Latvia’s digital skills show progress in ICT employment but remain below EU averages, constrained by lower literacy, regional gaps, and weaker enterprise upskilling.
- In 2024, Latvia’s ICT workforce represented 4.9% of total employment (~40,000 specialists), increasing 11.4% from 2023, slightly below the EU average of 5.0%. || Source: Eurostat
+ However, women represented 26.8% of Latvia’s ICT workforce in 2024, exceeding the EU average of 19.5%. - And in 2025, 45.3% of individuals in Latvia had at least basic digital skills, ranking 24th/27 in the EU, below the EU average of 60.4%. || Source: Eurostat
+ Meanwhile, basic digital skills reached 46.4% among women and 44.1% among men in 2025, while rural levels were 32.3%, below the EU rural average of 47.5%. - And Latvia targets 70% of citizens with basic digital skills by 2027, below the EU target of 80% by 2030, already exceeded by Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Finland.
+ It introduced the STARS programme in 2024, part of a €56M (~0.12–0.14% GDP) reform to expand access to digital skills training.
