Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs suggested holding a consultative popular referendum on Latvia’s possible withdrawal from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women, LETA reports. Kulbergs said that the ruling United List had discussed the idea of a legally non-binding referendum on the question with President Edgars Rinkevics. Kulbergs said that referendum…
The Baltic States have among the highest suicide rates in the EU, according to Eurostat, LSM reports. The data show that the number of suicides in Lithuania was 562 in 2023, which was up from 532 in 2022. Suicides totalled 270 (231) in Latvia and 199 (195) in Estonia. Lithuania’s standardised death rate for intentional…
Latvia’s United List continues to oppose the ratification of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women, but is not committed to withdrawing from the treaty immediately, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reports. He said that the question should not be made into a top political priority, given that the treaty had…
The number of children aged 0-17 years in Latvia totalled 334,233 in the beginning of 2026, which was down 2.7% from 343,555 a year earlier, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) data, LSM reported. Children accounted for 18.1% (18.5%) of Latvia’s population. The number of boys amounted to 171,836 (176,322) and girls to 162,486…
The Latvian government has asked the State Chancellery to conduct a comprehensive analysis of state funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), LETA reports. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs alleged that NGOs were wasting taxpayer money, LSM reported. He suggested that state funding for NGOs created a conflict of interest, insisting that NGOs should not depend on state…
Three political groups in the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, have signed an agreement on a new coalition government, BNS reports. The new ruling coalition will include the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), the Union of Democrats for Lithuania, and the joint parliamentary group of the Lithuanian Union of Farmers and Greens and the Electoral Action…
Around 4,000 people attended the 20th annual Riga Pride parade in the Latvian capital, Riga, on 13 June 2026, LSM reported. Police said that the parade in the centre of Riga proceeded peacefully and without significant incidents. Participants noted that Latvian society was becoming more accepting of same-sex couples and diverse sexualities. Kaspars Zalitis, co-chair…
The number of marriages registered in Estonia totalled 5,998 in 2025, which was 363 fewer than in 2024, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reported. The number of new marriages was the lowest since 2012. The first-marriage rate was 0.45 for men and 0.52 for women. The average age at first marriage was 31.8…
Latvia’s population totalled 1.845 million people in the beginning of 2026, which was down 15,500 (0.83%) from a year earlier, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. The population declined in all regions. Altogether 69.8% of people lived in cities and 30.2% in rural areas, with 46.0% living in Riga region….
