Population falls in city by 10,000

  • 2014-06-18
  • From wire reports, RIGA

The population of Latvia's third largest city, Liepaja, has fallen by 10,000 over eight years, new figures show.

In 2006, Liepaja was inhabited by 82,421 people. Since then, the number of residents in the city has reduced by about 10,000, according to data provided from the Central Statistical Bureau.

Last year, the number of residents in Liepaja reduced by 1,359, reaching 72,110 people.

The population has been affected by the decline of birth rate and the growth of mortality rate, as well as the emigration rates. The mortality rate in 2012, has increased by 2.3 percent (1,072 deaths), which is 26 deaths more than in 2012.

The smallest negative growth during the past eight years, was in 2008, when there were 52 more deaths than there were births, but the number of emigrants was 358. 2008 also marked the smallest decrease of population in the past eight years, when the number of residents in Liepaja reduced by 620. The largest decrease of population in Liepaja was registered in 2010 and 2011, when the number of residents reduced by 2,003 and 2,098.

In 2013, the number of Latvian-speaking residents in Liepaja was 55.7 percent, while the number of Russian-speaking residents - 30.3 percent.