Looking for a way out: Latvia’s demographic crisis
Looking for a way out: Latvia’s demographic crisis

Author(s): Bartosz Chmielewski
Subject(s): Politics, Governance
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: Latvia; demographic crisis
Summary/Abstract: Due to its negative natural increase and emigration, Latvia is one of the fastest depopulating countries in the world, losing 18,000–20,000 inhabitants annually – the equivalent of a medium-sized Latvian town. Although the country’s political and intellectual elite recognised the problem following the 2007 economic crisis, Latvia has failed to implement comprehensive measures and devise a political strategy to reverse or at least slow down the negative trends. The gloomy picture of Latvian demography is further blurred by the absence of social consensus on solving these problems, including, to some degree, allowing immigration from outside the EU. Another major issue is the unprecedented magnitude of the Latvian population’s health problems compared to other EU member states.

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