Two waves of mass emigration occurred at the beginning of the 90s and in 2009-2011.
The expert of the Latvian Confederation of Employers, Jānis Hermanis, created a "demographic" chart of Latvia starting from 1980. The expert took into account two main indicators: migration, that is, the arrival and departure of residents, and natural changes in the population - the difference between births and deaths in a year. From 1980 to 1990, the population gradually increased, mainly due to the fact that births exceeded deaths. A record increase was observed during the years of the so-called perestroika: in 1986, the population grew by 24,000, the following year by as much as 29,000, and in 1988 by 25,000.
1990 became the last year when births exceeded deaths. In the following three decades, Latvia only lost population - both due to natural decline and emigration. However, in 2022-2023, the number of residents increased due to Ukrainian refugees.
The record for population loss was recorded in 1992, when the population decreased by 57,000 people. Of these, 52,000 left the country - apparently, they moved to Russia and other CIS countries. In the following years, the population decreased annually by an average of 30,000 people! From 1992 to 1996, that is, over 5 years, Latvia lost almost 200,000 people!
The next wave of mass emigration occurred in 2009-2011 - over three years, the country lost more than 100,000 people!
In recent years, the population has been decreasing mainly due to low birth rates - that is, deaths significantly exceed births. In 2024, the population decreased by 18,000 people, and last year by 15.
