Statistics on light utility vehicles

In 2024, within the framework of Eurostat project ‘Development of new transport statistics’ Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia conducted, for the first time, a survey on light utility vehicles registered in Latvia with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes, their amount, delivering freights, goods and shipments, providing courier or other services (forestry, property management, construction, etc.).

The aim of the survey was to find out what freights category N1 vehicles registered in Latvia (owned both by legal and natural persons) are carrying daily, delivering freights, goods and shipments, providing courier or other services in sectors such as courier services, forestry, house management, construction, etc.

The information published includes the following for N1 vehicles:

• Reasons for not using the vehicle;
• Share of using the vehicle;
• Number of trips made during a year;
• Number of stops per year;
• Distance travelled per year;
• Volume of freight transported during a year;
• Turnover of freight transported in tonne-kilometres during a year.

The data are compiled and published according to the:

• Classification of Administrative Territories and Territorial Units (ATVK 2021), which was in force until 19 November 2024;
•  Standard Goods Classification for Transport Statistics (NST 2007).

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Category N1 vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes, not older than 25 years, having a valid roadworthiness certificate in the survey quarter, and not classified as special-purpose vehicles.

In January 2025, there were 49 995 such vehicles in the CSDD data.

Several data sources were used to prepare the target population: Enterprise Register, data of the Road Transport Administration (RTA), data of the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) (State Register of Vehicles and their Drivers), data of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) (additionally processed Register of Natural Persons), table with the number of deaths (changes to the data of Register of Natural Persons of OCMA). The data was first selected at the beginning of December 2023.

The sample of the survey from the target population includes 6 267 category N1 vehicles registered in Latvia with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes.

Vehicles that did not have a valid roadworthiness certificate at the time of sample selection, were older than 25 years, or were classified as special-purpose vehicles were not included.

Functional Urban Areas, the rest of territory of Latvia, the entire territory of Latvia, foreign countries.

The survey according to the grant project was carried out for 2024.

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• Cargo transported, thousand tonnes;
• Freight turnover, million tonne-kilometres;
• Distance travelled, million km: million kilometres;
• Number of trips, thousand
• Number of stops, thousand

Year.

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Confidentiality of the information provided is protected by Statistics Law: 

• Section 7, Paragraph two, Clause 8, which sets out the obligation of the statistical institution to ensure statistical confidentiality;
• Section 17, which defines the procedures for data processing and the requirements for data protection;
• Section 19, Paragraph one, which stipulates that official statistics must be disseminated in a way that does not allow either directly or indirectly identify a private individual or a State institution;
• Section 19, Paragraph two, which stipulates that the statistical institution shall publish the official statistics which have been produced within the framework of the Official Statistics Programme in a publicly available form and by a predetermined deadline on the portal of official statistics. Until the moment of publication of official statistics this statistics shall not be published

To protect Individual data in statistics we start with evaluation of information in a table (or any other type of summary information) aiming to find out whether information to be published contains data cells revealing confidential information. Risk assessment is based on several factors  – sensitivity of indicators, precision and freshness of the information revealed. The primary confidential cell values discovered are then hidden.

All official statistics are released according to the data release calendar at 13:00.

Advance dissemination calendar

Statistical release dates and times are pre-announced in the data dissemination calendar.

The data are published after the survey results are collected. No information on the next data collection periods is available.

The press release was published on 16 May 2025.

Not published.

Statistics database

For research purposes, anonymized individual data are available through remote access. Depending on the data processing methods required, datasets may be used on the researcher's own infrastructure (OffSite) or via the CSB remote access system (OnSite). Data are provided upon submission of application and, if the CSB issues a positive decision, the conclusion of a contract. Anonymized individual data may be used only for scientific or research purposes, and the research results must provide a benefit to society.

Individual data, or microdata, relate to individual persons, households or enterprises and are obtained from surveys, population censuses and administrative registers.

Research data catalogue

Not available

Eurostat’s Methodological Instructions in English – Draft methodological document for the Task Force on Light Utility Vehicles, version 10 (March, 2023).

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To achieve high user satisfaction and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, the CSB has introduced a Quality Management System (QMS). The system defines and, at the procedural level, describes processes of statistical production and identifies the persons responsible for their monitoring throughout all production stages. Its structure follows the principles of the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM).

