Population and Demographics

Latvia's population has been multiethnic for centuries, though the demographics shifted dramatically in the 20th century due to the world wars, the emigration and removal of Baltic Germans, the Holocaust and occupation by the Soviet Union.

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 12%, Jews for 7.4%, Germans for 6.2%, and Poles for 3.4%. The remainder were Lithuanians, Estonians, Roma/Sinti and various other nationalities.

Latvians and Livonians, the indigenous peoples of Latvia, now form almost 60% of the population; 29.6% of the inhabitants are Russian. About 54% of the ethnic Russians are citizens of Latvia; most of the others are permanent residents with Latvian aliens' passports. Like others who arrived whilst Latvia occupied by the USSR, and their descendants, they must be naturalized to receive Latvian citizenship. Over 100,000 persons have naturalized in recent years, but 418,440 persons (278,213 of them ethnic Russians) remain non-citizens. Children born to residents after the restoration of independence in 1991 do not require naturalization to obtain citizenship.

In some large cities (e.g. Daugavpils and Rezekne), Russians and other minorities outnumber Latvians. Minorities from other countries such as Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, etc., also live in Latvia. The share of ethnic Latvians had fallen from 77% (1,467,035) in 1935 to 52% (1,387,757) in 1989. In 2007, there were even fewer Latvians than in 1989, though their share of the population was larger - 1,303,910 (57.7% of the inhabitants).

The majority of the population is Christian, Christian, the largest group being Lutheran (556,000, according to 2003 data; 24% of total population), with smaller percentages Roman Catholic (430,405, 19%) and Eastern Orthodox (350,000, 15%). About 35 % of the total population is not affiliated with a specific religion and may be agnostic or atheist.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 2,259,810
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 13.6% (male 157,451/female 150,184)
  • 15-64 years: 69.6% (male 764,910/female 808,848)
  • 65 years and over: 16.7% (male 123,952/female 254,465)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 39.6 years
  • Male: 36.6 years
  • Female: 42.7 years
• Population Growth Rate: -0.648%
• Birth Rate: 9.43 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 13.64 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: -2.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 0.946 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.487 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.862 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 9.16 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 11.08 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 7.13 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 71.6 years
  • Male: 66.39 years
  • Female: 77.1 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.28 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 0.6%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 7,600
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Latvian 57.7%
  • Russian 29.6%
  • Belarusian 4.1%
  • Ukrainian 2.7%
  • Polish 2.5%
  • Lithuanian 1.4%
  • Other 2%
• Religions:
  • Lutheran
  • Roman Catholic
  • Russian Orthodox
• Languages:
  • Latvian (official) 58.2%
  • Russian 37.5%
  • Lithuanian and other 4.3%
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 99.7%
  • Male: 99.8%
  • Female: 99.7%