
![]() | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
![]() | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
![]() | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Census year | Children | Working age | Pensioners |
---|---|---|---|
1897 | 41.0 | 52.8 | 6.2 |
1920 | 38.3 | 52.9 | 8.6 |
1935 | 30.4 | 60.3 | 9.2 |
1943 | 29.1 | 60.6 | 10.3 |
1959 | 30.0 | 63.2 | 6.8 |
1970 | 23.1 | 56.2 | 20.7 |
1979 | 21.8 | 58.3 | 19.9 |
1989 | 22.7 | 56.6 | 20.7 |
2000 | 18.0 | 58.9 | 23.1 |
2011 | 14.1 | 64.1 | 21.8 |
2021 | 16.1 | 61.9 | 22.1 |
Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia [30]
Average population | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) | Crude migration change (per 1000) | Total fertility rate | Infant mortality rate (per 1000 births) | Life expectancy at birth (males) | Life expectancy at birth (females) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1920 | 1,727,000 | 29,434 | 33,891 | −4,457 | 17.0 | 19.6 | −2.5 | 73.7 | 128.4 | |||
1921 | 1,850,000 | 36,420 | 25,331 | 11,089 | 19.7 | 13.7 | 5.9 | 11.9 | 93.2 | |||
1922 | 1,883,000 | 41,146 | 27,553 | 13,593 | 21.9 | 14.6 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 90.8 | |||
1923 | 1,909,000 | 41,796 | 26,080 | 15,716 | 21.9 | 13.7 | -41.7 | 8.2 | 88.4 | |||
1924 | 1,845,000 | 41,172 | 28,399 | 12,773 | 22.3 | 15.4 | 6.9 | -0.4 | 100.8 | 50.7 | 56.9 | |
1925 | 1,857,000 | 41,314 | 27,683 | 13,631 | 22.3 | 14.9 | 7.3 | 0.2 | 107.2 | |||
1926 | 1,871,000 | 41,073 | 27,557 | 13,516 | 22.0 | 14.7 | 7.2 | -0.8 | 87.9 | |||
1927 | 1,883,000 | 41,610 | 28,941 | 12,669 | 22.1 | 15.4 | 6.7 | -0.3 | 95.7 | |||
1928 | 1,895,000 | 39,126 | 27,299 | 11,827 | 20.7 | 14.4 | 6.2 | -3.6 | 96.3 | |||
1929 | 1,900,000 | 35,673 | 28,512 | 7,161 | 18.8 | 15.0 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 106.7 | |||
1930 | 1,910,000 | 37,835 | 27,110 | 10,725 | 19.8 | 14.2 | 5.6 | -0.4 | 90.0 | |||
1931 | 1,920,000 | 36,972 | 26,891 | 10,081 | 19.3 | 14.0 | 5.2 | 0.5 | 86.3 | |||
1932 | 1,931,000 | 37,366 | 26,342 | 11,024 | 19.4 | 13.6 | 5.7 | -1.6 | 89.3 | |||
1933 | 1,939,000 | 34,576 | 26,319 | 8,257 | 17.8 | 13.6 | 4.2 | -0.1 | 76.4 | |||
1934 | 1,947,000 | 33,383 | 27,065 | 6,318 | 17.2 | 13.9 | 3.2 | -0.1 | 95.1 | 55.1 | 60.6 | |
1935 | 1,953,000 | 34,419 | 27,660 | 6,759 | 17.6 | 14.2 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 78.9 | 55.0 | 61.0 | |
1936 | 1,961,000 | 35,468 | 27,646 | 7,822 | 18.1 | 14.1 | 3.9 | -0.3 | 80.1 | |||
1937 | 1,968,000 | 34,863 | 28,083 | 6,780 | 17.7 | 14.3 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 85.0 | |||
1938 | 1,978,000 | 36,386 | 26,703 | 9,683 | 18.4 | 13.5 | 4.9 | 6.2 | 68.1 | |||
1939 | 2,000,000 | 36,932 | 27,827 | 9,105 | 18.5 | 13.9 | 4.6 | -34.6 | 70.2 | |||
1940 | 1,940,000 | 37,493 | 30,355 | 7,138 | 19.3 | 15.7 | 3.6 | -99.0 | 73.2 | |||
1941 | 1,755,000 | 36,295 | 30,434 | 5,861 | 20.7 | 17.3 | 3.4 | -6.2 | 81.7 | |||
1942 | 1,750,000 | 36,370 | 29,940 | 6,430 | 20.7 | 17.1 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 81.1 | |||
1943 | 1,760,000 | 35,915 | 29,904 | 6,011 | 20.4 | 16.9 | 3.5 | 93.4 | ||||
