Latvia's demographic challenges showed little sign of lessening on November 12th with the release of the latest population figures from the Central Statistics Bureau (CSB).
In the first nine months of this year, 8 883 births were registered, which is 1 092 children (10.9 %) fewer than in the same period a year earlier. The highest number was recorded in July (1 103), while January had the lowest (881).
Between January and September 2025, 19 186 deaths were registered – 591 deaths (3.0 %) fewer than in the same period the previous year. January and February showed the sharpest year-on-year decreases (down by 323 and 251), while July recorded the largest increase (up by 117 compared with the same month last year).
In the third quarter, births exceeded one thousand each month – a threshold last surpassed in October 2024, but the fact that the death rate continues to run at more than double the birth rate means that negative natural population change resulted in a decline of 10.3 thousand people over the period despite the improvement in the mortality statistics.
Consequently Latvia's population is currently estimated to stand at 1 827 800.
However, there was some good news. In the first nine months of the year, 8 833 marriages were registered, which is 625 marriages, or 7.6 %, more than in the same period a year earlier. In almost all of the first nine months, more marriages were registered than a year earlier, with August and April being the only months to record a year-on-year decrease (down by 410 and 24 marriages respectively).
Posted by Shameful_Bezkauna
2 Comments
Worrying, considering Latvia’s small population.
Can this even be avoided when you enable free movement within the EU? If you want move towards more integration or even federation, I think you have to make peace with the fact that very small countries may very well lose large parts of their population, like a region in a federal state would.
This may very well sound unacceptable, but then you have to erect barriers to free movement for the sake of maintaining your nationhood. Not that I’d be in favor of that, of course, more integration is good. But I think not many people will see it that way.