Latvia’s GDP growth will fall from 2.1% in 2025 to 1.9% in 2026, before rising to 2.2% in 2027, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecasts, LSM reports. Average annual inflation will decline from 3.8% in 2025 to 3.6% in 2026 and 3.2% in 2027, the OECD projects in its latest survey of…
Estonia’s GDP growth will accelerate from 0.5% in 2025 to 1.8% in 2026 and 2.7% in 2027, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecasts, ERR reports. The growth will be driven by looser fiscal policy and investment, the report said. Annual inflation will fall from 4.8% in 2025 to 4.1% in 2026 and…
Latvia’s foreign trade turnover totalled EUR 15.01bn at current prices in the first four months of 2026, which was up EUR 589.1mn (4.1%) from the same period of 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) provisional data, LSM reported. The total value of goods exports amounted to EUR 6.94bn (up 2.2%) and imports to…
Estonia’s exports of goods totalled almost EUR 1.8bn at current prices in April 2026, which was up 13% from the same period of 2025, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Exports of goods of Estonian origin rose by 10%, accounting for 61% of total exports. Re-exports increased by 19% over a year. Meanwhile, imports of…
Employment in Lithuania rose at the fastest pace in the entire EU in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, ELTA reported. Lithuania’s employment rate rose by 1.8% over a quarter. Meanwhile, employment in Estonia rose by 0.9% and in Latvia by just 0.1%. However, compared to the first quarter of 2025, the…
Average consumer prices in Latvia rose by 3.5% on year in May 2026, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. The rise in annual inflation was mainly influenced by the increase in transport fuel prices (up 28.2%) and housing-related energy costs (up 5.8%). At the same time, prices for food and…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that the Estonian government stabilise public debt by limiting budget spending and increasing revenue, ERR reports. IMF experts warned that if current policies continued, public debt would become unsustainable. GDP growth alone will not solve the country’s long-term challenges, they pointed out. Achieving more sustainable growth would require increasing…
A new Baltic think tank, the Baltic International Security Centre (BISC), was launched at an event in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on 3 June 2026, LSM reports. The UK-based centre was founded by British veteran journalist and security expert Edward Lucas. BISC’s patrons are four former Baltic presidents: Estonia’s Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Latvia’s Vaira Vike-Freiberga…
Average consumer prices for transport fuel in Latvia rose by 28.2% on year in May 2026, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. Retail prices for diesel fuel increased by 33.3%, for petrol by 21.5%, and for autogas (LPG) by 14.4% over a year. Compared to April 2026, average fuel prices…