When compared with 2020 the income of households in Latvia increased by EUR 48 or 7.6% in 2021, reaching EUR 678 per a household member a month, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.
Data indicates income of residents increased slightly slower when compared with 2020, when income increased by 8.1%.
Income was the highest in Riga, where it reached EUR 791 per household member a month. In Pieriga income reached EUR 753 per household member a month. It was EUR 631 in Zemgale, EUR 613 in Kurzeme, EUR 513 in Vidzeme and EUR 504 in Latgale. Income per household member was EUR 711 in cities and EUR 604 in the countryside.
Income increased rapidly in households in which couples have three or more children and households that have a single parent raising children.
A single person’s income increased by 14.2% – from EUR 671 a month in 2020 to EUR 766 a month in 2021. For lonely seniors (at least 65 years of age) income increased by 14.5%. The income of seniors at least 64 years of age income increased by 12.8%.
Income of households with a single parent and children under the age of 17 years increased by 13.8% (from EUR 441 per household member in 2022 to EUR 501 in 2021) and income of couples with three or more children increased by 10.5% (from EUR 448 per household member a month in 2020 to EUR 495 in 2021). Income increased the slowest for couples with one to two children: by 4.6% and 4.8% respectively.
Income increased the most rapidly for the least protected households or was due to state support provided to limit the negative impact on households’ income from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The size of social benefits (pension, benefits and other budget payments) increased more rapidly than job wages. This form of income per household member increased by 16.7% – from EUR 152 a month in 2020 to EUR 177 in 2021. Households’ income in the form of wages per household member increased by a mere 5.0% – from EUR 436 to EUR 458 a month.
The share of employee income in the household disposable income constituted 67.6 % while that of social transfers 26.1 %.
In 2021 the monthly income per household member in the poorest households (belonging to the first quintile group) comprised EUR 232, while in the richest households (belonging to the fifth quintile group) EUR 1 475. In households with average income level it varied between EUR 412 (in second quintile group) and EUR 801 (in fourth quintile group). The steepest income rise was observed in households belonging to second, third and fourth quintile groups (of 12.1 %, 12.1 % and 11.1 %, respectively). Slightly slower upturn was recorded in poorest households (belonging to the first quintile group) (of 8.3 %), while the smallest rise was registered in richest households (belonging to the fifth quintile group) (of 4.8 %).Along with a smaller rise of income in the richest households (belonging to the fifth quintile group), income inequality is reducing. However, in 2021 income of the richest population exceeded that of the poorest population 6.3 times (0.3 times fewer than in 2020). Last year, Gini coefficient amounted to 34.3 %, which is 1.4 percentage points fewer than in 2020.
Compared to other European Union (EU) countries, in Latvia income inequality remains high.
The latest data available show that Latvia had the third highest Gini coefficient in EU. In 2020 higher coefficient was registered only in Bulgaria (39.7 %) and Lithuania (35.4 %). Quintile share ratio was the third highest in the EU as well. In 2019 higher ratio was recorded only in Bulgaria (7.5) and Romania (7.1).
Household disposable income data source: EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey conducted by the CSB in 2022 from the 30th of January to the 18th of July. People taking part in the survey were able to submit online questionnaire or answer survey questions by phone or face-to-face. The survey covered more than 5.8 thousand households and 10.3 thousand respondents aged 16 and over.