Latvia has made progress in reducing some forms of deprivation, but poverty continues to affect a significant portion of the population. In 2024, approximately 404,000 people, or 22% of Latvia’s population, were at risk of poverty. For a person living alone, this meant having a monthly disposable income below €699. Poverty also varies greatly depending on where people live. In the Latgale region, 35.8% of residents were at risk of poverty, compared with 15.6% in the Riga region.

Alongside innovations in poverty reduction in Latvia, material living conditions have improved. In 2024, 10.9% of the population experienced material and social deprivation, down 2.6 percentage points from 2023. Severe material and social deprivation also fell to 5.3%, the lowest level recorded by Latvia’s Central Statistical Bureau.

Current Status

Despite recent improvements in material deprivation, income inequality and poverty remain challenges in Latvia. In 2024, the average monthly disposable income per household member was €950. However, people in the poorest 20% of households had an average monthly disposable income of only €317 per household member, compared with €2,084 among the wealthiest 20%.

Certain regions and groups also experience poverty at different rates. Latgale, located in eastern Latvia, had the country’s highest regional at-risk-of-poverty rate at 35.8% in 2024. Meanwhile, Latvia’s national at-risk-of-poverty rate was 22%.

Children are another important group when examining poverty. According to Latvia’s Central Statistical Bureau, 17.9% of children ages 17 and younger were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the 2024 survey, which refers to 2023 income. This was substantially lower than the 30.7% recorded in the 2015 survey, which refers to 2014 income, demonstrating measurable long-term progress while also showing that child poverty has not disappeared.

Addressing Minimum Wage

One of the innovations in poverty reduction in Latvia is changing how its minimum-income system works. Previously, minimum-income thresholds were set at fixed amounts and reviewed only once every three years. Under a reform introduced in 2023, Latvia established a minimum-income floor connected to the country’s median income and introduced annual indexation. This allows minimum-income support to be adjusted more regularly as incomes and economic conditions change. In 2025, the guaranteed minimum income threshold was increased from 20% to 22% of median income.

The Social Climate Plan

Another approach combines poverty reduction with improvements to housing and transportation. In July 2026, the European Commission endorsed Latvia’s €617 million Social Climate Plan. Running through 2032, the plan is designed to support low- and lower-middle-income households that are particularly affected by energy and transportation costs.

One major part of the plan focuses on energy poverty. Vulnerable households will be able to receive support of up to €15,000 for energy-efficiency improvements to apartments and up to €20,000 for houses. Municipalities will also be able to improve the energy efficiency of social housing. Latvia’s plan identifies approximately 351,000 households as vulnerable to or already experiencing energy poverty.

The program also takes an innovative approach to transportation poverty, particularly in rural areas where public transportation can be limited. Plans include transportation-on-demand services in rural and remote communities, five new battery-electric trains and free bicycle-sharing programs at 97 schools. By 2032, the plan aims to move nearly 10,000 vulnerable households out of energy poverty and close to 83,000 vulnerable transportation users out of transportation poverty.

European Social Fund Plus

Latvia is also using European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) funding to address poverty through employment, education and social services. The European Union is investing €721 million in ESF+ funding in Latvia. The funding supports affordable social services, health care, community-based long-term care, education and training. It also supports programs for job seekers and people at risk of unemployment.

The program specifically includes efforts to integrate people at risk of poverty and provide food and basic necessities to vulnerable populations. These investments are intended to contribute to Latvia’s goal of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by nearly 95,000 by 2030.

Conclusion

Recent statistics show measurable improvements in some aspects of poverty in Latvia. Material and social deprivation fell to 10.9% in 2024, its lowest recorded level, while the share of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion declined from 30.7% in the 2015 survey to 17.9% in the 2024 survey. However, 22% of Latvia’s overall population remained at risk of poverty in 2024, and substantial regional differences remain.

Innovations in poverty reduction in Latvia address several dimensions of poverty rather than focusing exclusively on income. Annual adjustments to minimum-income support can make social assistance more responsive to economic conditions, while new investments target energy-efficient housing, transportation access, employment, education and social services. The €617 million Social Climate Plan and €721 million in ESF+ funding represent two large-scale efforts aimed at vulnerable households and communities. Their long-term results will depend on implementation, but their specific targets provide measurable benchmarks for tracking Latvia’s progress in reducing poverty.

– Smira Chowdhary

Smira is based in Sammamish, WA, USA and focuses on Good News, and Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

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