Latvia 2024 Digital Decade Country Report

Two main strengths or areas of progress

Digitalisation of SMEs and adoption of cloud by enterprises

In 2023, Latvia made good progress in the digitalisation of SMEs. The share of enterprises with at least a basic level of digital skills improved by 12.5% and, although it remains below the EU average (57.7%), it reached 48.2%. A similar progress was made on the overall uptake of cloud by entreprises, which increased by 14.3%.

Digitalisation of public services and e-ID

On both public services for people (with a score of 88.2) and businesses (87.2), Latvia ranks above the EU average (79.4 and 85.4 respectively). Also on e-Health Latvia records a good performance, exceeding the EU score (84.8 against 79.1 in the EU).

Two main weaknesses or areas to improve

Connectivity infrastructure

In terms of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), very high-capacity networks (VHCN) and 5G coverage, Latvia falls below the EU average. Coverage of VHCN and FTTP stands at 71.5% (compared to 78.8% in the EU) and 61.9% (64% in the EU) respectively. Despite progress, basic 5G coverage stands at 53.1% (89.3 in the EU).

Basic digital skills and ICT specialists

Despite efforts, in 2023, only 45.3% of the population has at least a basic level of digital skills, below the EU average of 55.6%, and showing a decrease since 2022 (50.8% of the population had at least basic digital skills). In 2023, ICT specialists were 4.4% of employment (same as in 2022 and below the EU average of 4.8%) and almost 60% of enterprises reported hard to fill vacancies for ICT professionals.

Latvia’s Digital Decade strategic roadmap

The Latvian roadmap demonstrates that the country plans significant effort to achieve the Digital Decade objectives and targets. It sets targets for 12 out of 14 key performance indicators (KPIs) and, in most of the cases, targets are aligned with the EU 2030 ambitions. To achieve its digital transformation, Latvia plans to allocate a total budget (excluding private investments) estimated at EUR 1.8 billion (4.5% GDP).  

Digital rights and principles

The Special Eurobarometer 'Digital Decade 2024' reveals that only 42% of Latvians believe the EU protects their digital rights well (-16% compared to 2023). Confidence in digital privacy is at 48%, less than the EU average (45%). Concerns include the safety of digital environments for children (56%) and control over personal data (38%), with a notable decline in confidence. These findings underscore the need to reinforce digital rights at national level. Positive trends include the importance of digital technologies for connecting with friends and family (90%), significantly above the EU average of 83%. 

Country-Specific Recommendations

Latvia must improve its performance towards the Digital Decade targets and objectives, to foster competitiveness, resilience, sovereignty, and promote European values and climate action. 

For more information and the full list of recommendations, please consult the report.