Latvia is a comparatively small country in north-eastern Europe, whose history in the past century bears witness to the Latvians’ relentless struggle for freedom. The country’s present population is under 2.3 million, inhabiting a land area of 65 thousand km². This is equivalent to the population of a single major European city, such as Brussels, Rome or Vienna, dispersed across an area larger than Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland or the Netherlands.

Small already, the population of Latvia is actually continuing to fall instead of growing. Latvia is one of the few countries whose population was larger 20 years ago, and even 100 years ago, than it is today. A century ago, Latvia’s population was comparable in size with that of Finland, Norway or Denmark, but today these countries have twice as many inhabitants as Latvia. This is the effect of two world wars, deportations, emigration and a demographic crisis. Sad to say, Latvia’s population is set to continue falling in the future – unless a demographic miracle occurs, whereby the birth rate suddenly doubles.

Because of the low birth rate, the mean age of the country’s population is very high, and is still growing. There is still a sex disproportion, resulting from wartime losses: the female population exceeds the male population. Male life expectancy is only 66 years, significantly lower than female life expectancy: women live to an average age of 77.

Appropriately for a country with a cool climate, Latvia’s population density is quite low: 36 people per km2, a figure comparable with that of other countries lying at a similar latitude. Moreover, the majority (two thirds) of the population is concentrated in the cities, especially in the capital, Rīga, which is home to one third of the inhabitants. In few European countries is the capital city as dominant as it is in Latvia, particularly in the fields of industry, science and finance. The rural population, rather than being concentrated in villages, is mostly scattered on family farms, conforming to the historical pattern of individual farmsteads dispersed in the landscape, and in many cases quite isolated. Such farmsteads number almost 100 thousand. Before the Second World War, there were twice as many: a large number were destroyed in the war and during the Soviet occupation. Such dispersed farmsteads are rare in the Latgale region and along the coast, where people mostly live in small villages. Characteristically, in Latvia each of these countless farms has a name, in many cases a historic one. Since many farm names go back several centuries, they are in many cases no longer intelligible to Latvians, although in the past they would certainly have had a clear meaning.

It is possible to see in this historical pattern of dispersed settlement the origin of particular Latvian character traits: reserve, self-reliance, independence and persistence. Latvians may seem somewhat anti-social to others – overly reticent individualists – but in fact it’s simply that Latvians need more time to develop trust and friendship.

Ethnic composition

As in many parts of Eastern Europe, so too in Latvia, ethnic consciousness is very pronounced, sometimes even predominating over national or religious consciousness. It is possible that the basis for this strong kind of ethnic consciousness emerged during the centuries of rule by the German nobility, when all Latvians were peasants and servants, while the Germans were masters – a distinction that was strictly observed. The recent years of Soviet oppression, too, have only served to reinforce Latvian ethnic consciousness, since Latvians tend to contrast themselves with the large body of ethnic Russian immigrants who arrived during the Soviet era. It seems that the existence of this kind of strong ethnic division averted the process of Russification, so that the Latvians continued to use their language not only in the family, but also in education and culture.

A couple of centuries ago, Latvia’s ethnic composition was relatively homogeneous, the Latvians constituting more than 90% of the total population. There was a small German population (Baltic Germans), belonging mainly to the ruling social stratum, and very small numbers of Russian, Jewish, Polish and other immigrants. The Roma (Gypsies) migrated to Latvia in about the 17^th century, while the Jews arrived later, Jewish influx continuing right up to the 20^th century. Mass immigration of Russians, now Latvia’s largest minority, began already in the 18^th and 19^th century, when tens of thousands of Old Believers arrived in Latgale, seeking refuge from persecution. They were later joined by many Russian Orthodox settlers: migration was promoted by the Tsarist government through the priority sale of land to Russian Orthodox believers. Accordingly, the descendants of these Russian immigrants gradually came to dominate in about 10 parishes between Rēzekne and Daugavpils, where they still constitute the majority (Biķernieki, Maļinova, Silmala, Audriņi, Čornaja and other parishes).

Major changes in the composition of the population occurred during and after the Second World War. In the first place, almost all the Baltic Germans left Latvia at the outbreak of war. Then, in 1941, the occupying Soviet authorities began deporting people to Siberia on a mass scale. This was followed by the Nazi German invasion, which brought virtual annihilation of the Jewish population, and the slaughter of the majority of the Roma. At the close of the war, several hundred thousand people fled from Latvia in fear of renewed Communist oppression and eventually found refuge in various countries around the globe: the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden, etc. When the Soviet Army invaded Latvia again in 1944–45, the Communists recommenced repression against the local population, culminating in 1949, when 45 thousand of the most prosperous farmers were deported to Siberia in a single day. This deportation virtually eliminated armed Latvian resistance to the Soviet authorities, and the farmers were forced to join collective farms. In order to make up for the depletion of the workforce, and evidently with the aim of changing the country’s ethnic composition, Moscow organised the migration of many hundreds of thousands of Russians into Latvia. Many of these immigrants from Russia during the Soviet period were connected with the Communist Party, the security services (KGB) or the Red Army, since the process was aimed at strengthening Moscow’s control over Latvia. However, there were also large numbers of ordinary economic migrants, attracted by the relatively higher standard of living. During the years of Soviet occupation, a total of at least 1.5 million immigrants arrived in Latvia, half of whom stayed to live here. Latvia’s Russian population increased fivefold, while at the same time the Latvian population did not even regain its pre-war level.

