Share of population living in urban areas in Latvia
Latvia: Share of population living in urban areas was 57.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Latvia, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in urban areas in Latvia stood at 57.1%.
The figure is down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Latvia peaked at 61.6% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 50.8%, in 1950.
That places Latvia 190th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 51.5% | 50.8% | 52.3% | 2 |
| 1960s | 55.2% | 54.3% | 56.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 58.3% | 57.6% | 59.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 60.6% | 60.4% | 60.8% | 2 |
| 1990s | 60.5% | 59.5% | 61.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 59.4% | 59.3% | 59.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 58.0% | 57.7% | 58.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 57.1% | 57.1% | 57.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Latvia
More reference data data for Latvia
- Spring temperature anomalies 4.57 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.58 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -5.99 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.33 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 3.08 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 162.39 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Latvia?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Latvia was 57.1% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Latvia?
- The highest recorded value was 61.6% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Latvia?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.8% in 1950.
- How does Latvia rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Latvia ranks 190th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Latvia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latvia data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.