Data released by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) showed that in 2013 as compared to 2012 Latvia was the only Baltic State where the number of births actually increased.
Compared to 2012 there were 699 more newborns registered in Latvia in 2013, while in Lithuania and Estonia this indicator decreased by 574 and 525, respectively.
For Estonia the trend is particularly worrying as it has experienced the same phenomenon for the third year in a row.
In all Latvia recorded 20,596 live births in 2013 (19,859 in 2012), Lithuania recorded 29,885 (30,459) and Estonia 13,531 (14,056).
The highest birth rates in the Baltic states were registered in 1986 and 1987 when roughly twice as many babies were born as today.