The QMS sets out the sequence in which processes are implemented – that is, the activities to be performed, including verifications of processes and produced statistics, the order and implementation requirements of these activities, and the persons responsible for their execution. It also defines the approach to evaluating production processes and their outcomes, and to implementing necessary improvements.

The CSB quality management system is certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard Quality management systems — Requirements since 2018 (scope of certification: development, production and dissemination of official statistics). The original certification audit was performed by BM Trada Latvija SIA and a recertification audit, in 2024, was performed by Bureau Veritas Latvia SIA.

The CSB information security management system is certified to the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 standard Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection — Information security management systems — Requirements since 2017 (scope of certification: collection, processing and storage of information and data for functions of the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Provision of statistical information for inland and foreign users). The original certification audit was performed by BM Certification SIA and a recertification audit, in 2024, was performed by Bureau Veritas Latvia SIA.

The quality of statistics is assessed in accordance with the existing requirements of both external and internal regulatory enactments, as well as the established quality criteria.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics stipulates that European statistics shall be developed, produced and disseminated on the basis of uniform standards and harmonised methods. In this context, the following quality criteria shall apply: relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility, clarity, comparability and coherence.

As the national statistical institute and the principal authority of the national statistical system, the CSB has set common general institutional-level quality requirements for authorities responsible for producing or providing national statistics. These requirements are based on the European Statistics Code of Practice, which comprises 16 principles.

The overall assessment of data quality is good.

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The task of the CSB is to produce reliable statistics to support the analysis of socio-economic processes and to inform future decision-making.

Send feedback on data quality to pasts@csp.gov.lv

The sampling frame was prepared based on the defined target population, using the best available information at the time of sampling, and ensuring equal inclusion probabilities for all survey units in accordance with the sampling plan.

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The field work was completed at the end of January 2025 and the results were published on 16 May 2025.

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One year.

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One of the CSB priorities, in line with the strategic directions of the European Statistics System and current approaches to producing statistics, is to collect data through broader use of administrative sources together with regular CSB surveys, while proportionately reducing response burden.

In cooperation with administrative data holders and within the competences set out in the Statistics Law, CSB is addressing the issues related to the use of administrative data to ensure that the sources used are as complete and reliable as possible, helping to reduce the administrative burden on businesses and households.

CSB measures to improve the use of administrative data and reduce response burden (2024) – available in Latvian only.

Revision policy is an important component of good governance practice. The aim of the CSB Revision Policy is to define how the statistics produced and published by the CSB are reviewed and revised. The first chapter explains the main terms used in the document, the second chapter provides a brief description of the CSB Revision Policy, and the third chapter outlined the revision cycle for the statistics produced by the CSB.

Revision policy guidelines (8 September 2022, PDF, 597 KB)

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The data were obtained through a sample survey using the questionnaire and methodology developed by Eurostat and customized by the CSB. ‘Statistics on light utility vehicles in 2024’ survey was carried out within the framework of Eurostat grant project ‘Development of new transport statistics’: (Agreement No. 101119289 — 2022-LV-TRANSPORT, project ID code G – 23.01).

Data collection methods for ‘Statistics on light utility vehicles’:

• Online survey.

Single.

‘Statistics on light utility vehicles in 2024’ survey included 6 267 category N1 vehicles. The survey took place from January 2024 to the end of January 2025.

Throughout the field work, the questionnaire could be completed online. Additionally, telephone consultations with statisticians were available regarding the completion of the questionnaire. Respondents were also given the opportunity to provide the data to a statistician by telephone or to submit a completed questionnaire by e-mail.

Survey period – two consecutive days of the week randomly selected for each of the vehicles included in the survey. The survey period began at 00:00 on the first day of the survey period and lasted until 23:59 on the second day of the survey period.

To ensure good data quality, the data were validated in several stages.

When calculating the indicators according to Eurostat methodology, the compliance of answers with answers in other interrelated questions of the questionnaire was tested. Particular attention was given to the distances travelled, the type and weight of the freight transported, and the logical sequence of trips based on the starting and ending points indicated by the respondent.

‘Statistics on light utility vehicles in 2024’ is a sample survey, and its data are generalised to the target population of the survey.

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