Latvian and Russian are the two most common mother tongues in Latvia: Latvian for 64.3 % of the inhabitants and Russian for 37.7 %. Other mother tongues used in the country include Ukrainian (1.7 %) and Latgalian (1.3 %). However, in Latgale region Latgalian is mother tongue for 8.4 % of its population.
As regards the language used for communication at home, the majority (62.0 %) of the population (aged 18–69) use Latvian and about a third (34.6 %) Russian. Latgalian is used by 1.2 % of the total population and 8.8 % of the population in Latgale region. Other languages are less common and are used by just 2.2 % of the population.
At the same time, 89.3 % of the population aged 25–64, speak or understand Latvian (even if just a little).
When asked about languages known other than mother tongue, respondents were requested to rate their language proficiency skills from hardly any language skills to a proficient user. Among those using Latvian as the first best-known foreign language, 35.7 % mentioned that are proficient users (i.e., can express themselves fluently and spontaneously), 35.8 % were independent users (i.e., can deal with most situations, enter unprepared into conversation on familiar topics), 24.3 % were basic users (i.e., can interact in a simple way), and 4.4 % had hardly any language skills (i.e., can only understand and use a few words and phrases).
As regards age, Latvian apart from the mother tongue is known by 93.4 % of people aged 25–34 and 92.4 % of people aged 18–24. The smallest share of such people – 81.4 % – was observed in the age group 65–69.
As regards other foreign languages spoken or understood (even if just a little), Russian (91.3 %) and English (64.0 %) were the most common. In addition, the share of people using English has grown by 6.8 percentage points since 2016. In terms of data breakdown by gender, foreign language skills are very similar among both men and women.
Among those speaking English as the first best-known foreign language, almost a half (46 %) rate their knowledge to be at advanced level, followed by 40 % at intermediate level, 12 % at beginner level, and 3 % have hardly any language skills.
The information was collected in 2021 and 2022 surveying 8,764 people aged 18–69 based on a common Eurostat methodology and the results acquired are internationally comparable at EU level. Survey results and reference metadata are available on the official statistics portal.
More AES results (in Latvian only) are available in the latest CSB informative leaflet.
