More than two deaths for every newborn: what is happening to the population of Latvia

According to preliminary data from the Central Statistical Bureau, as reported by LETA, 7,648 newborns were registered in Latvia from January to August. This is a decrease of 4.8%, or 387 children, compared to the same period last year. Among the newborns are 3,942 boys and 3,706 girls. Compared to the first eight months of 2025, the number of registered boys decreased by 5.8%, while the number of girls decreased by 3.8%. In the last two summer months, the number of newborns exceeded one thousand. In August, 1,035 children were registered — 538 boys and 497 girls. However, even this figure was 5.9% lower than last year's: in August 2025, there were 65 more births. At the same time, mortality in Latvia has also decreased. In the first eight months, 17,218 deaths were registered — 219 people, or 1.3%, fewer than the previous year. Nevertheless, the natural decrease in population continues to grow. The difference between the number of deaths and births over the eight months reached 9,570 people. A year ago, for the same period, it was 9,402 people. Thus, despite a slight decrease in mortality, the decline in birth rates has led to a further increase in the natural decrease of the population. For every registered newborn this year, there are approximately 2.25 deaths. The number of marriages is also declining. From January to August, 7,050 marriages were registered in Latvia — 568, or 7.5%, fewer than in the corresponding period of 2025. According to preliminary estimates from the statistical bureau, as of September 1, 2026, Latvia had a population of 1.83 million. Currently, the statistics do not show any improvement in the demographic situation: even with a decrease in mortality, the number of newborns remains significantly lower than the number of deaths.