Latvia has over 223,000 pupils studying in schools of general education in the academic year 2025/2026, TV3 reports. However, due to the country’s demographic decline, the number of schoolchildren may drop to fewer than 200,000 by 2030. By 2040, the number may fall to a little over 120,000, which would be more than 40% fewer…
A majority of Estonians oppose foreign labour, according to a Norstat poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. The survey shows that 71% of respondents oppose and 19% support bringing in labour from outside the EU, while 52% oppose and 37% support labour from other EU countries. Also, 76% of respondents think…
The Estonian government has proposed amendments that would extend the period of mandatory military service to 12 months for all conscripts as of 2027, ERR reports. Currently, those who start their military service in the beginning of the year serve for 11 months, while those who start in autumn serve for 8 months. The Ministry…
Most large and medium-sized companies in the Baltic States plan to invest in business development in 2026, according to a Kantar survey for OP Corporate Bank, LSM reports. The survey showed that 87% of enterprises in Lithuania, 85% in Latvia, and 74% in Estonia plan to invest in development. Specifically, Lithuanian companies plan to increase…
The Norwegian-led Nordic-Baltic training camp for Ukrainian soldiers, Camp Jomsborg, was opened officially in southern Poland on 1 October 2025, ERR reports. The camp at the Polish Land Forces training ground in Nowa Deba will provide both basic training for soldiers and advanced courses for officers and specialists. The facility will be able to train…
The General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania (LKA) has opened an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) competence centre, Militarnyi reports. Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said that the drone competence centre would teach how to fly drones and gain both theoretical and practical knowledge. LKA will organise both stationary courses in Vilnius and field courses in…
Lithuania plans to allocate more than 3% of its GDP to defence, President Gitanas Nauseda announced, BNS reports. Speaking during a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Nauseda said that Lithuania would follow Poland’s example of raising defence spending. Also, he said that the two countries would soon begin training Ukrainian…
The Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) will send members of its Redeployable Communications and Information Systems Module to take part in a NATO training mission in Iraq, BNS reports. During the four-month mission, the specialists will provide communications support to ensure uninterrupted command and control in the area of operations. The operation’s aim is to train…
Latvian businesses urge the government to ease the rules on the entry of foreign labour into the country, LSM reports. Speaking at a conference on human capital development in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, business representatives and market analysts noted that Latvia’s human resources were exhausted. They called for improving labour availability through relaxed rules…