As a result of the Soviet occupation, Latvia’s ethnic composition changed significantly: the proportion of ethnic Latvians fell from at least 80% before the Second World War to 52% percent in 1989, and would evidently have continued to fall, had Latvia not regained its independence. Meanwhile, the proportion of Russians grew from under 9% before the Second World War to as much as 30% in 1989. Also, the Belarusian population has increased fivefold since the war, and the Ukrainian minority appeared only in the Soviet period. The number of Poles and Lithuanians has remained approximately the same, while the Roma community has grown several times over, due to their high birth rate. There are marked differences in the geographical distribution of the different ethnic groups. Thus, Latvians predominate significantly in the countryside and in the small towns of the Kurzeme and Vidzeme regions, and to a lesser extent also in the country districts of the Zemgale region and in the environs of Rīga. Most of the Russians live in Rīga and the other cities, and also in Latgale, where in certain areas they constitute up to half the population, and even as much as two thirds in certain parishes. Other ethnic groups, too, are concentrated mainly in Rīga and the other cities. Certain parishes of Krāslava District have a slight predominance of Belarusians. In no municipality does the Ukrainian population constitute more than 10%, and most Ukrainians live in Rīga, as well as in Liepāja and Ventspils. The majority of the Polish population is concentrated in Rīga, as well as in the city and environs of Daugavpils, where in certain parishes Poles constitute more than 20%. The Lithuanian population is dispersed along the whole length of the border with Lithuania, and in certain parishes Lithuanians make up more than 20%. Virtually the whole of the Jewish population lives in Rīga. As regards the other minorities, the majority of Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles and Jews speak Russian, while the Lithuanians, Estonians and Roma are for the most part Latvian-speakers.

In the cities, and the capital in particular, there are certain historically developed districts where Latvians are in minority. Thus, in the districts with single-family homes, and in those parts of the cities that were built up before the Second World War, the majority of the inhabitants (two thirds to three quarters) are Latvians, while the Russians form the majority in the districts of apartment blocks built during the Soviet era. However, the great majority of Rigans live in houses with a mixed ethnic composition, so that there are practically no minority ‘ghetto districts’.

There are only minor differences in the level of education and in socio-economic position between the Latvians and the minorities, and there is no reason to consider that the minorities experience inferior living conditions or lower incomes. Latvians predominate particularly in such areas of employment as public administration, agriculture and education, while the minorities tend to be employed more in transportation, industry and construction. Analysis of income levels among Latvians and non-Latvians leads to the conclusion that there are no significant differences in this regard. It should be added that among the Russian population there is a greater degree of segregation, since they are slightly more represented among the very poorest and also among the very richest people in Latvia. Likewise, comparison of the ethnic composition of the unemployed and employed workforce does not reveal any major ethnic differences.

When Latvia regained its independence, a principle of inherited citizenship was applied: all those who had been citizens of the Republic of Latvia in 1940, before the Soviet occupation, automatically regained Latvian citizenship, and it was bestowed automatically on all the direct descendants of the citizens. The people automatically granted Latvian citizenship also included tens or even hundreds of thousands of people from the minorities – Russians, Poles, Belarusians, Jews and others – regardless of their knowledge of the Latvian language. The remainder of the population, i.e. those who had arrived in Latvia in recent decades and their descendants, were offered a choice of either applying for citizenship from their country of origin or becoming permanent residents of Latvia without Latvian citizenship (‘non-citizens’). A small section chose the former option, and at present Latvia is home to 30 thousand foreign citizens, mainly Russian nationals. Most, however, chose the second option, which also envisages the possibility of naturalisation. This process is open to anyone who has lived in Latvia for at least five years and passes a test in knowledge of Latvian language and history. During the past decade, 100 thousand people have chosen to become naturalised as Latvian citizens, a process that has gathered speed particularly since the country joined the EU. Latvia currently has one of the highest rates of naturalisation among EU countries: almost 1% of the population is granted citizenship every year.

The Latvian language and history examination is not very difficult: 95% of all applicants pass the first time. Some foreign ambassadors have also taken the language test. The former British ambassador even admitted that the test is an easy one, and may be passed after attending a language course lasting six to eight weeks.

For children born in Latvia after the restoration of independence, the process of obtaining citizenship is made as easy as possible: their parents simply have to confirm in writing that they wish their children to become Latvian citizens and citizenship is then granted automatically. Unfortunately, most non-citizens are passive in this regard at the moment, and only a fifth of the children of non-citizens born in Latvia after 21 August 1991 actually become Latvian citizens.

In the period 1995–2005, the number and proportion of non-citizens has fallen rapidly, from 29% to 19%, and in the course of the next decade it is expected to approach the mean figure for the EU – around 10%. The non-citizens are mainly older people who have difficulty accepting the collapse of the Soviet Union and the great political changes associated with it, and most of this group will probably never wish to become Latvian citizens. In the independence referendum of 1990, a quarter of population (over 411 thousand) did not support the restoration of Latvia’s independence. Many of these people feel that accepting Latvian citizenship would likewise mean betraying their Russian (Soviet) origin and identity.

© Text: Ph.D. Ilmārs Meћs, The United Nations Development Programme Country Office in Latvia, 2005

© The Latvian Institute

This fact sheet can be freely printed from homepage of the Latvian Institute, distributed and cited, on condition that the Latvian Institute is acknowledged as the source. The Latvian Institute promotes knowledge about Latvia abroad. It produces publications, in several languages, on many aspects of Latvia.