How Latvia's population grew under the USSR and shrank after EU accession

The chart shows how Latvia’s population grew while the country was part of the USSR and how it fell after leaving the Union and joining the EU. This is partly the result of the laws of globalisation: free markets, the free movement of labour, investment and goods. With open markets and a small economy, Latvia turned out to be unable to compete with the leading EU countries. In its day, the USSR invested in Latvia and created jobs there, which raised the well-being of the Latvian people and increased the population. Today Latvia’s birth rate (fertility) is low.