1944 | 2.30 | |||||||||||
1945 | 26,217 | 32,230 | −6,013 | 111.1 | ||||||||
1946 | 1,553,577 | 30,544 | 32,266 | −1,722 | 18.7 | 19.7 | −1.0 | 106.0 | 93.9 | |||
1947 | 1,716,773 | 34,832 | 32,435 | 2,397 | 19.5 | 18.2 | 1.3 | 80.0 | 108.7 | |||
1948 | 1,856,419 | 35,402 | 26,500 | 8,902 | 18.9 | 14.2 | 4.7 | 11.7 | 79.3 | |||
1949 | 1,886,792 | 35,671 | 25,640 | 10,031 | 18.9 | 13.6 | 5.3 | -6.7 | 83.3 | |||
1950 | 1,884,077 | 33,137 | 24,250 | 8,887 | 17.6 | 12.9 | 4.7 | -1.6 | 70.0 | |||
1951 | 1,889,974 | 32,764 | 23,898 | 8,866 | 17.3 | 12.6 | 4.7 | -0.1 | 69.6 | |||
1952 | 1,898,577 | 32,278 | 22,680 | 9,598 | 16.9 | 11.9 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 52.9 | |||
1953 | 1,912,837 | 30,986 | 22,761 | 8,225 | 16.1 | 11.8 | 4.3 | 9.4 | 46.8 | |||
1954 | 1,939,138 | 33,202 | 22,500 | 10,702 | 17.0 | 11.5 | 5.5 | 8.6 | 45.9 | |||
1955 | 1,966,567 | 32,968 | 21,330 | 11,638 | 16.6 | 10.8 | 5.8 | 8.8 | 42.0 | |||
1956 | 1,995,354 | 32,590 | 20,339 | 12,251 | 16.1 | 10.1 | 6.0 | 16.9 | 33.9 | |||
1957 | 2,040,978 | 33,714 | 21,087 | 12,627 | 16.4 | 10.3 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 32.3 | |||
1958 | 2,066,368 | 35,068 | 20,910 | 14,158 | 16.9 | 10.1 | 6.8 | -0.2 | 29.5 | 65.2 | 72.4 | |
1959 | 2,079,948 | 35,028 | 22,601 | 12,427 | 16.7 | 10.8 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 30.8 | |||
1960 | 2,104,128 | 35,468 | 21,314 | 14,154 | 16.7 | 10.0 | 6.7 | 9.3 | 1.99 | 27.0 | ||
1961 | 2,137,830 | 35,993 | 21,759 | 14,234 | 16.7 | 10.1 | 6.6 | 7.3 | 2.01 | 24.1 | 66.1 | 73.5 |
1962 | 2,167,531 | 35,061 | 23,592 | 11,469 | 16.1 | 10.8 | 5.3 | 7.7 | 1.91 | 24.2 | ||
1963 | 2,195,640 | 33,843 | 22,703 | 11,140 | 15.3 | 10.3 | 5.0 | 8.9 | 1.85 | 25.9 | 67.0 | 74.0 |
1964 | 2,226,198 | 33,053 | 21,165 | 11,888 | 14.8 | 9.4 | 5.4 | 7.6 | 1.79 | 22.0 | ||
1965 | 2,255,048 | 31,212 | 22,780 | 8,432 | 13.8 | 10.1 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 1.74 | 18.9 | 66.6 | 74.4 |
1966 | 2,276,789 | 31,974 | 23,350 | 8,624 | 14.0 | 10.2 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 1.76 | 17.0 | ||
1967 | 2,289,645 | 32,232 | 24,362 | 7,870 | 14.0 | 10.6 | 3.4 | 6.7 | 1.80 | 17.3 | ||
1968 | 2,312,795 | 32,693 | 25,104 | 7,589 | 14.1 | 10.8 | 3.3 | 6.1 | 1.83 | 18.9 | ||
1969 | 2,334,443 | 32,915 | 26,229 | 6,686 | 14.0 | 11.2 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 1.88 | 17.7 | 65.5 | 74.2 |
1970 | 2,351,903 | 34,333 | 26,546 | 7,787 | 14.6 | 11.3 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.01 | 17.7 | 66.0 | 74.4 |
1971 | 2,366,424 | 35,239 | 26,275 | 8,964 | 14.8 | 11.1 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 2.05 | 15.9 | 65.4 | 74.6 |
1972 | 2,386,353 | 35,007 | 27,296 | 7,711 | 14.6 | 11.4 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 2.03 | 16.0 | 65.0 | 75.0 |
1973 | 2,404,995 | 34,008 | 28,139 | 5,869 | 14.1 | 11.6 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 1.96 | 15.8 | 65.2 | 74.7 |
1974 | 2,426,642 | 34,920 | 28,143 | 6,777 | 14.3 | 11.5 | 2.8 | 5.9 | 1.99 | 18.4 | ||
