World Factbook
Latvia
Latvijas Republika
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
note
note: data represent language usually spoken at home
Languages
Latvian (official) 56.3%, Russian 33.8%, other 0.6% (includes Polish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian), unspecified 9.4% (2011 est.)
major-language sample(s)
World Factbook, neaizstājams avots pamata informāciju. (Latvian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Lutheran 36.2%, Roman Catholic 19.5%, Orthodox 19.1%, other Christian 1.6%, other 0.1%, unspecified/none 23.5% (2017 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.98 male(s)/female
total population
0.87 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.52 male(s)/female
Birth rate
7.24 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
14.68 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
41.6 years
total
43.8 years (2025 est.)
female
49.2 years
Population
male
876,654
total
1,888,439 (2025 est.)
female
1,011,785
Nationality
noun
Latvian(s)
adjective
Latvian
Tobacco use
male
43.5% (2025 est.)
total
28.8% (2025 est.)
female
16.4% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
68.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
-0.68% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
14.7% (male 136,482/female 128,492)
15-64 years
63% (male 562,754/female 572,850)
65 years and over
22.2% (2024 est.) (male 137,746/female 262,922)
Ethnic groups
Latvian 62.7%, Russian 24.5%, Belarusian 3.1%, Ukrainian 2.2%, Polish 2%, Lithuanian 1.1%, other 1.8%, unspecified 2.6% (2021 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
56.2 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
23.3 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
3 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
33 (2025 est.)
Physician density
3.4 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
9% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
12.1% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-5.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
5.3 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.25 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 98.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 98.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 1.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.1% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4.3% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
9.9% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
5.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total
2.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
4.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-1.27% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.61 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
largest concentration of people is found in and around the port and capital city of Riga; small agglomerations are scattered throughout the country
Life expectancy at birth
male
72 years
female
81 years
total population
76.4 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
19 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
4.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
1.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
12.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
5.3 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
621,000 RIGA (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
23.6% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
27.3 years (2020 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
49.6% (2021 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
0.3% (2021 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
15 years (2023 est.)
total
16 years (2023 est.)
female
17 years (2023 est.)