The government of Latvia has refreshed the National Development Plan. New data indicate an increasing divide in Latvian society based on wealth.
The sectoral ministries have completed the coordination of the interim assessment of the national economy, prepared by the State Chancellery.
It turned out that the well-known Gini coefficient, indicating wealth inequality, has not actually changed in Latvia. Moreover, in 2024 it rose by 1.4 percentage points, indicating an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor.
In a country that is small even by European Union standards, there is also a phenomenon known as regional disparity in purchasing power. Currently, consumers in Riga can afford 41% more than those in Latgale. The goal set by the planning documents is to reduce the consumption gap to at least 30%.
Here, the authors of the document explain that this gap has arisen because the less affluent regions close to the capital, such as Saulkrasti, are no longer considered part of the Riga statistical region, resulting in an even greater separation from the metropolis.