1975 | 2,447,730 | 34,810 | 30,042 | 4,768 | 14.2 | 12.2 | 2.0 | 4.9 | 1.96 | 20.3 | 64.2 | 74.3 |
1976 | 2,464,529 | 34,644 | 30,373 | 4,271 | 14.0 | 12.3 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 1.93 | 20.1 | 64.4 | 74.3 |
1977 | 2,477,449 | 34,240 | 30,869 | 3,371 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 1.4 | 4.8 | 1.88 | 18.3 | 64.5 | 74.2 |
1978 | 2,492,697 | 34,258 | 31,261 | 2,997 | 13.7 | 12.5 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 1.86 | 18.1 | 63.7 | 73.9 |
1979 | 2,503,145 | 34,683 | 32,162 | 2,521 | 13.8 | 12.8 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.86 | 18.3 | 63.6 | 73.9 |
1980 | 2,508,761 | 35,534 | 32,100 | 3,434 | 14.1 | 12.8 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.88 | 15.3 | 63.6 | 74.2 |
1981 | 2,514,640 | 35,732 | 32,090 | 3,642 | 14.2 | 12.7 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 1.88 | 16.0 | 63.9 | 74.4 |
1982 | 2,524,202 | 37,477 | 31,234 | 6,243 | 14.8 | 12.3 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 1.97 | 13.9 | 64.0 | 74.5 |
1983 | 2,537,958 | 40,572 | 32,330 | 8,242 | 15.9 | 12.7 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.12 | 15.9 | 63.9 | 74.5 |
1984 | 2,554,063 | 40,847 | 33,406 | 7,441 | 15.9 | 13.0 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.14 | 12.9 | 64.4 | 74.2 |
1985 | 2,570,030 | 39,751 | 34,166 | 5,585 | 15.4 | 13.2 | 2.2 | 4.7 | 2.08 | 13.0 | 65.5 | 74.5 |
1986 | 2,587,716 | 41,960 | 31,328 | 10,632 | 16.1 | 12.0 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 2.21 | 12.8 | 66.3 | 75.0 |
1987 | 2,612,068 | 42,135 | 32,150 | 9,985 | 16.0 | 12.2 | 3.8 | 7.3 | 2.21 | 11.3 | ||
1988 | 2,641,097 | 41,275 | 32,421 | 8,854 | 15.6 | 12.2 | 3.4 | 5.9 | 2.16 | 11.0 | 66.3 | 75.1 |
1989 | 2,665,770 | 38,922 | 32,584 | 6,338 | 14.6 | 12.2 | 2.4 | -1.5 | 2.04 | 11.3 | 65.3 | 75.2 |
1990 | 2,668,140 | 37,918 | 34,812 | 3,106 | 14.2 | 13.1 | 1.1 | -4.8 | 2.00 | 13.7 | 64.2 | 74.6 |
1991 | 2,658,161 | 34,633 | 34,749 | −116 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 0.0 | -5.7 | 1.86 | 15.7 | 63.8 | 74.8 |
1992 | 2,643,000 | 31,569 | 35,420 | −3,851 | 12.1 | 13.5 | −1.4 | -20.3 | 1.74 | 17.6 | 63.3 | 74.8 |
1993 | 2,585,675 | 26,759 | 39,197 | −12,438 | 10.4 | 15.3 | −4.9 | -12.4 | 1.52 | 16.2 | 61.6 | 73.8 |
1994 | 2,540,904 | 24,256 | 41,757 | −17,501 | 9.6 | 16.6 | −7.0 | -8.9 | 1.41 | 15.7 | 60.7 | 72.9 |
1995 | 2,500,580 | 21,595 | 38,931 | −17,336 | 8.7 | 15.7 | −7.0 | -5.4 | 1.27 | 18.8 | 60.8 | 73.1 |
1996 | 2,469,531 | 19,782 | 34,320 | −14,538 | 8.1 | 14.0 | −5.9 | -4.1 | 1.18 | 15.9 | 63.9 | 75.6 |
1997 | 2,444,912 | 18,830 | 33,533 | −14,703 | 7.7 | 13.8 | −6.1 | -3.8 | 1.13 | 15.3 | 64.2 | 75.9 |
1998 | 2,420,789 | 18,410 | 34,200 | −15,790 | 7.6 | 14.2 | −6.6 | -2.3 | 1.12 | 15.0 | 64.1 | 75.5 |
1999 | 2,399,248 | 19,396 | 32,844 | −13,448 | 8.1 | 13.7 | −5.6 | -1.7 | 1.18 | 11.3 | 64.9 | 76.2 |
2000 | 2,381,715 | 20,302 | 32,205 | −11,903 | 8.6 | 13.6 | −5.0 | -6.9 | 1.25 | 10.3 | 64.6 | 75.8 |
2001 | 2,353,384 | 19,726 | 32,991 | −13,265 | 8.4 | 14.1 | −5.7 | -8.1 | 1.22 | 11.0 | 64.2 | 75.5 |
