Last year, a total of 12 571 children were born in Latvia, which is 13.2% or 1 919 children fewer when compared to 2023, according to provisional data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSP).
In the last quarter of last year, the number of births in Latvia did not exceed a thousand (in October – 994, in November – 940, in December – 921 newborns). In 2024, the lowest number of births per month in the last hundred years was recorded in Latvia, according to data from CSP.
Last year, 26 341 people died in Latvia – 6% or 1 690 fewer than in 2023. The number of deaths decreased the most in Q4 of 2024 – by 9% in relation to the fourth quarter of 2023. The lowest number of deaths was in September – 1 956, whereas the highest in January – 2 702.
For the fourth year in a row, the number of deaths in Latvia was twice as high as the number of births. In 2024, the number of deaths was 13 770 more than the number of births. According to the CSP, the biggest difference was in 2021, when 17 180 more people died than were born in the country. The natural population growth in Latvia has been negative since 1990.
As a result of negative natural growth, the population of the country decreased by 13 000, and as of the 1st of January, 2025 Latvia’s population was approximately 1 853 000.
Last year, 10 390 marriages were registered, which is 1.5% or 159 fewer than in 2023. The number of concluded marriages gradually increased after 2020, but for the second year in a row it has been decreasing. Last year, there were 312 fewer marriages than in 2020, when restrictions on public gatherings were in force due to the Covid-19 pandemic.