The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved amendments reducing state support for Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, LSM reports. The government will allocate EUR 39.7mn of budget funds to support Ukrainians in the country in 2026, which will be down from EUR 65mn in 2025. The government will stop support to those Ukrainians who have found…
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…
Latvia’s average monthly gross wage amounted to EUR 1,835 in the third quarter of 2025, which was up 7.8% from the same period of 2024, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. The average wage rose by 8.1% in the private sector and 7.1% in the public sector. The average hourly…
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…
The Baltic Assembly has announced its annual awards in arts, literature, and science, LSM reports. The prize in the arts category went to Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins for the Latvian Radio Choir’s concert programme, The Dream Stream. The literature prize was awarded to Lithuanian author and translator Tomas Venclova for his latest poetry collection, Už…
Latvia’s Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) may take the electronic moped rental company, Ride, to court for its refusal to suspend operations as ordered, LSM reports. Earlier, PTAC told Ride to halt its rental service after two teenagers riding the company’s vehicle died in a traffic accident in Riga. Linda Rinkule, deputy director of PTAC,…
Over 7,700 people in Latvia have signed a public petition against withdrawing from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence, LSM reports. Earlier, several parties in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, signalled that they might vote to revoke Latvia’s ratification of the human rights treaty. The Union of Greens…
Estonia had the highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the Baltic States in 2023, according to Eurostat data, LSM reported. Estonia had 12.5 pupils per teacher in primary to upper secondary education in 2023, which was up from 12.4 in 2022. Latvia had 11.9 (11.5) and Lithuania 11.4 (11.4) pupils per teacher. The EU average was 12.2…
Housing prices in Latvia increased by 6.7% in the second quarter of 2025, compared to the same period of 2024, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. Compared to the first quarter of 2025, housing prices rose by 3.2%. The increase in housing prices in Latvia was higher than the EU average, according to Eurostat’s House…