2002 | 2,320,956 | 20,127 | 32,498 | −12,371 | 8.7 | 14.1 | −5.4 | -3.9 | 1.25 | 9.8 | 64.4 | 75.9 |
2003 | 2,299,390 | 21,151 | 32,437 | −11,286 | 9.2 | 14.2 | −5.0 | -4.9 | 1.32 | 9.4 | 65.4 | 75.7 |
2004 | 2,276,520 | 20,551 | 32,024 | −11,473 | 9.1 | 14.2 | −5.1 | -6.7 | 1.29 | 9.3 | 65.5 | 76.1 |
2005 | 2,249,724 | 21,879 | 32,777 | −10,898 | 9.8 | 14.6 | −4.8 | -4.9 | 1.39 | 7.7 | 64.9 | 76.3 |
2006 | 2,227,874 | 22,871 | 33,098 | −10,227 | 10.3 | 14.9 | −4.6 | -3.9 | 1.46 | 7.4 | 65.0 | 76.1 |
2007 | 2,208,840 | 23,958 | 33,042 | −9,084 | 10.9 | 15.0 | −4.1 | -3.6 | 1.54 | 8.5 | 65.3 | 76.2 |
2008 | 2,191,810 | 24,397 | 31,006 | −6,609 | 11.2 | 14.2 | −3.0 | -10.2 | 1.58 | 6.6 | 66.5 | 77.4 |
2009 | 2,162,834 | 22,044 | 29,897 | −7,853 | 10.3 | 14.0 | −3.7 | -15.9 | 1.46 | 7.6 | 67.5 | 77.6 |
2010 | 2,120,504 | 19,781 | 30,040 | −10,259 | 9.4 | 14.3 | −4.9 | -16.7 | 1.36 | 5.6 | 67.9 | 77.9 |
2011 | 2,074,605 | 18,825 | 28,540 | −9,715 | 9.1 | 13.9 | −4.8 | -9.6 | 1.33 | 6.6 | 68.6 | 78.5 |
2012 | 2,044,813 | 19,897 | 29,025 | −9,128 | 9.8 | 14.3 | −4.5 | -5.8 | 1.44 | 6.3 | 65.9 | 78.7 |
2013 | 2,023,825 | 20,596 | 28,691 | −8,095 | 10.2 | 14.3 | −4.1 | -6.9 | 1.52 | 4.4 | 69.3 | 78.8 |
2014 | 2,001,468 | 21,746 | 28,466 | −6,720 | 10.9 | 14.3 | −3.4 | -4.3 | 1.65 | 3.8 | 69.1 | 79.3 |
2015 | 1,986,096 | 21,979 | 28,478 | −6,499 | 11.1 | 14.4 | −3.3 | -5.3 | 1.70 | 4.1 | 69.7 | 79.3 |
2016 | 1,968,957 | 21,968 | 28,580 | −6,612 | 11.2 | 14.6 | −3.4 | -6.2 | 1.74 | 3.7 | 69.8 | 79.4 |
2017 | 1,950,116 | 20,828 | 28,757 | −7,929 | 10.7 | 14.8 | −4.1 | -4.0 | 1.69 | 4.1 | 69.8 | 79.6 |
2018 | 1,934,379 | 19,314 | 28,820 | −9,506 | 10.0 | 15.0 | −5.0 | -2.5 | 1.60 | 3.2 | 70.0 | 79.6 |
2019 | 1,919,968 | 18,786 | 27,719 | −8,933 | 9.8 | 14.5 | −4.7 | -1.8 | 1.61 | 3.4 | 70.8 | 79.9 |
2020 | 1,907,675 | 17,552 | 28,854 | −11,302 | 9.2 | 15.2 | −5.9 | -1.7 | 1.55 | 3.5 | 70.4 | 79.5 |
2021 | 1,893,223 | 17,420 | 34,600 | −17,180 | 9.2 | 18.4 | −9.1 | -0.2 | 1.57 | 2.7 | 68.2 | 77.9 |
2022 | 1,875,757 | 15,954 | 30,731 | -14,777 | 8.5 | 16.4 | -7.9 | 11.7 | 1.47 | 69.4 | 79.3 | |
2023 | 1 883 008 | 14,490 | 28,031 | -13,541 | 7.7 | 14.9 | -7.2 | 1.6 | 1.36 | 70.4 | 80.4 | |
2024 | 1,872,500 |
Period | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase |
---|---|---|---|
January - June 2023 | 7,168 | 14,375 | -7,207 |
January - June 2024 | 6,344 | 13,544 | -7,200 |
Difference | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Age Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 875 225 | 1 017 998 | 1 893 223 | 100 |
0–4 | 50 997 | 47 398 | 98 395 | 5.20 |
5–9 | 53 160 | 49 792 | 102 952 | 5.44 |
10–14 | 52 031 | 49 600 | 101 631 | 5.37 |
15–19 | 46 483 | 44 082 | 90 565 | 4.78 |
20–24 | 43 111 | 39 983 | 83 094 | 4.39 |
25–29 | 55 036 | 51 096 | 106 132 | 5.61 |
30–34 | 70 356 | 66 019 | 136 375 | 7.20 |
35–39 | 67 792 | 64 584 | 132 376 | 6.99 |
40–44 | 60 966 | 61 455 | 122 421 | 6.47 |
45–49 | 63 622 | 66 825 | 130 447 | 6.89 |
50–54 | 60 765 | 67 333 | 128 098 | 6.77 |
55–59 | 61 409 | 72 108 | 133 517 | 7.05 |
60–64 | 58 392 | 75 130 | 133 522 | 7.05 |
65-69 | 44 750 | 66 714 | 111 464 | 5.89 |
