Birth rates in Latvia continue going down: 15 535 children were born in 2022, which is the lowest number recorded in the past hundred years and 10.8 % or 1 885 children fewer than in 2021.
Compared to 2021, when the largest number of deaths in the past 20 years was registered due to Covid-19 pandemic, in 2022 the number of deaths fell by 12.3%. The sharpest decline was observed in the Q4 2022 – of 23.1%, compared with Q4 2021.
Before the pandemic, namely between 2012 and 2019, the number of deaths tended to reduce, while in 2022, as compared with 2019, it grew by 9.5%,
according to provisional data compiled by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.
On 1 January 2023 the provisional number of residents in Latvia accounted for 1 million 891 thousand, which is 15.2 thousand people more than on 1 January 2022, as Ukraine refugees are included in the population of the country granting asylum. This is a common practice in all EU countries accepting refugees from Ukraine.
In January 2023, a total of 39.8 thousand Ukrainian citizens who left their country due to the war had registered their residence in Latvia. The estimate for the number of Ukrainian refugees in Latvia will be published on the 1st of June once all administrative data has been received.
Natural population growth in Latvia has been negative since 1990. However, in 2022, similarly to the year prior the number of deaths exceeded births by 14 811 people.
In 2022, a total of 12 110 marriages were registered, which is 7.9 % (882 marriages) more than a year ago.
The number of marriages concluded last year has reached that recorded before pandemic when over a six-year period (from 2014 to 2019) more than 12 thousand marriages were registered annually. In comparison, in 2020 when public gatherings were restricted 10 702 marriages were registered.