Demographic profile of statistical regions and new territorial units of Latvia in 2020-2021

Ongoing shifts in administrative-territorial boundaries, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as continuous social and economic challenges facilitate a hasty change of Latvia’s regional demographic profile. To keep up with the current demographic processes and challenges on the regional level and provide realistic policy-oriented proposals, researchers must constantly monitor the changing demographic landscape and listen closely to the opinion trends prevalent among the regional populations. In this paper authors aim to provide an updated demographic portrait of Latvia’s statistical regions and new territorial units created after the territorial reform of 2021. Special attention is given to the discrepancies between rural and urban population dynamics on different territorial levels. This study relies on the most recent statistical information and presents several key findings of the survey carried out throughout the country within the framework of research project “DemoMig”. Study results indicate a deepening rural-urban divide in terms of demographic development on both regional and local levels. Some noteworthy distinctions can be found between the statistical regions of Latvia in terms of demographic development challenges and populations’ opinion about them. Survey results also provide important conclusions regarding the inhabitants’ perceptions about impact factors of population change on various territorial levels.