Latvia migrant crime and foreign prisoner statistics
How much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison in Latvia than Latvian citizens, year by year, from Eurostat prison and population statistics, and how Latvia ranks against the rest of Europe.
Explore Latvia on the interactive mapForeign prisoners in Latvia: 2008–2024
In 2024, foreign citizens in Latvia were 0.4× as likely to be in prison as Latvian citizens and made up 5.3% of prisoners. That ranks Latvia 31 of 31 European countries, against a median of 3.1×.
| Year | Times as likely | Prisoners foreign | Population foreign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.4× | 5.3% | 12.8% |
| 2023 | 0.2× | 3.5% | 13.3% |
| 2022 | 0.2× | 2.4% | 13.1% |
| 2021 | 0.1× | 1.8% | 13.3% |
| 2020 | 0.1× | 1.4% | 13.7% |
| 2019 | 0.1× | 1.9% | 13.9% |
| 2018 | 0.1× | 2.4% | 14.1% |
| 2017 | 0.1× | 2.5% | 14.3% |
| 2016 | 0.2× | 3.3% | 14.7% |
| 2015 | 0.1× | 2.4% | 15.0% |
| 2014 | 0.1× | 1.8% | 15.2% |
| 2013 | 0.1× | 1.3% | 15.6% |
| 2012 | 0.1× | 1.8% | 15.9% |
| 2011 | 0.1× | 1.8% | 16.5% |
| 2010 | 0.1× | 2.0% | 17.1% |
| 2009 | 0.1× | 1.2% | 17.7% |
| 2008 | 0.1× | 1.3% | 18.5% |
Foreign prisoner rates across Europe: where Latvia ranks
- 1Greece14×
- 2Croatia9.0×
- 3Slovenia8.8×
- 4Switzerland6.8×
- 5Liechtenstein5.8×
- 6Belgium5.1×
- 7Italy4.8×
- 8Austria4.6×
- 9Finland4.3×
- 10Slovakia3.9×
- 11Cyprus3.7×
- 12Luxembourg3.5×
- 13France3.4×
- 14Iceland3.2×
- 15Poland3.2×
- 16Spain3.1×
- 17Sweden3.1×
- 18Norway2.9×
- 19Netherlands2.9×
- 20Malta2.8×
- 21Denmark2.8×
- 22Estonia2.3×
- 23Turkey2.2×
- 24Portugal1.9×
- 25Bulgaria1.7×
- 26Hungary1.6×
- 27Ireland1.1×
- 28Czech Republic0.9×
- 29Lithuania0.8×
- 30Romania0.7×
- 31Latvia0.4×
Latvia migrant crime: common questions
- How many prisoners in Latvia are foreign citizens?
- In 2024, 5.3% of prisoners in Latvia held a foreign citizenship, while foreign citizens made up 12.8% of the population. That makes a foreign citizen 0.4× as likely to be in prison as a Latvian citizen (Eurostat).
- How does Latvia compare with the rest of Europe?
- Latvia ranks 31 of 31 European countries by how much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison than citizens. The median across those countries in 2024 was 3.1×.
- Does Latvia publish crime or rape statistics by nationality?
- Latvia is not one of the four countries covered here (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany) whose official sources publish rape, sexual offence or violent crime rates by country of birth or migrant background in a form that can be compared per capita. The comparable measure for Latvia is Eurostat prison statistics by citizenship, shown on this page.
- What are the crime statistics for illegal migrants in Europe?
- No European country publishes a reliable per-capita crime rate for illegal migrants alone, because people without legal residence are not counted in the population figures needed to calculate a rate. Most official rates count registered residents by country of birth or citizenship. Germany comes closest: its police statistics (PKS) report an immigrant category (Zuwanderer) that includes asylum seekers, refugees, tolerated persons and people staying without permission. Foreign-citizen prison counts on the map can also include people without legal residence held on remand or awaiting deportation.
- How are foreign prisoner rates calculated?
- For each country, the share of prisoners holding a foreign citizenship is divided by the foreign share of the population, using Eurostat data. The result shows how many times as likely a foreign citizen is to be in prison as a citizen. Prison figures reflect sentencing, remand and deportation practice as well as offending.