The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved amendments raising the excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and sweetened beverages as of 2026, BNS reports. The aim is to reduce the consumption of products that are harmful to the environment and health, LSM reports. The excise duty on strong alcoholic beverages will rise as of…
Lithuania recorded the largest increase in net electricity generation in the EU over 2013-2023, according to data from Eurostat, LSM reports. Lithuania’s net electricity production rose by 28.2% in the ten-year period. Latvia recorded a slight increase in electricity generation as well. Meanwhile, Estonia’s electricity generation decreased by as much as 58.5% over the same…
Latvians are not buying homes due to high prices, insufficient savings and income, and economic uncertainty, according to a Norstat survey carried out for Luminor Bank in September 2025, LSM reports. The survey showed that 27% of Latvian residents cited high real estate prices as the main obstacle to buying a home. Another 24% of…
Estonia’s GDP totalled EUR 10.5bn at current prices in the third quarter of 2025, which was up 0.9% from the same period of 2024, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reported. Compared to the second quarter of 2025, seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP rose by 0.4%. Value added in the energy sector rose by…
The international credit rating agency, S&P Global, has affirmed Latvia’s sovereign credit rating at A/A-1 with a stable outlook, unchanged from its previous report in May 2025, LSM reports. The agency noted persistent geopolitical uncertainty and elevated regional security risks, but expects Latvia to adhere to prudent fiscal policy and to withstand external headwinds in…
Lithuania’s GDP rose by 3% over a year in 2024 to EUR 79bn at current prices, according to the State Data Agency’s (VDA) revised data, BNS reports. Gross value added in manufacturing rose by 2.9% and in wholesale and retail trade by 2.6% in constant prices. Growth in professional, scientific, and technical activities stood at…
Estonian Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi said that public outcry over inflation was misplaced, ERR reports. He argued that complaining about rising prices was “as stupid as cursing bad weather when you wake up in the morning.” Ligi stressed that most prices were not under government control, and that the government could thus neither cause nor…
Latvia’s gross energy consumption remained stable in 2024, according to provisional data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. Gross energy consumption totalled 183 PJ, which was 1 PJ less than in 2023. Final energy consumption totalled 166 PJ, which was down 0.8% on year. Transport accounted for 47 PJ (28.4%) of final consumption,…
Estonia’s annual GDP totalled EUR 39.5bn at current prices in 2024, which was down 0.3% from 2023, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the GDP totalled EUR 10.6bn, which was up 1.2% from a year earlier. This marked the end of ten quarters of recession in the…