GGE04
Gender equality: health
Healthy lifestyle and care for own health allows us to increase life quality. In Latvia, life expectancy among males is shorter than among females, which is related to both lifestyle and unsafe conduct.
Population structure and life expectancy
At the beginning of 2025, 1 million 857 thousand inhabitants lived in Latvia. 53.7 % of the population of Latvia are women. Under the age of 44, there are fewer women than men (there are also always fewer girls than boys in the number of births). In the reproductive age (15-49 years), the number of women and men is similar – 49.0 % of women and 51.0 % of men, but there are twice as many women over the age of 65.
At the beginning of 2025, there were 116 women for every 100 men in Latvia. In all cities of Latvia, there are more women than men - the most are in Preiļi (133 women per 100 men), Valka (132 women per 100 men), Krāslava (131 women per 100 men), Mazsalaca and Olaine (in both towns 130 women to 100 men), but the smallest difference in gender distribution among urban residents is in Durbe and Subate, where the majority is very small - 101 women per 100 men. Among the parishes, the most women per 100 men were in Vecauce, Strūžāni, Kalncempji and Ramata parishes (130, 129, 126 and 125 respectively), but the least in Ķepova parish, where there are 1.6 times more men than women. In Jaunjelgava, Aksnīte, Vecumi, Zaļesje, Indrānu, and Pilskalne (Aizkraukle region) parishes,there are a third more men than women. There was an equal number (100 women for 100 men) in 20 territorial units, for example, Raņķi, Kalēti, Vietlava parish, etc.
Gender gap in various ages is related to several factors, including varying mortality rate in different age groups.
Infant mortality is declining, which is one of the factors increasing average life expectancy. Newborn life expectancy is the number of years that those born in a given year would live on average if the mortality rate at each age remained the same as it was in the year of birth. Of course, as health care in the country improves, mortality rates change, life expectancy in each age group changes, improves. Respectively, a person who has reached the age of 50 will live longer than was predicted at the time of his birth, because now the mortality rates have improved.
Life expectancy reduces due to the accident-caused mortality of young people, especially men, resulting in an age-specific life expectancy gap between genders. For example, in 2024 life expectancy among males aged 30 accounted for 42.4 years, compared to 51.5 years among females. Life expectancy at birth among boys is 10 years shorter than among girls (71.3 years and 81.1 years, respectively).
In 2022, healthy life years (also called disability-free life expectancy, is the number of years that a person is expected to continue to live in a healthy condition) in Latvia accounted for 53.0 years among men and 55.4 years among women. The EU average indicator was higher among both males and females – 62.4 and 64.8 years, respectively.
Self-perceived general health
CSB data show that in 2024, 53.3 % of men and 45.9 % of women in Latvia assessed their health as good or very good.
Low self-perceived general health status of women may be related to the large share of elderly female population – the larger the share of elderly, the lower the assessment. In age group 65+, women assess their health as good or very good by 1 percentage point less than men. Women pre-retirement (aged 55-64 years) assess their health as good or very good by 3.7 percentage points more than men of the same age.
For at least the past 6 months, 10.1 % of men and 11.8 % of women have been severely limited in activities people usually do because of a health problem. The biggest difference in this indicator can be observed in the age group from 45 to 54 years old, when men had severe restrictions caused by health problems by 2.9 percentage points more than women of the same age group.
Factors influencing health (smoking, frequency of medical examinations, BMI)
Smoking
In 2022, 30.6 % of Latvian men and 9.8 % of women aged 16 and over were smoking daily. 4.2 % of men and 2.3 % of women reported using tobacco products a few times a week or a few times a month, while 64.1 % of men and 87.3 % of women did not use tobacco products at all.
Among men, the highest proportion of daily smokers is in the age group from 45 to 54 years (40.4 %) and from 55 to 64 years (37.2 %). On the other hand, among women, the highest proportion of daily smokers is in the age group 35-44 years (14.7 %) and 45-54 years (14.6 %).
Visits to medical practitioners
Regular visits to medical practitioners and medical examinations allow to find and treat health problems timely. In 2022, 70.3 % of men and 83.0 % of females had visited a family doctor at least once, while 36.9 % of men and 48.8 % of females had consulted a specialist at least once a year.