70-74 | 34 143 | 59 652 | 93 795 | 4.95 |
75-79 | 23 578 | 51 380 | 74 958 | 3.96 |
80-84 | 18 166 | 47 524 | 65 690 | 3.47 |
85-89 | 7 544 | 24 706 | 32 250 | 1.70 |
90-94 | 2 572 | 10 412 | 12 984 | 0.69 |
95-99 | 317 | 2 050 | 2 367 | 0.13 |
100+ | 35 | 155 | 190 | 0.01 |
Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
0–14 | 156 188 | 146 790 | 302 978 | 16.00 |
15–64 | 587 932 | 608 615 | 1 196 547 | 63.20 |
65+ | 131 105 | 262 593 | 393 698 | 20.80 |
Illegal immigration in Latvia has traditionally been from neighboring countries but now migrants also come from other areas such as Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. [33] The Latvian government have sought to work with Russia to stem the problem. [34] In 2009 the US State Department criticized Latvia for its treatment of illegal immigrants. [35]
For an immigrant not to become an illegal resident, a permit is required for a foreign national or a stateless person wishing to reside in the Republic of Latvia for more than 90 days within a 6-month period, [36] thus if the person does not acquire himself a residence permit, he will be considered an illegal immigrant.
Year | Immigration | Emigration | Net Migration |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | 32,285 | 45,370 | -13,085 |
1991 | 14,684 | 29,729 | -15,045 |
1992 | 6,199 | 59,673 | -53,474 |
1993 | 4,114 | 36,447 | -32,333 |
1994 | 3,046 | 25,869 | -22,823 |
1995 | 2,799 | 16,512 | -13,713 |
1996 | 2,747 | 12,828 | -10,081 |
1997 | 2,913 | 12,333 | -9,420 |
1998 | 3,123 | 8,874 | -5,751 |
1999 | 1,813 | 5,898 | -4,085 |
2000 | 6,483 | 22,911 | -16,428 |
2001 | 5,376 | 24,539 | -19,163 |
2002 | 6,642 | 15,837 | -9,195 |
2003 | 4,063 | 15,647 | -11,584 |
2004 | 4,844 | 20,167 | -15,323 |
2005 | 6,691 | 17,643 | -10,952 |
2006 | 8,212 | 17,019 | -8,807 |
2007 | 7,517 | 15,463 | -7,946 |
2008 | 4,678 | 27,045 | -22,367 |
2009 | 3,731 | 38,208 | -34,477 |
2010 | 4,011 | 39,651 | -35,640 |
2011 | 10,234 | 30,311 | -20,077 |
2012 | 13,303 | 25,163 | -11,860 |
2013 | 8,299 | 22,561 | -14,262 |
2014 | 10,365 | 19,017 | -8,652 |
2015 | 9,479 | 20,119 | -10,640 |
2016 | 8,345 | 20,574 | -12,229 |
2017 | 9,916 | 17,724 | -7,808 |
2018 | 10,909 | 15,814 | -4,905 |
2019 | 11,223 | 14,583 | -3,360 |
2020 | 8,840 | 11,990 | -3,150 |
2021 | 12,689 | 12,975 | -286 |
2022 | 38,708 | 16,680 | 22,028 |
2023 | 18,710 | 16,295 | 2,415 |
Rank | Nationality | Population (2019) [37] |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 42,243 |
2 | ![]() ![]() | 2,790 |
3 | ![]() | 2,413 |
4 | ![]() | 1,630 |
5 | ![]() ![]() | 611 |
6 | ![]() ![]() | 304 |
7 | ![]() | 201 |
8 | ![]() | 188 |
9 | ![]() ![]() | 176 |
10 | ![]() | 171 |
11 | ![]() | 169 |
12 | ![]() | 151 |
13 | ![]() | 134 |
14 | ![]() | 128 |
15 | ![]() | 118 |
16 | ![]() | 115 |
17 | ![]() ![]() | 96 |
18 | ![]() | 88 |
19 | ![]() ![]() | 86 |
20 | ![]() ![]() | 82 |
Latvia's indigenous population has been ravaged numerous times throughout history. The earliest such event occurred during the conquest of Latvia by Peter the Great in the Great Northern War with Sweden.
