Last year, Latvians married representatives of their nationality in 83.4% of cases. Over the past ten years, this share has increased by 3.7 percentage points, notes the Central Statistical Bureau.
Interethnic marriages, which were quite common in the past, are becoming a thing of the past – today it is more convenient to go through life with a compatriot.
However, many do not go far. In terms of the number of divorces per 1,000 residents in 2023, Latvia led the countries of the European Union with 2.8 divorces per 1,000 residents. For comparison, the lowest divorce rate in the EU was in Ireland – 0.7 divorces per 1,000 residents.
On the other hand, weddings are often celebrated in Latvia. The number of marriages per 1,000 residents in Latvia is relatively high compared to other EU countries – in 2023, there were 5.6 marriages per 1,000 residents, placing Latvia in third place after Cyprus (8.9 per 1,000 residents) and Romania (5.8). The lowest number of marriages was in Italy – 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
However, soon wedding hosts in Latvia may find themselves out of work. The share of children and adolescents (0-14 years old) in the total population of Latvia has decreased by 16,800 or 5.7 percentage points since 2015 – by the beginning of 2025, there were 280,900 children left in the country, accounting for 15.1% of the total population.
Leave a comment