RIGA - Most people in Latvia, or 86 percent, believe that immigrants are contributing nothing to their country, which is the highest figure among EU member states, according to a survey conducted by Eurobarometer in November 2017.
Asked if immigrants provided any contribution to Latvia, the vast majority or 86 percent of respondents in the survey said they did not, and only 8 percent acknowledged immigrants’ contribution to society. Compared to a previous survey conducted in the spring of 2017, the number of respondents saying that immigrants contribute nothing to Latvia has grown by three percentage points.
The contribution of immigrants is denied by 61 percent of respondents in Lithuania and 78 percent in Estonia. In the Czech Republic, 83 percent of respondents felt immigrants were not providing any contribution to society. Respondents in Sweden demonstrated the most positive attitude, with 87 percent saying that immigrants provided contribution to Sweden’s society.
The survey also reveals that 56 percent of Latvians, or five percentage points fewer than last spring, believe the government should not be supporting refugees, 38 percent believe otherwise, and 6 percent are undecided.
An overwhelming majority of Latvians, or 88 percent, also believe that additional measures should be taken to curb immigration from non-EU countries, and only 6 percent believe that there is no need for additional anti-immigration measures. Six percent of the surveyed Latvians had no particular opinion on this issue.
The Eurobarometer survey was conducted from November 5 to 19 in 34 countries, including all 28 EU member states, as well as Macedonia, Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
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