In 1897, the first official census in this area indicated that Latvians formed 68.3% of the total population of 1.93 million; Russians accounted for 7.9%, Jews for 7.4%, Germans for 6.2%, and Poles for 3.4%. The remainder were Lithuanians, Estonians, Romani, and various other nationalities.
The demographics shifted greatly in the 20th century due to the world wars, the expulsion of the Baltic Germans, the Holocaust, and occupation by the Soviet Union. Today, only the Russian minority, which has tripled in numbers since 1935, remains important. The share of ethnic Latvians fell from 75% (1,472,612) in 1935 to 52% (1,387,757) in 1989, after human loss in World War II and human deportation and other repressive measures.
Ethnic group | census 1897 [38] | census 1925 [38] | census 1935 [38] | census 1959 [39] | census 1970 [40] | census 1979 [41] | census 1989 [42] | census 2000 [43] | census 2011 [24] | census 2021 [25] | 2023 statistics [44] | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
Latvians | 1,318,112 | 68.3 | 1,354,126 | 73.4 | 1,472,612 | 75.5 | 1,297,881 | 62.0 | 1,341,805 | 56.8 | 1,344,105 | 53.7 | 1,387,757 | 52.0 | 1,370,703 | 57.7 | 1,285,136 | 62.1 | 1,187,891 | 62.7 | 1,175,902 | 62.4% |
Russians | 152,681 | 7.9 | 193,648 | 10.5 | 206,499 | 10.6 | 556,448 | 26.6 | 704,599 | 29.8 | 821,464 | 32.8 | 905,515 | 34.0 | 703,243 | 29.6 | 557,119 | 26.9 | 463,587 | 24.5 | 445,612 | 23.7% |
Ukrainians [45] [46] | — | 512 | 0.03 | 1,844 | 0.09 | 29,440 | 1.4 | 53,461 | 2.3 | 66,703 | 2.7 | 92,101 | 3.5 | 63,644 | 2.7 | 45,798 | 2.2 | 42,282 | 2.2 | 56,675 | 3% | |
Belarusians | 79,523 | 4.1 | 38,010 | 2.1 | 26,867 | 1.4 | 61,587 | 2.9 | 94,898 | 4.0 | 111,505 | 4.5 | 119,702 | 4.5 | 97,150 | 4.1 | 68,202 | 3.3 | 58,632 | 3.1 | 55,929 | 3% |
Poles | 65,056 | 3.4 | 51,143 | 2.8 | 48,949 | 2.5 | 59,774 | 2.9 | 63,045 | 2.7 | 62,690 | 2.5 | 60,416 | 2.3 | 59,505 | 2.5 | 44,772 | 2.2 | 37,203 | 2.0 | 35,446 | 1.9% |
Lithuanians | 26,033 | 1.3 | 23,192 | 1.3 | 22,913 | 1.2 | 32,383 | 1.6 | 40,589 | 1.7 | 37,818 | 1.5 | 34,630 | 1.3 | 33,430 | 1.4 | 24,479 | 1.2 | 21,517 | 1.1 | 20,530 | 1.1% |
Roma | — | 2,870 | 0.2 | 3,839 | 0.2 | 4,301 | 0.2 | 5,427 | 0.2 | 6,134 | 0.3 | 7,044 | 0.3 | 8,205 | 0.3 | 6,489 | 0.3 | 4,838 | 0.3 | 4,677 | 0.2% | |
Jews | 142,315 | 7.4 | 95,675 | 5.2 | 93,479 | 4.8 | 36,592 | 1.8 | 36,680 | 1.6 | 28,331 | 1.1 | 22,897 | 0.9 | 10,385 | 0.4 | 6,437 | 0.3 | 4,372 | 0.2 | 4,076 | 0.2% |
Germans | 120,191 | 6.2 | 70,964 | 3.8 | 62,144 | 3.2 | 1,609 | 0.08 | 5,413 | 0.2 | 3,299 | 0.1 | 3,783 | 0.1 | 3,465 | 0.1 | 3,042 | 0.1 | 2,447 | 0.1 | 2,380 | 0.1% |
Estonians | 17,990 | 0.93 | 7,893 | 0.4 | 7,014 | 0.4 | 4,610 | 0.2 | 4,334 | 0.2 | 3,681 | 0.2 | 3,312 | 0.1 | 2,652 | 0.1 | 2,007 | 0.1 | 1,587 | 0.1 | 1,478 | 0.1% |
Livonians | — | 1,268 | 0.07 | 944 | 0.05 | 185 | 0.01 | 48 | 0.0 | 107 | 0.0 | 135 | 0.01 | 180 | 0.01 | 250 | 0.01 | 202 | 0.01 | 166 | 0% | |
Others | 7,486 | 0.39 | 5,504 | 0.3 | 3,398 | 0.2 | 8,648 | 0.4 | 13,828 | 0.6 | 16,979 | 0.7 | 29,275 | 1.1 | 24,824 | 1.1 | 26,640 | 1.3 | 103,628 | 5.5 | 80,137 | 4.3% |
Total | 1,929,387 | 1,844,805 | 1,950,502 | 2,093,458 | 2,364,127 | 2,502,816 | 2,666,567 | 2,377,383 | 2,070,371 | 1,893,223 | 1,883,008 |
Ethnic group | 2021 statistics [47] | 2022 statistics [47] | 2023 statistics [47] | 2024 statistics [47] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
Latvians | 1,187,891 | 62.74% | 1,181,534 | 62.99% | 1,175,902 | 62.45% | 1,171,070 | 62.56% |
Russians | 463,587 | 24.49% | 454,350 | 24.22% | 445,612 | 23.66% | 437,587 | 23.38% |
Ukrainians | 42,282 | 2.23% | 41,895 | 2.23% | 56,675 | 3.01% | 59,597 | 3.18% |
Belarusians | 58,632 | 3.10% | 57,319 | 3.06% | 55,929 | 2.97% | 54,645 | 2.92% |
Poles | 37,203 | 1.97% | 36,276 | 1.93% | 35,446 | 1.88% | 34,782 | 1.86% |
Lithuanians | 21,517 | 1.14% | 21,046 | 1.12% | 20,530 | 1.09% | 20,155 | 1.08% |
Roma | 4,838 | 0.26% | 4,784 | 0.26% | 4,677 | 0.25% | 4,630 | 0.25% |
Jews | 4,372 | 0.23% | 4,231 | 0.23% | 4,076 | 0.22% | 4,019 | 0.21% |
Estonians | 1,587 | 0.08% | 1,536 | 0.08% | 1,478 | 0.08% | 1,455 | 0.08% |
Other ethnicities, including not selected and not indicated ethnicity | 71,314 | 3.77% | 72,786 | 3.88% | 82,683 | 4.39% | 83,942 | 4.48% |
