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Quality of Life in Cities survey
Using common methodology, the Quality of Life in Cities survey is carried out in 83 of Europe’s largest cities, including almost all national capitals. Data for Riga are collected by the European Commission, while Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSB) conducts a national survey in the State cities: Daugavpils, Jelgava, Jēkabpils, Jūrmala, Liepāja, Ogre, Rēzekne, Valmiera and Ventspils. In Latvia, the survey is conducted every three years and is supported by EU funding.
The survey gathers resident opinions on various aspects of life in their city, e.g., satisfaction with educational facilities, health care services, urban planning (green and public spaces, sport and cultural facilities). It also helps to find out the main modes of transport used, whether people feel safe in their city and trust in local police, as well as whether they are satisfied with the work of the local public administration and public transport.
Unless stated otherwise, the results for the State cities are based on the 2022 survey, while results for Riga are based on the 2023 survey.
Satisfaction with living in the city of residence
According to the European Commission Quality of Life in European Cities report, residents of non-capital cities more frequently report feeling safe when walking alone at night as well as satisfaction with cleanliness and noise levels. They also have higher satisfaction with public spaces, health care services, and local public administration, are more likely to agree that affordable housing is easy to find, and consider their city to be a good place to live for migrants and families with young children.
In Latvia, nine out of ten respondents in the surveyed State cities were fully or partly satisfied with living in their city, while the corresponding share in Riga was eight out of ten. The share of respondents reporting full satisfaction with living in their city is highest in Ventspils (eight out of ten) and lowest in Riga (around one third).
Refer to the OSP database: DKP010 and DKR011
Public transport
Quality of life in cities is also affected by everyday mobility, that is by how people travel to work and other daily destinations and access various services.
Across Europe, public transport is more dominant in capital cities, while private cars are more common in non-capital cities.
In Latvia, almost half of the population in Riga use public transport as the main mode of transport, while in the State cities, the share is lower. The lowest share is recorded in Ogre, at less than one fifth of its population.
Refer to the OSP database: DKP510 and DKR511
The survey also asks residents of State cities how satisfied they are with public transport in their city and whether they agree or disagree that it is affordable, safe, easy to get, reliable (comes when it says it will), and runs frequently.
Higher overall satisfaction with public transport is typically observed in cities where a larger share of residents agree that public transport runs frequently and according to the timetable.
The share of respondents reporting that they are very or rather satisfied with public transport is highest in Liepāja and Daugavpils and lowest in Ogre.
Refer to the OSP database: DKP410, DKR411, DKP520, DKR521
Among the State cities, Riga records the highest total number of passengers carried by public transport; however, it also has the largest population. When passenger numbers are expressed per inhabitant, Riga still shows the highest value, followed by Liepāja and Daugavpils, while the lowest figure is observed in Ogre.
Although the number of passengers per inhabitant in Jūrmala is lower than in Riga, Daugavpils or Liepāja, a high share of Jūrmala residents agree that public transport runs frequently.
* Riga data: 2023.
** For Ogre, passenger numbers are based on data for regional routes serving the administrative territory of the State city of Ogre, as no city public transport services are available.
Refer to the OSP database: DKP520, DKR521; CSB estimate based on OSP database tables TPA010, IRS031, Rīgas satiksme Annual Report 2023 (available in Latvian), and Road Transport Administration data
Green spaces
Green spaces such as parks and gardens are significant element determining quality of life in cities. They contribute to cleaner air, help reduce urban temperatures, and provide spaces for recreation and leisure. Their role is also recognised at EU level: Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 on nature restoration requires that there be no net loss of urban green space by 2030 and an increasing trend thereafter.
The survey asks residents to assess their satisfaction with green spaces in their city. In Latvia, satisfaction levels are high in Liepāja, Jūrmala, Ogre and Ventspils, where almost all respondents report being very or rather satisfied. Satisfaction is lower in Riga, with about eight out of ten residents being very or rather satisfied.
A similar pattern is observed elsewhere in Europe – residents of capital cities report lower satisfaction with green spaces compared with residents of non-capital cities.
Refer to the OSP database: DKP310 and DKR311
Air quality
As air quality influences health and well-being, it affects quality of life. In cities, air is often polluted by emissions from transport, industrial activity, and heating systems. In 2024, the EU adopted a directive aimed at reducing the concentration of air pollutants by 2030.
In Latvia, most residents of State cities report being very or rather satisfied with air quality. The highest satisfactions is recorded in Jūrmala, where almost all residents are very or rather satisfied with air quality, and three quarters are very satisfied (the highest share among the State cities). However, lowest satisfaction is observed in Riga and Jēkabpils, where 67 % and 77 % of residents, respectively, report being very or rather satisfied.
These satisfaction levels align with administrative data on air pollution from the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre, which show that emissions from stationary air pollution sources (including benzene, ammonia and particulate matter) per inhabitant are lowest in Jūrmala and highest in Riga.
Refer to the OSP database: GSP030, DKP310, DKR311. Data for Jēkabpils and Ogre are not available.
Work
The survey also covers work and asks how satisfied residents are with their personal job situation and whether they consider it easy to find a good job in their city. Both aspects provide insight into quality of life, as they reflect individual employment conditions and the situation on the local labour market.
Among the State cities, the highest satisfaction with personal job situation is recorded in Valmiera, Jūrmala and Jelgava, where about eight out of ten residents report being very or rather satisfied. In Valmiera, however, only one in three respondents is very satisfied. In Daugavpils this share reaches just one half. The lowest satisfaction with work is observed in Rēzekne and Riga, where about two thirds of residents report being very or rather satisfied.
As regards job availability, about half of Riga residents agree that it is easy to find a good job in the city, while in Rēzekne and Liepāja this share is below one third.
According to the European Commission report, a similar pattern is observed in other European countries, where capital cities generally show a higher share of respondents who agree that finding a good job is easy.
In addition to survey-based indicators, work satisfaction and perceptions of job availability can be examined alongside selected labour market statistics, thus getting a broader insight into economic conditions in cities.
A comparison of satisfaction with personal job situation and the median net wage shows that higher income levels do not necessarily coincide with higher job satisfaction. For example, Riga records the highest median net wage (820 euro) but relatively lower job satisfaction, while in Daugavpils job satisfaction is higher despite the lowest median wage (621 euro).
Refer to the OSP database: RIG110, DKP810, DKR811
Even though Riga has one of the highest employment rates among the State cities (57 %) and the highest share of respondents who agree that finding a good job is easy, there is no clear overall relationship between employment levels and perceptions of job availability. In other State cities with employment rates at or above the national average (55 %), respondents are less likely to agree that finding a job in their city is easy. Rēzekne and Liepāja, despite employment rates that are not among the lowest, have the smallest share of such residents. A similar pattern is observed elsewhere in Europe, where capital cities generally report a higher share of residents who agree that finding a good job in their city is easy.
Refer to the OSP database: EKA140, DKP840, DKR841
Health care services, doctors and hospitals
To understand how well local health care aligns with the needs and expectations of city residents, the Quality of Life survey asks residents how satisfied they are with health care services, doctors and hospitals in their city.
Survey results show the highest shares of respondents satisfied with health care services in Ventspils, Ogre, Jelgava and Jūrmala, where around three quarters report being very or rather satisfied. The lowest satisfaction is recorded in Liepāja and Riga, where slightly less than half of residents are very or rather satisfied.
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