Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Latvia instead of Romania, you would:

Economy

be 16.6% more likely to be unemployed

In Romania, 5.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Latvia, that number is 6.5% as of 2023.

pay a 43.8% higher top tax rate

Romania has a top tax rate of 16.0% as of 2016. In Latvia, the top tax rate is 23.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 17.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Romania, approximately 5.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Latvia, on the other hand, 4.8 children do as of 2022.

be 80.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Romania, approximately 10.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Latvia, 18.0 women do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 62.2% more on education

Romania spends 3.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Latvia spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 19.0% more on healthcare

Romania spends 6.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Latvia, that number is 7.5% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 2.2 times more coastline

Romania has a total of 225 km of coastline. In Latvia, that number is 498 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: State Revenue Service, Latvia, The World Factbook, National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF).

Latvia: At a glance

Latvia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 62,249 sq km. The name "Latvia" originates from the ancient Latgalians, one of four eastern Baltic tribes that formed the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 28% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the eurozone in 2014.
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How big is Latvia compared to Romania? See an in-depth size comparison.

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