Total | 1,893,223 | 1,875,757 | 1,883,008 | 1,871,882 |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Distribution of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians in 2011 | Number of ethnic Latvians and Russians 1925–2009 | Numbers of smaller ethnic minorities 1925–2009 |
In the 2011 census, 1,164,894 persons in Latvia reported Latvian as their main language spoken at home; 698,757 respondents listed Russian as their main language spoken at home, [48] representing 37.2% of the total population, whereas Latvian was recorded as the main language spoken at home for 62.1%. [52] Latvian was spoken as a second language by 20.8% of the population, and 43.7% spoke Russian as a second language. [53] In total, 71% of ethnic Latvians said they could speak Russian, and 52% of Russians could speak Latvian in the 2000 census. [54]
In August 2019, the Central Statistical Bureau published new data indicating that Latvian was the native language of 60.8% of Latvia's population per 1 January 2018, a 2.6% increase compared to the 2000 census. 62.2% of the population was 'ethnically Latvian'. The percentage of native Latvian speakers increased in all statistical regions, especially in the Rīga capital region and Pierīga region around it (4.6%). The number of native Russian speakers dropped in all regions; in Latgale, the number of native Russian speakers also dropped, although their percentage remained the same at 55.5%, the highest of the country. Compared to the 2011 census, the share of people speaking Latvian at home rose by 1.9%, while the number of Russian home speakers dropped by 2.6%. 90.7% of ethnic Russians indicated they spoke Russian at home, while 8.5% of them indicated they spoke Latvian at home. Inter-linguistic marriage was an important factor why, for example, some non-native Latvian speakers who married native Latvian speakers switched to speaking Latvian at home. The percentage of Russian home speakers gradually increased with age from 30.0% amongst 0–4-year-olds to 44.2% amongst 55–64-year-olds, while Latvian home speakers gradually decreased with age from 69.2% amongst 0–4-year-olds to 55.0% amongst 55–64-year-olds, indicating that children in Latvia are increasingly being raised and educated in Latvian. [55]
The largest religion in Latvia is Christianity (79%), [56] though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly. [57] The largest groups as of 2011 [update] were:
In the Eurobarometer Poll 2010, 38% of Latvian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", while 48% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 11% stated that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".
Lutheranism was more prominent before the Soviet occupation, when it was a majority religion of ~60% due to strong historical links with the Nordic countries and influence of the Hansa, and Germany in general. Since then, Lutheranism has declined to a slightly greater extent than Roman Catholicism in all three Baltic states. The Evangelical Lutheran Church, with an estimated 600,000 members in 1956, was affected most adversely. An internal document of 18 March 1987, near the end of communist rule, spoke of an active membership that had shrunk to only 25,000 in Latvia, but the faith has since experienced a revival. [58] Moreover, modern Evangelical Protestant denominations are spreading worldwide, including Latvia. The country's Orthodox Christians belong to the Latvian Orthodox Church, a semi-autonomous body within the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2011, there were 416 Jews and 319 Muslims living in Latvia. [56]
There are more than 600 Latvian neopagans, Dievturi , whose religion is based on Latvian mythology. [59] About 21% of the total population is not affiliated with a specific religion. [56]
The demographics of Kazakhstan enumerate the demographic features of the population of Kazakhstan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. Some use the word Kazakh to refer to the Kazakh ethnic group and language and Kazakhstani to refer to Kazakhstan and its citizens regardless of ethnicity, but it is common to use Kazakh in both senses. It is expected that by 2050, the population will range from 23.5 to 27.7 million people.
