Latvia’s population has dropped at the highest rate in the entire EU over the last 20 years, according to Eurostat, LSM reported. Latvia’s population declined by 17% in 2005-2025. Meanwhile, Lithuania’s population decreased by 14%, whereas Estonia’s population only declined by 1% over the same period. The population totalled 2.89 million people in Lithuania, 1.86 million in Latvia, and 1.37 million in Estonia in the beginning of 2025. The gender imbalance of the population in Latvia was the highest in the EU in 2025, with 15.6% more women than men. Estonia had 10.8% and Lithuania 10.4% more women than men.
Lithuania’s birth rate stood at 6.6 live births per 1,000 persons in 2024, compared to 6.9 in Latvia and 7.1 in Estonia. Meanwhile, Latvia’s death rate was the second-highest in the EU at 14.3 deaths per 1,000 persons. The death rate stood at 13.0 in Lithuania and 11.5 in Estonia. Latvia’s natural population change was the lowest in the EU at -7.4 per 1,000 persons. The corresponding figure was -6.4 in Lithuania and -4.4 in Estonia. The total fertility rate was 1.11 live births per woman in Lithuania, 1.18 in Estonia, and 1.24 in Latvia.
Life expectancy at birth in the Baltic States increased the most in the entire EU in 2004-2024, rising by 7 years in Estonia and 5.5 years in both Latvia and Lithuania over 2004-2024. Life expectancy at birth was 79.7 years in Estonia, 77.5 years in Lithuania, and 76.4 years in Latvia in 2024. At the same time, life expectancy at birth for women was 9.8 years higher than for men in Latvia, which was the biggest gender gap in the EU. The gender gap in life expectancy at birth was 8.6 years in Lithuania and 8.5 years in Estonia.
The median age of the population was 44.4 years in Latvia in 2025, which was up from 39.3 years in 2005. The median age stood at 44.3 (38.2) years in Lithuania and 42.9 (39.2) years in Estonia. The share of the population aged less than 15 years was 14.1% in Lithuania, 15.1% in Latvia, and 15.6% in Estonia. The share of children has increased slightly in both Estonia and Latvia. Meanwhile, those aged 80 years or older accounted for 5.6% of the population in Lithuania, 5.8% in Estonia, and 6.1% in Latvia. The number of people in the eldest age group rose by 3 percentage points in all three countries over the last 20 years.