Population

Almost one third (32 %) of the country’s population resides in Riga. Riga is the largest city, not only in Latvia, but also in the Baltic States. Data from the Central Statistical Bureau of the Republic of Latvia (LR CSB) indicated that there were 706,413 residents in Riga at the end of 2009, the other Baltic capitals - Vilnius has 547,000 residents (2009) and Tallinn has 399,000 (2010).

Population by nationality

Riga has a multinational population. The percentage of other nationalities in Riga is larger than the average for the country and Latvians are outnumberedthere. The following nationalities live in the capital city: Latvians - 42 %, Russians – 41 %, Byelorussians – 5 %, Ukrainians – 4 %, Poles – 2 %, Lithuanians – 1 %, and other nationalities - 5 %.

Population by nationality at the beginning of 2009

Source: LR CSB

Population by gender

Overall, there are 316,707 males (or 44.4 %) and 396,309 females (or 55.6 %) living in Riga; females outnumber males in Riga by 79,602. However, all in all the percentage of males in Latvia is slightly larger than that in Riga (46.1 %).

Age structure of Riga’s population in 2009

This material has been prepared in cooperation with the City Development Department of the Riga City Council and www.investinriga.com