The Demographics of Kyrgyzstan is about the demographic features of the population of Kyrgyzstan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The name Kyrgyz, both for the people and the country, means "forty tribes", a reference to the epic hero Manas who unified forty tribes against the Oirats, as symbolized by the 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan.
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population; 37.7% of the population speak Russian as their native tongue.
Demographic features of the population of Lithuania include population density, ethnicity, level of education, health, economic status, and religious affiliations.
Riga is the capital, the primate, and the largest city of Latvia, as well as one of the most populous cities in the Baltic States. Home to 605,273 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
Belarusians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99 million Belarusians reside in Belarus, with the United States and Russia being home to more than 500,000 Belarusians each. The majority of Belarusians adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy.
Latvians are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language, culture, history and ancestry.
Tutejszy was a self-identification of Eastern European rural populations, who did not have a clear national identity. The term means "from here", "local" or "natives". This was mostly in mixed-lingual Eastern European areas, including Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia, in particular, in Polesia and Podlachia. As a self-identification, it persisted in Lithuania’s Vilnius Region into the late 20th century. For example, in 1989, a poll of persons whose passports recorded their ethnicity as Polish revealed that 4% of them regarded themselves as tuteišiai, 10% as Lithuanians, and 84% as Poles.
The Livonians, or Livs, are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to northern and northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language closely related to Estonian and Finnish. Initially, the last person to have learned and spoken Livonian as a mother tongue, Grizelda Kristiņa, died in 2013, making Livonian a dormant language. In 2020, it was reported that newborn Kuldi Medne had once again become the only living person who speaks Livonian as their first language. As of 2010, there were approximately 30 people who had learned it as a second language.
Russians in the Baltic states is a broadly defined subgroup of the Russian diaspora who self-identify as ethnic Russians, or are citizens of Russia, and live in one of the three independent countries — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — primarily the consequences of the USSR's forced population transfers during occupation. As of 2023, there were approximately 887,000 ethnic Russians in the three countries, having declined from ca 1.7 million in 1989, the year of the last census during the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation of the three Baltic countries.
The Ukrainian diaspora comprises Ukrainians and their descendants who live outside Ukraine around the world, especially those who maintain some kind of connection to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national identity within their own local community. The Ukrainian diaspora is found throughout numerous regions worldwide including other post-Soviet states as well as in Canada and other countries such as Poland, the United States, the UK and Brazil.
Aghuls are a people in Dagestan, Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 34,160 Aghuls in Russia. The Aghul language belongs to the Lezgian language family, a group of the Northeast Caucasian family. Ethnically, the Aghuls are close to the Lezgins. There are four groups of the Aghul people, who live in four different gorges: Aguldere, Kurakhdere, Khushandere, and Khpyukdere. Like their neighbors the Kaitaks, the Aghuls were converted to Islam at a fairly early date, subsequent to the Arab conquest of the eighth century. Their oral traditions claim Jewish descent.
Articles 4 and 114 of the Constitution of Latvia form the foundation for language policy in Latvia, declaring Latvian to be the official state language and affirming the rights of ethnic minorities to preserve and develop their languages. Livonian language is recognized as "the language of the indigenous (autochthon) population" in the Official Language Law, but Latgalian written language is protected as "a historic variant of Latvian." All other languages are considered foreign by the Law on State Language. Latvia provides national minority education programmes in Russian, Polish, Hebrew, Ukrainian, Estonian, Lithuanian, and Belarusian.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Latvia:
The government of Lithuania has made provision for ethnic minorities since 1918. A substantial Jewish group that existed up to World War II was almost eliminated in the Holocaust. The Census of 2011 showed that 15.8% of inhabitants belonged to ethnic minorities: the two largest groups were the Poles and the Russians, although the proportions had decreased since independence in 1989. Other minorities include the Samogitians - not classified in the Census - and the historically important Latvian-speaking Kursenieki.
The Chechen diaspora is a term used to collectively describe the communities of Chechen people who live outside of Chechnya; this includes Chechens who live in other parts of Russia. There are also significant Chechen populations in other subdivisions of Russia.
The Azerbaijani diaspora are the communities of Azerbaijanis living outside the places of their ethnic origin: Azerbaijan and the Iranian region of Azerbaijan.
Armenians in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania settled there mostly during the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States, although some of the first settlers arrived during the Russian Empire's rule in the Baltics.
Accurate or reliable data for historical populations of Armenians is scarce, but scholars and institutions have proposed estimates for different periods.
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