The main articles are:
GDP
Main article: GDP of Latvia
National debt
2023: State debt - 42% of GDP
Inflation
2022
Inflation in October - 21.8%
The consumer price indicator showed that price growth in October 2022 slowed down to 21.8% in Latvia, 22% in Lithuania and 22.4% in Estonia.
Inflation in August - 21.4%
Annual inflation in the eurozone in August 2022 accelerated to a record 9.1%. The highest price growth was noted in Estonia (25.2%), Latvia (21.4%) and Lithuania (21.1%).
Inflation in July - 21.5%
Inflation growth in May to 16.8%
Annual inflation in Latvia in May 2022 rose to 16.8%.
Investments
2023: Reduced foreign investment
Energy carriers
Oil supplies
Gas supplies
2022: Record decline in gas consumption as its price rises
Total gas consumption for all YeS-27 countries in the first eleven months of 2022 decreased by 11% compared to the level of 2019-2021. The leaders in the decline in gas demand are Finland (minus 53% in January-November) and the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), which reduced consumption by 27-30%, and by November reached a demand compression of half of the average level 2019-2021.
Latvia is a member of the Three Seas Initiative aimed at countering Russia.
Latvia on August 5, 2022 resumed the import of Russian gas, stopped at the end of July due to a violation of the selection conditions, the operator of the European GTS said.
Russian gas is supplied to Latvian consumers via the Valdai - Pskov - Riga main gas pipeline, which enters Latvia from Russia through Estonia at the Luhamaa point.
2020: High dependence on gas supplies from Russia
Power
2025: Doubling electricity prices after disconnecting from Russia's power system
In February 2025, the Baltic countries disconnected from the Russian energy system and prices on the Nord pool exchange for them doubled or more.
These are record prices for the entire available stock history.
2023: Government contributions to pay for energy by citizens and companies reached 3% of GDP
2022: Rise in electricity prices due to pressure on Russia
from
2021: Oil is the main source of energy in the country
2020: Low per capita energy consumption
and
Foreign trade
2025: Reduction of trade turnover between Russia and Latvia to 1.1 billion euros
At the end of 2025, the trade turnover of Russia and Latvia amounted to about €1.1 billion. For comparison, a year earlier this figure reached €1.4 billion. Thus, a decrease of 21.4% was recorded. This is stated in the materials of the Central Statistical Office of Latvia, which TAdviser got acquainted with in mid-February 2026.
In 2025, goods worth about €125.65 million were imported from Russia to Latvia, which is 3.1 times less than a year earlier, when the figure reached €395.56 million. The volume of Latvian exports to the Russian Federation decreased on an annualized basis by 7.3% - from €1.04 billion to €962.511 million. Latvia imports the following products from Russia:
- Non-ferrous metals and products from them - €57 365 705;
- Products of chemical and related industries - €20,983,756;
- Finished food, beverages, alcohol, tobacco and tobacco products - €17,230,942;
- Pulp, paper and cardboard - €8,877,395;
- Vegetable products - €4,991,323;
- Animals, vegetable or microbial fats and oils, as well as products of their cleavage - €4,229,593;
- Mineral products - €2,604,338;
- Various industrial products - €2,479,716;
- Optical devices and apparatuses (including medical), watches, musical instruments - €2 060,677;
- Vehicles - €1,469,056.
However, the largest contribution to the total volume of exports to Russia is made by the following commodity categories:
- Finished food, beverages, alcohol, tobacco and tobacco products - € 422 258 770;
- Textiles and textiles - € 181 758 206;
- Products of chemical and related industries - € 127 973 899;
- Shoes, hats, umbrellas and other goods - €77,875,078;
- Leather, furs and products made of them - €52 402 344;
- Vegetable products - €19,820,032;
- Optical devices and apparatuses (including medical), watches, musical instruments - €16,407,770;
- Machines and mechanical devices, electrical equipment - €14,911,065;
- Various industrial products - €12,885,887;
- Plastics, rubber and products made of them - €11,449,312.[1]
2024: Ban on imports of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus
In February 2024, Latvia legally banned the import of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus.
