The highest disposable household income was observed in Riga where it reached EUR 791 per household member monthly. In Pierīga it reached EUR 753 per household member monthly, in Zemgale EUR 631 and in Kurzeme EUR 613. The lowest disposable income was registered in Vidzeme (EUR 513 per household member monthly) and Latgale (EUR 504). In urban areas income per one household member reached EUR 711 monthly and in rural areas EUR 604.
Disposable income in one-person households grew by 14.2 % (from EUR 671 monthly in 2020 to EUR 766 monthly in 2021). The income of single people aged 65 and over went up by 14.5 % and of those aged up to 64 by 12.8 %.
Income in households formed by one parent with children aged 17 and under rose by 13.8 % (from EUR 441 per household member monthly in 2020 to EUR 502 in 2021) and income of couples with three and more children by 10.5 % (from EUR 448 to EUR 495). The smallest income increase was observed in households formed by couples with one or two children – of 4.6 % and 4.8 %, respectively.
"Steeper income upturn in socially more vulnerable households (those formed by lone parent with children, couple with three and more children, or single elderly) may be related to the State aid granted to mitigate negative impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the income of these households. In 2021, from 1 March to 6 April, households with children received a one-off support payment amounting to EUR 500 per child, while people in retirement and those receiving disability pension/benefit, compensation for the loss of capacity for work, survivor's pension/benefit, or care of a disabled child benefit received a one-off support payment amounting to EUR 200," the CSB explained.
Income inequality is shrinking but remains high
Along with a smaller rise of income in the richest households (belonging to the fifth quintile group), income inequality is reducing. However, in 2021 income of the richest population exceeded that of the poorest population 6.3 times (0.3 times fewer than in 2020). Last year, the Gini coefficient (a metric used to measure income inequality) amounted to 34.3 %, which is 1.4 percentage points fewer than in 2020.
"Compared to other European Union (EU) countries, in Latvia income inequality remains high. The latest data available show that Latvia had the third highest Gini coefficient in EU. In 2020 higher coefficient was registered only in Bulgaria (39.7 %) and Lithuania (35.4 %). Quintile share ratio was the third highest in the EU as well. In 2019 higher ratio was recorded only in Bulgaria (7.5) and Romania (7.1)," said the CSB.