In 2024, 10.4 % of men and 11.7 % of women admitted that they did not undergo the necessary medical examination or treatment, although there was such a need. The most pronounced gender differences among the stated reasons for not visiting doctors - men more often than women wanted to wait and see if it would get better with time (men - 20.7 %, women - 9.2 %). People also stated that they were afraid of doctors, hospitals and examinations (men - 2.4 %, women - 0.8 %). On the other hand, women much more often than men did not visit doctors due to excessively long queues for an appointment (women - 47.9 %, men - 43.0 %), as well as they indicated financial inability to visit a doctor (women - 27.9 %, men - 21.8 %).
Body mass index (BMI)
Data show that obesity and overweight are more common among men than among women. In 2022, 62.4 % of men aged 16 and over were overweight or obese (BMI above 24.99), while among women of this age this proportion was lower – 56.7 %. On the other hand, 1.8 % of men and 2.8 % of women were underweight.
At the age of 16 to 24, most girls and boys have a normal body weight (74.0 % of girls and 68.5 % of boys, respectively) or even are underweight (12.9 % of girls and 11.3 % of boys). On the other hand, overweight or obesity is observed among 13.1 % of girls and 20.3 % of boys. Overweight is on the rise in men over 25: in the age group 25 to 44, the majority of men (61.0 %) are overweight or obese and only 38.5 % are normal weight. Women, on the other hand, maintain a normal or even underweight for longer and become overweight or obese starting at the age of 45: 66.1 % of women are overweight or obese between the ages of 45 and 64. At the age of 65 and over among women, this indicator reaches 76.0 %.
Buying medicine or dietary supplements over the internet
Results from the 2024 survey on ICT usage show that women buy medicine or dietary supplements such as vitamins over the internet (online renewal of prescriptions is not included) more often than men. The share of women (aged 16–74) who bought medicine or dietary supplements via a website or app for private use in the last three months made up 27.4 % and of men 12.9 %. In 2020, the gender gap was 5.5 percentage points, however in 2024 it reached 14.5 percentage points. Even though the figures only reflect the online purchases, they suggest that women tend to show greater interest in taking care of their health and in higher quality of life.
Health-related internet activities
Women make up the majority of people using the internet to seek health-related information (e.g., on injuries, diseases, nutrition, improving health, etc.) (58.1 % compared to 37.3 % of men) as well as of those accessing personal health records online (48.8 % and 30.7 %, respectively) and those making an appointment with a practitioner via a website or app (36.4 % and 20.9 %, respectively). Hoverer, the proportions of women and men using other health services via a website or app instead of having to go to the hospital or visit a doctor (e.g., by getting a prescription or a consultation online) did not differ significantly (16.5 % and 15.5 %, respectively).
Average age at death and death causes
In 2023, the average age at death accounted for 69.5 years among males and 80.1 years among females.
Diseases of the circulatory system are the most common cause of death in Latvia. Mortality of females due this cause is higher than that of males. The second largest group of causes of death, more common among women, is ischemic heart disease. The next largest group is tumours, which are more common among men. In recent years, mortality due to external causes of death has declined. Men are more likely to die in transport accidents - in 2022, 75.4 % of men. Likewise, intentional self-harm (suicide) is a much more common cause of death among men than among women (83.5 % and 16.5 % respectively) and drowning (78.7 % and 21.3 % respectively).
Gender Equality Index – health
Latvian Gender Equality Index1 calculated by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in the domain Health, which measures gender equality in three health-related aspects: health status, health behaviour and access to health services, is assessed with 79.0 points (EU average 88.6). Main reason behind the low rating lies in the fact that women have a lower self-assessment of health, as well as a lower proportion of women who engage in physical activity.
Methodological explanations
1The index rating varies between 1 and 100, where 1 stands for absolute gender inequality and 100 for full gender equality.
Data source
Official statistics portal:
IRV020 Population by sex and age group
IRP010 Life expectancy at birth by sex (years)
IMV060 Average age at death
IVP010 Self-perceived general health of population aged 16 and over
IVP060 Limitations (for at least past 6 months) in activities people usually do because of a health problem by sex and age group
VEA070 Body Mass Index (BMI) by sex; 2019
IVP070 Unmet need for medical examination or treatment by reason
Eurostat database:
HLTH_HLYE Healthy life years
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control database:
MOR20 Deaths and death rates by gender
VIP010 Non-medical determinants of health