The Republic of Latvia as an independent state has existed for more than 20 years, until this moment Latvia was part of the Union of Soviets. During the time that has passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, much has changed in the economic, political and social situation of Latvia. Some residents are happy with the changes that have occurred, while others are willing. There was also an opinion that the percentage of indigenous Latvians is very small compared to people of other nationalities living in the country. Some people call Latvia the country of emigrants. The population of Latvia is constantly replenished by emigrants, but the number of indigenous people does not decrease. According to the country's lawyers, the state cannot be compared with Australia, where newcomers are crowding out indigenous people. The Republic is rightfully considered a multinational state.
Official population
According to the statements of the Central Statistical Office of the country, officially the population of Latvia is less than two million people at the end of May 2014. Experts believe that this figure is catastrophic and may affect the fact of the existence of the state. The American statistical organization put this country in third place in terms of population reduction. The reasons for this rapid decline in the number of people are related to the fact that population growth is negative, that is, the number of deaths every day exceeds the number of those born. Another problem that affects growth is the fact that out of every thousand people, four people migrate somewhere. People leave families in search of decent earnings, decent living and just for the sake of adventure. The population of Latvia is dispersed over its territory with a density of about 34 people per square kilometer. According to the results of 2010-2011, the urban population is almost 30% higher than the rural population: about 70% of the population lives in the urban zone, 32% in villages.
Migration situation
The population of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia is decreasing due to the fact that a lot of families from the Baltic countries go to live in other European countries or Russia. Experts believe that emigration has become the norm in the state. In April 2014, a conference on emigration to the Baltic countries and Eastern Europe was held at the University of Latvia. This problem worries many scientists, and in search of a common opinion, they discussed it out loud. At this conference, Latvia and Lithuania were named one of the most mobile countries in Europe, members of the European Union. Emigration has become a problem for the demographic situation, because of it the system of social guarantees collapses, and the economic situation of countries is undermined. According to statistics, people from the working sphere, the so-called middle-ranking workers, most often decide to move. These people are ready to work, but for more decent salaries than they can offer in their native country.
Births and deaths of the country's population
The population of Latvia, however, as well as other countries, directly depends on the birth rate and mortality. The Center for Statistics Office announced that the birth rate in the country continues to increase: according to the results of 2013, the number of children born increased by almost five hundred children compared to the previous one (from February to December 2013, 18,800 new residents were born). But, despite these indicators, the population growth continues to be negative - along with the birth rate, mortality also increases. In 2013, over 26,000 people died in the country, so the death rate exceeded the birth rate by 7745 people.
Often in the press recently the words "Latvia", "population", "2014 population" have been heard. All this is due to the fact that, despite the country's economic development, the number of people living in it decreases every year. Many condemn the country's accession to the EU, looking for reasons for this fact, others connect the demographic problem with the reluctance of women to give birth to children. Women in the country do not want to give birth to many children. In each family, on average, one or two children are born, rarely anyone decides on a larger number of children. In fact, in an hour the population of Latvia will grow by 2.3 more by birth rate (one child is born every 1556.43 seconds). However, 3.2 people die every hour.
Male to female ratio
If we compare the population in Latvia depending on gender, the number of women in the country exceeds the number of men. As of July-August this year, the male population has not crossed the mark of 1 million people, women in the state are slightly more than a million. The ratio of men and women in the percentage ratio is 46 to 54. Although in terms of the ratio of children born, boys exceed girls by 0.054 people. According to the 2011 census, the male population becomes noticeably smaller in the age category of citizens from 15 to 64 years old, and in the age category over 65 years old, only 0.48 men per woman.
When was the last census
The last time officially the population of Latvia was determined in 2011. This happened by enumerating all the inhabitants. The 2011 census was the first since the state joined the European Union in 2004. This procedure was carried out at a high level using new questionnaires, if desired, the questionnaires prepared for the census could be filled out on the Internet: the number and series of the passport, the placeholder identification code , were entered in the statement. The population census of Latvia was calculated as of March 1, 2011.
What nationalities is the country's population represented
Latvia, whose population is decreasing due to the emigration of citizens to other countries, is itself a multinational country, ready to accept and warm people who want to start a new life. The indigenous population of the country, Latvians, is just over half of the citizens. As a percentage, Latvians in ethnic composition occupy 59.6%. In second place in the national composition of Latvia are Russians. They make up 27.57% of all residents of the country. Immigrants from Belarus and Ukraine also live in the Baltic state: Belarusians make up just over 3%, and Ukrainians - up to 3% of all residents. The ethnic composition of the country includes a small group of Lithuanians and Poles, respectively 1.33% and 2.37%. The national composition does not end on this list: Jews, Greeks, Kazakhs, Romanians make up the remaining percentage of the population.
What are the reasons for emigrating to Latvia
The population of Latvia is small, the actual situation with the number is slightly lower than the official. But, despite all the problems, Latvia is in 47th place in the ranking of states that are considered quite good for living. This country is a member of the Schengen zone, since 2004 it has been one of the countries of the European Union, therefore those who wish to become part of Europe choose Latvia as their place of residence. Most emigrants from the CIS countries and the Russian Federation are trying to become citizens of this small state.
Latvian average life span
The expected life expectancy of people in Latvia is about 72 years, while women in the country live on average 11 years longer than men: the life expectancy of the female population is 78 years, the male - 67.
According to statistics, the country's population decreases every year
According to statistics, the population in Latvia is declining significantly every year. Experts say that the number of people living in the country will never exceed 2 million people. No tendency to increase its number has been observed over the past 20 years, so it is not worth hoping that in times of crisis the birth rate will exceed the death rate. Since 2012, the pace of population decline has slowed significantly due to an increase in the birth rate in all regions of the country. The birth rate in Riga increased especially - by 7% and in the Riga region - by 3.1%. According to the CSB in Latvia, in 12 regions, birth rates are quite high, but mortality is not declining. In order for the population to grow, it is necessary that each family has at least three to four children.