Estonians travelled less and Lithuanians and Latvians more in 2025 than a year earlier, according to Eurostat, LSM reports. The data showed that Lithuanians made altogether 7.19 million overnight trips in 2025, which was up 4.4% from 6.89 million in 2024. The number of trips by Latvian residents totalled 5.04 million, which was up 3.0%…
Altogether 12,294 Lithuanian citizens returned to Lithuania while 11,753 moved away from the country in the first nine months of 2026, according to the State Data Agency’s preliminary statistics, LRT reported. In September 2026, the number of emigrants was higher than that of returnees. Until now, the number of Lithuanians returning home has been higher…
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) served a total of 5.32 million passengers in the first nine months of 2026, which was as many as in the same period of 2025, LETA reported. Transit passengers accounted for 22% of the total, which was up from 20% a year earlier. Latvia’s national airline, airBaltic, accounted for 59%…
The Estonian rare earths processor, NPM Silmet, plans to stop using raw materials from Russia’s state-owned Solikamsk Magnesium Works (SMZ) by the end of 2026, ERR reports. NPM Silmet said that it would have to reduce production at its plant in Sillamäe as a result. The company is still waiting for a final shipment from…
The Baltic States called on the EU to ban transit shipments of Russian grain through EU territory, BNS reported. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda made the call in a joint letter to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen….
Lithuania expects progress on restoring full diplomatic ties with communist China by the end of 2026, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius announced, BNS reported. He explained that the government had prepared an action plan with specific steps and deadlines for restoring diplomatic representation with China. He said that the government was pursuing improved relations without public…
Latvia’s ailing national airline, airBaltic, recorded a loss of EUR 128.2mn in the first half of 2026, compared to a loss of just EUR 1.7mn in the same period of 2025, LETA reported. The aviation group’s revenues totalled EUR 399.2mn, which was up 14.2% from EUR 349.6mn in the first half of 2025. In the…
Estonia’s new president, Ülle Madise, made her first working visits in office to neighbouring Latvia and Finland, BNS reported. In her meetings with the Latvian and Finnish presidents, she discussed defence and regional security, energy and transport connections, protection of critical infrastructure, support for Ukraine, Nordic-Baltic cooperation, and transatlantic relations. At a joint press conference…
GDP growth in the Baltic States will be strongest in Lithuania in 2026, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook, LETA reports. The IMF projects GDP growth of 2.7% in Lithuania, 2.3% in Latvia, and 2.1% in Estonia in 2026. In 2027, the GDP will grow by 2.2% in Estonia, 2.1%…
