pcvcolin

pcvcolin t1_ixggupm wrote

Latvia - Historical Population Growth Rate

Year Pop. Growth Rate Growth Rate

2022 1,850,651 -1.24%

2021 1,873,919 -1.22%

2020 1,897,052 -1.02%

2019 1,916,555 -0.99%

2018 1,935,630 -0.98%

2017 1,954,862 -0.94%

2016 1,973,476 -0.93%

2015 1,991,955 -0.95%

The current net migration rate for Latvia in 2022 is -5.002 per 1000 population, a 11.64% decline from 2021.

The net migration rate for Latvia in 2021 was -5.661 per 1000 population, a 10.44% decline from 2020.

The net migration rate for Latvia in 2020 was -6.321 per 1000 population, a 9.44% decline from 2019.

The net migration rate for Latvia in 2019 was -6.980 per 1000 population, a 8.64% decline from 2018.

Etc

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pcvcolin t1_ixcrztm wrote

OP's submission statement in part:

"Submission Statement:

(...)

>Over the next three decades, Latvia, having already shed nearly 30% of its population since 1990, is set to lose 23.5% more.

>One factor behind this dramatic decline is global. Across the industrialised world, fertility rates are plunging: two-thirds of the world’s population now live in countries with a birthrate below the 2.1 births per woman necessary for natural replacement.

>But crucially, like many of the former Soviet states, especially those that joined the EU with its right to work and live across the bloc, Latvia – present population just under 2m – has also suffered successive waves of emigration, as young people leave for more money abroad.

Seems like you can't ignore the possibility of international marriage economies in that net outmigration overview / analysis.

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pcvcolin t1_ixb1ffb wrote

Do you have some thoughts about how this can lead to "Western tourism" of a less ideal sort, that is, people from the U.S. or Canada (for example) visiting Latvia looking specifically for a wife (and having expectations that Latvian women will be "available," etc.)?

Note: for the U.S., last I checked, the Visa waiver program includes:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

So, Latvians can go to the U.S.A. without a visa if there has been a "romantic arrangement" between a U.S. citizen and Latvian citizen in Latvia (or if they have agreed online to do so). Not saying I think this is a wonderful practice or anything - in fact it has inherent dangers - just making the observation that it is possible. It's routine practice for the U.S. to keep on with the Visa waiver program for countries that meet certain standards. This in turn has implications for travel and net outmigration over time.

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