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Population of Latvia (in millions) from 1950-2009.

This article is about the demographic features of the population of the historical territory of Latvia, including population density, ethnic background, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Background

Latvia was settled by the Baltic tribes some three millennia ago. The territories along the eastern Baltic first came under foreign domination at the beginning of the 13th century, with the formal establishment of Riga in 1201 under the German Teutonic Knights.

Latvia, in whole or in parts, remained under foreign rule for the next eight centuries, finding itself at the cross-roads of all the regional superpowers of their day, including Denmark (the Danes held on lands around the Gulf of Riga), Sweden, and Russia, with southern (Courland) Latvia being at one time a vassal to Poland-Lithuania as well as Latgale falling directly under Poland-Lithuania rule. Through all this time, Latvia remained largely under Baltic German hegemony, with Baltic Germans comprising the largest land-owners, a situation which did not change until Latvia's independence.

Historically, Latvia has had significant German, Russian, Jewish and Polish minorities. The majority (roughly two thirds) of Latvians, under Swedish influences, adopted Lutheranism, while the minority (the remaining third) of Latvians under Poland-Lithuania, Latgale in particular, adopted Catholicism. Aglona, in Latgale, has been the site of annual Catholic pilgrimage for centuries, even through to today.

Historical shifts

In 1897, the first official census in this area indicated that Latvians formed 68.3 % of the total population of 1.93 million; Russians accounted for 12%, Jews for 7.4 %, Germans for 6.2 %, and Poles for 3.4 %. The remainder were Lithuanians, Estonians, Gypsies, and various other nationalities.

The demographics shifted greatly in the 20th century due to the world wars, the repatriation of the Baltic Germans, the Holocaust, and occupation by the Soviet Union. Today, only the Russian minority, which has tripled in numbers since 1935, remains important. The share of ethnic Latvians grew from 77% (1,467,035) in 1935 to 80% (1,508,800), after human loss in WWII and human deportation and other repressive measures, fell strongly to 52% (1,387,757) in 1989.

In 2005, there were even fewer Latvians than in 1989, though their share of the population was larger - 1,357,099 (58.8% of the inhabitants). People who arrived in Latvia during the Soviet era, and their descendants born before 21 August 1991, have to pass a naturalisation process to receive Latvian citizenship. Children born to residents after the restoration of independence in 1991 automatically receive citizenship. However, if both parents are "stateless," then the parents must take the extra step of choosing Latvian citizenship for their child—who is automatically entitled, but for whom citizenship is not automatic (neither granted nor imposed).

Over 130,000 persons have been naturalized as Latvian citizens since 1995, but 351,435 persons (231,711 of them ethnic Russians), as of July 2009, live in Latvia with aliens' passports. Large numbers of Russians, as well as some Ukrainians and Belarussians remained in Latvia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Latvians and Livonians, the indigenous peoples of Latvia, are now 60% of the population. Livonians are the other indigenous ethnic group, with about 100 of them remaining. Some Latgalians consider themselves as a group separate from Latvians, but the predominant view is that Latgalians are a distinctive subgroup of Latvians.

According to rankings provided by the United states Census Bureau - International Data Base (IDB) - Country Rankings, Latvia is estimated to have a population of 1,544,000 in the year 2050.

Ethnic groups

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following data are estimates as of September 2009, obtained from the CIA World Factbook.

Age structure

0–14 years: 13.3% (male 152,472/female 145,161)
15–64 years: 69.6% (male 756,469/female 797,505)
65 years and over: 17% (male 124,432/female 255,464) (2009 est.)

Net migration rate

-2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total 8.77 deaths/1,000 live births
Male 10.63 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 6.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.15 years
male: 66.98 years
female: 77.59 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.3 children born/woman (2009 est.)

Nationality

noun: Latvian(s) (archaic: Lett(s))
adjective: Latvian (archaic: Lettish)

Religions

Lutheran 19.6%, Russian Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7% (2006)

NB. In a 2005 survey, 24.1 % described themselves as Russian Orthodox, 20.7% Catholics, 20.0% Lutherans, 4.4% Old Believers, 10.6% non-denominational believers and 15.8% non-believers.^[7]

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.7% (2000 census)

Languages

• official: Latvian
• considered indigenous in some legislation: Livonian, Latgalian
• other languages registered as mother tongue by at least 500 speakers in 2000 census^[8] (in declining order): Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romani, Tatar, Yiddish and Hebrew, Estonian, German
• other languages widely spoken: English

In the 2000 census, 1,311,093 persons in Latvia reported Latvian as their mother tongue; 891,451 respondents listed Russian as their mother tongue,^[8] representing 37.5% of the total population, whereas Latvian was recorded as the mother tongue for 58.2%.^[9] Latvian was spoken as a second language by 20.8% of the population, and 43.7% spoke Russian as a second language.^[10] In total, 71% of ethnic Latvians said they could speak Russian, and 52% of Russians could speak Latvian.^[11]

Table of vital statistics

Source: Latvijas Statistika and UN Demographic Yearbooks

See also

• Aging of Europe
• List of cities in the Baltic states by population

References

External links

• Naturalization Board of the Republic of Latvia: Figures and facts
• Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs: Statistics