2023
Decline in exports to China
Continued trade with Russia through Central Asian countries
2022: China trade deficit
2021: More than 10% of foreign trade falls on Russia
2018: Clothing exports - $275 million
1998: Accession to the WTO
The process of accession of the Republic of Latvia to the WTO took more than 5 years. In 1993, Latvia applied to join the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), as the structure was then called. During the negotiations, the republic abandoned the high import duties in force, including on agricultural products. On October 14, 1998, Latvia's accession to the WTO was approved by the organization's general council.
Largest companies
Transport
2021: Average train speed - 67.8 km/h
Cars
2021: Driving penalty with phone in hand €25
Ports
2023: Sanctions against Russia bring down cargo transshipment
The largest Ventspils port in Latvia in the USSR was the leader in the export of petroleum products. Coal, forest and fertilizers - everything passed here.
In the 1990s, up to 35% of all revenues to the budget of Latvia and Estonia brought transit. In 1993, the Russian Federation thought about creating the port of Ust-Luga. But the lack of funding, economic difficulties and resistance of the Baltic states seriously slowed down its construction.
First losses. Up to €600 million a year brought the Riga port to the Latvian treasury. With the advent of the latest Russian ports, Moscow began to transfer part of the flow to them. Riga every year escalated relations not only with the Russian Federation, but also with Belarus. In 2020, Minsk decided to transport part of its cargo to the Leningrad region.
In 2020, against the background of the COVID-19 epidemic, cargo turnover in the ports of Latvia was at a minimum in 10 years. In 2021, it fell by another 7%. For some time, the transportation of Kazakhstani coal allowed Latvia to reach a plus (2022). But a sharp increase in sanctions against the Russian Federation led to a collapse in 2023: the volume of coal transshipment collapsed by 56%, and oil products - by 48%. The turnover of all goods for five years decreased by 58%.
"The Russian economy did not lose from sanctions, but acquired. We lost. Because of the sanctions, we cannot load coal, fertilizers, or petroleum products. Russian ports earn more and more, also transshipment of goods from China, the countries of the Far East, "the ex-head of the Riga port Leonid Loginov assessed the consequences of the loss of goods from the Russian Federation.
Railway
2022: Sanctions against Russia bring down cargo shipments
The problems of the Latvian Railway (LZD) began back in 2019, and the sanctions against the Russian Federation in 2022 after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, finally finished it off. Even €95.6 million in state support did not help. Attempts to find a replacement for Russian cargo in the EU and Central Asian countries, like the Rail Baltica project, were unsuccessful.
Real estate
2021: Price increase for 11 years for residential real estate by 114%, for rent - by 40%
Tourism
2021: Largest outbound tourism destination - Germany
2019
Revenues of international tourism - 7.3% of the total export of goods and services
More than 30% of the population went on tourist trips. Germany is the most popular country
2018: 1.8 million foreign tourists per year
1980: Sunbathing in Jurmala
Labour market and unemployment
2023
5.6% of the population is not working full time
Youth unemployment - 11%
2022
The proportion of employees aged 65 or more - above 10%
Unemployment rate - 5.8%
2020
Pension is provided from 64 years old, the real retirement age for men is 66, for women - 65 years old
Unemployment rate - 9%
2019: Average labor productivity - $33.54 per hour
Salaries
2024: Maximum personal income tax rate - 31%
2023: Minimum wage - $555
2021: Average net income per employee - 8.8 thousand euros per year
2018: Salaries of top officials in government management
.jpg)
2017: Average monthly salary
Agriculture
2021: 7.3% of workers are employed in agriculture
2019: Low use of pesticides in agriculture
Food industry
2021: Cheese production - 27.7kg per capita
Digitalization
Consumption
2023: Pork is the most consumed type of meat
2021
Prostitution: Legalization. Buying and selling sexual services is legal and regulated
There are 140 pet dogs per 1,000 people
2019
Low coffee consumption - 2.8 kg per year per person
Pork is the most consumed type of meat
Beer consumption in liters per year per person
Wine consumption - 14 liters per person
2018: Milk consumption in litres per year per person
.jpg)
| The site content is translated by machine translation software powered by PROMT. The machine-translated articles are not always perfect and may contain errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. Read original article If you find inaccuracies or errors in the results of machine translation, please write to editor@tadviser.ru. We will make every effort to correct them as soon as possible. |