People in the Baltic States rate their health much worse than the EU average, according to Eurostat, LSM reported. The data showed that 57.8% of people aged 16 years or older in Estonia said that their health was good or very good in 2025, which was almost unchanged from 57.7% in 2024. The corresponding figure…
Lithuania’s State Defence Council has decided to introduce universal military conscription in 2032, President Gitanas Nauseda announced, BNS reports. Universal conscription will apply to men ages 18 to 22 years, replacing the current selective draft. Women will still be able to volunteer for military service. Nauseda said that about 7,500 young men would be drafted…
The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has lowered the voting age and minimum age for candidates in elections to the European Parliament as of 2029, ERR reports. The amendments will lower the voting age from the current 18 to 16 years and the minimum age for candidates from 21 to 18 years. MPs from the Estonian Reform…
An overwhelming majority of Lithuanians think that the current situation in the country is heading in the wrong direction, according to Baltijos Tyrimai’s latest poll for ELTA, DELFI reports. The public opinion survey showed that 62% of Lithuanian residents were pessimistic about the country’s situation in September-October 2026. Meanwhile, 23% of respondents said that the…
Estonians are markedly more active physically than Latvians and Lithuanians, according to Eurostat statistics, LSM reports. The data showed that 73.2% of Estonians aged 16 years or older engaged in physical activity outside work at least once a week in 2025, which was down from 82.4% in 2022. By comparison, a mere 52.3% (47.7%) of…
More than 11% of Latvia’s electorate voted early in the country’s parliamentary elections, which was up sharply from just over 4% in the previous elections in 2022, according to data from the Central Election Commission (CVK), LSM reported. The official election day is 3 October 2026. Early voter turnout was highest in the Vidzeme region…
The mayors of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and the Finnish capital, Helsinki, have approved a twin city cooperation plan for 2026-2029, Baltic News reports. The action plan focuses on growth and innovation, resilience and sustainability, and creative industries and grassroots cooperation. The two cities will cooperate in startup ecosystem development, civil protection, and cultural and…
The number of unemployed people in Latvia totalled 66,400 in the first quarter of 2026, which was 3,100 (4.5%) fewer than in the same period of 2025, the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP) reported. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of unemployed rose by 2,600 (4.0%), however. The country’s unemployment rate stood at…
Latvia’s population has dropped at the highest rate in the entire EU over the last 20 years, according to Eurostat, LSM reported. Latvia’s population declined by 17% in 2005-2025. Meanwhile, Lithuania’s population decreased by 14%, whereas Estonia’s population only declined by 1% over the same period. The population totalled 2.89 million people in Lithuania, 1.86…
