Income keeps growing, as does income inequality

Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) data show that in 2024 household disposable income ¹ reached 950 euro per household member monthly – 102 euro or 12.0 % more than the year before. In richest households it stood at 2 084 euro and in the poorest households at 317 euro. 

Regional breakdown of the data shows the highest household disposable income in Riga, where it reached 1 135 euro per household member monthly (with 1 090 euro in the capital). Zemgale region follows with 866 euro, Kurzeme with 816 euro, and Vidzeme with 800 euro. Households in Latgale had the lowest disposable income – 673 euro per household member monthly. 

Highest income recorded among working-age inhabitants and those with higher education

From an employment and education perspective, the highest income was recorded in households where the main breadwinner had attained higher education, reaching 1 213 euro per household member monthly in 2024. In households where the main breadwinner was an employee, income amounted to 1 067 euro. Single inhabitants of working age (aged 64 and under) also had relatively high income – 1 256 euro monthly. 

The lowest monthly income per household member was observed in households with an unemployed main breadwinner – 435 euro. Low income was also recorded in households where a pension was the main source of income – 625 euro per household member monthly, and in households where the main breadwinner had completed basic education or lower – 654 euro.

Income inequality keeps growing

In 2024, monthly income per household member in the poorest households (belonging to the first income quintile group ²) amounted to 317 euro while in the richest households (fifth group) to 2 084 euro. Thus, income of the richest population exceeded that of the poorest population 6.7 times (6.3 times in 2023). In the average income level households, the income varied between 569 euro (in the second group) and 1 094 euro (in the fourth group).

Household disposable income by quintile group

(average per household member monthly, euro)

Refer to the OSP database: MIS060 and NNI020

At-risk-of-poverty threshold ⁴ in one-person households at 699 euro monthly 

As disposable income of the population grew last year, the at-risk-of-poverty threshold rose as well and reached 699 euro monthly in one-person households (641 euro in 2023) and 1 468 euro in households consisting of two adults with two children aged 14 and under (1 346 euro in 2023).

Riga region had the lowest at-risk-of-poverty rate and Latgale the highest 

Last year, 404 thousand people, or 22.0 % of the total population of Latvia, were at risk of poverty, meaning that their disposable income was below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold set at 699 euro per household member monthly (in 2023 those were 21.6 %).

The highest at-risk-of-poverty rate was registered in Latgale region (35.8 %) while the lowest in Riga region (15.6 %) and in the capital – 17.3 %. In Vidzeme region, the rate stood at 26.8 %, followed by Kurzeme with 25.1 %, and Zemgale with 22.8 %. 

When broken down by household type, the lowest at-risk-of-poverty rate was recorded for two adults with two dependent children ⁵ (7.0 %) and two adults with one dependent child (9.8 %), while the highest for single persons aged 65 and over (63.2 %).

Further at-risk-of-poverty and social exclusion variables are available in the official statistics portal sections Poverty and inequality (EU-SILC) and Household and personal income. Two thematic information briefs will also be released shortly – one on the risk of poverty and social exclusion in Latvia on 16 January 2026, and the other one on household disposable income in Latvia on 23 January 2026. Both will be available in Latvian only.

Methodological information

The data were collected with the EU-SILC 2025 survey (EU statistics on income and living conditions) during the period from 31 January to 15 July, which covered 10.2 thousand respondents (people aged 16 and over) in 5.9 thousand households. 

¹ Disposable (net) income is cash income from labour, employee income in kind received by using company car for private needs estimated in cash, income or losses received from self-employment, pensions and benefits received, regular material assistance from other households, profit from  deposit interest, dividends, shares, income received by children aged under 16, income from property rental, tax return from the State Revenue Service due to overpaid income tax (for business activities, eligible costs – education, medical treatment, etc.).

² Quintile group is one fifth (20 %) of the number of the surveyed households grouped in increasing sequence according to the disposable income per one household member. The bottom (first) quintile group includes one fifth of the households with the lowest income, while the top (fifth) comprises one fifth of the households with the highest income level.

³ Quintile share ratio (S80/S20) is the ratio of total equivalised disposable income received by the 20 % of the country’s population with the highest equivalised disposable income (top quintile) to that received by the 20 % of the country’s population with the lowest equivalised disposable income (bottom quintile). 

⁴ At-risk-of-poverty threshold is 60 % of disposable income median recalculated per equivalent consumer. Median is the middle value of observations arranged in ascending or descending order. Equivalised disposable (net) income is household disposable income calculated per equivalent consumer. It is obtained by dividing household income by equivalised household size, which is made using the modified OECD equivalence scale (1.0; 0.5; 0.3). This scale gives a weight of 1.0 to the first adult, 0.5 to any other household member aged 14 and over, and 0.3 to each child aged under 14.

⁵ Dependent child is a person aged 0–17 as well as a person aged 18–24 if economically inactive and living with at least one of the parents.

Media requests:
Public Relations Section
Email: media@csp.gov.lv
Phone: + 371 27880666

More information on the data:
Social Statistics Methodology Section
Darja Behtere
Email: Darja.Behtere@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366901