Latvia’s security situation has not improved and has become more complex, President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview on TV24, Rinkevics warned that Russia was becoming more unpredictable and that Latvia must be prepared to respond to various kinds of Russian provocations. At the same time, he noted that the threat posed…
The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation increased in Estonia but decreased in Latvia and Lithuania in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The number of overnight stays in Lithuania totalled 2.05 million, which was down 12.9% from 1.78 million nights a year earlier. The decline was the biggest…
Business sentiment in Latvia was positive in the retail and services sectors, but negative in manufacturing and construction in May 2026, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. The retail confidence indicator stood at 3.1%, which was up 1.5 percentage points from April 2026. In services, the seasonally adjusted confidence indicator was 1.6%,…
Estonia ensures much better protection for LGBT rights than Latvia and Lithuania, according to human rights group ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, which ranks countries based on their legal and policy protection for LGBT people, LSM reports. Estonia ranked 21st on the index with a score of 46.37% on a scale of 0-100% in 2026, which was…
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….
The Baltic States will procure up to 20 regional trains for the Rail Baltica railway, ERR reports. Estonia will buy 5-7 trains, Latvia up to 5 trains, and Lithuania up to 8 trains, which will operate on domestic routes only, at least initially. The trains will have around 200 seats and will run at maximum…
Latvia and Finland will co-host the men’s Ice Hockey World Championship games in 2030, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced, LSM reports. The joint bid by the Latvian capital, Riga, and the Finnish capital, Helsinki, was the only contender for the games in May-June 2030. The semifinal and final matches will be played in Helsinki….
The average monthly gross wage in Latvia amounted to EUR 1,831 in the first quarter of 2026, which was an increase of EUR 73 (4.2%) from the same period of 2025, according to provisional data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. The average wage rose by 4.6% in the public sector and 4.1%…
Latvians and Lithuanians work longer hours than Estonians, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The average working hours for employed persons in both Latvia and Lithuania stood at 38.3 hours per week in 2024, compared to just 36.5 hours in Estonia. The EU average was 36.0 hours. For employees, average working hours were 38.6 hours…