Data published by the Central Statistical Bureau shows that on 1 April 2024 the provisional population of Latvia was 1.863 million, which is 22.5 thousand fewer than on 1 April 2023. The figures are sadly no surprise, and at present there is not the faintest ray of hope that the country's "emptying out" will stop.
In the first three months of 2024, 3,154 babies were registered as born – 267 or 7.8% fewer than in the corresponding period of 2023, when 3,421 children were born; while over the same period 7,371 people died, which is 306 deaths or 4.0% fewer than in the first quarter of last year, but 238 deaths or 3.3% more than in the first quarter of 2020. The numbers show the harsh truth – the birth rate is still very considerably lower than the death rate.