Business in Latvia

Well-educated workforce

The skilled and motivated talent pool is Latvia’s biggest asset. Our people are well-educated, hard-working, multilingual by default, and with global ambitions. 86% of the Latvian workforce has secondary education or higher, and 96% of inhabitants speak at least two languages.

Highly-developed infrastructure

From well-developed transport and logistics networks to one of the most advanced IT and communication infrastructures, Latvia keeps businesses connected to global markets in all ways. With huge infrastructure projects like Rail Baltica Latvia paves the way to becoming the central point for connecting the Baltic states.

Business-friendly environment

From streamlined bureaucracies to supportive tax incentives – Latvia’s investing a lot of effort to create an environment where doing business is easy and profitable. Today, Latvia is the most startup-friendly country in the world.

Probably the best location in Europe

Located between Central Europe and Scandinavia, Latvia is the ideal place for businesses looking to trade globally. Air, rail, water, and road – our advanced logistics networks are made for export businesses.

Part of global alliances

Latvia is a member of all major economic and political alliances – the European Union and Schengen Zone, NATO, WTO, and OECD. For global investors, this means excellent trading opportunities, economic stability, and security.

More about Investment

Smart people, smart goals

Get to know Latvia’s priority areas in business & beyond

Every country, like every person, has its own talents. Latvia’s talent, know-how, and resources lie in developing future-proof innovations in areas such as healthcare, city infrastructure, energy, and more.

Just like it makes sense for people to focus on their unique talents, it makes sense for countries to focus on their strengths. That includes creating a favorable, supportive environment for smart sector innovations to emerge and thrive. And that’s what we’re doing.

Latvia's priorities, in a nutshell

Main subsectors include telecommunication technologies, software and cloud solutions, artificial intelligence (AI), IT support, automation & robotics
Main subsectors include functional materials for photonics and electronics, thin layers and coatings, energy harvesting and storage, and smart materials equipment, devices & systems
Main subsectors include personalized medicine, translational medicine, environmental health, digital health technologies, and smart health systems
Main subsectors include wind energy, Combined Heat and Power (CHP), hydroelectric energy, component manufacturing for the energy industry
Main subsectors include woodwork, sustainable fisheries, and sustainable agriculture

More about Smart sectors

Latvia’s leading areas of export

Stay up to date on Latvia’s growing export success

Export

Located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea and in the center of the Baltic region, Latvia has always been a commercial hub, acting as a meaningful trade route.

Since regaining independence in 1991, the amount of foreign trade in Latvia has shown consistent growth. Joining the European Union in 2004 has further strengthened Latvia’s position in international trade.

Today, Latvia is a considerable exporter of various goods and materials such as wood, electrical equipment, metal, chemical products, food, and more.

Latvia is the largest peat exporter in the world
Most exported goods – wood and electronic equipment
Biggest export partner countries – Lithuania, Estonia, and Germany
Member of the World Trade Organization since 1999
Fastest growing export markets – Poland, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom
Developed transport sector and three ports – in Riga, Ventspils, and Liepaja

Startups

The Latvian startup ecosystem is young, but dynamic and evolving. In 2021 alone, the local startup community welcomed its first unicorn and attracted a record-breaking amount of foreign investment, while Latvia was named the most startup-friendly country in the world by Index Ventures.

Globally-minded, multilingual tech talent

Latvians are realists.

Our market alone isn’t big enough to grow a unicorn. That’s why our talents have been global expansion-oriented from day one. And multilingual by default – 96% of the population speaks at least one foreign language.

We’re also innovators at heart. According to the World Economic Forum, Latvia is one of Europe’s entrepreneurial hotspots, ranking first in terms of entrepreneurial activity in Europe. We see problems, and we solve them. This is the mindset you want in your team.

100%

of Latvian startups say their employees speak English

4,982

Latvian students were studying abroad in 2022, mainly in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands

most innovative country in the Baltics according to Bloomberg

3rd

in Europe in the number of ICT students per 1M population

Scientist at work © Institute of Solid State Physics

Research in Latvia

A hard-working nation with great ambition, Latvian researchers collaborate with the international business and scientific community to achieve groundbreaking outcomes. Latvia has extensive scientific talent, but our strongest competencies lie in four key areas:

Biomedicine & pharmaceuticals
Smart materials & photonics
Information and communication technologies
Agriculture & life sciences

Latvian Researchers are trusted by

BMW

Merz Pharma

Infineon

NATO

MGI Tech

CERN

Did you know?

Riga-born inventor Friedrich Zander designed the first liquid-fueled rocket and made many other important theoretical contributions to the road to space. To date, he’s regarded as one of the world’s pioneers of rocket-building and astronautics. There are still a number of Zander’s ideas that are still waiting for technology to catch up to his theory, such as using the force of light for spaceship propulsion.

More about Latvian inventors

Smart materials and photonics innovations by Latvian scientists

PrīmX

Patented by the Latvian concrete technology company Primekss, PrīmX is a unique, award-winning technology for making ecologically-friendly concrete solutions, used by companies such as IKEA, Volvo, Lidl, and many more.

Skin malformation diagnostic technologies

In 2015, the Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy patented a new laser-based device for distinguishing skin melanoma from harmless birthmarks.

Anti-reflective coating for glass

Invented in Latvia, you’ve seen this technology in action in the biggest museums around the world, including Louvre (Paris) and Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam). Produced by the Latvian company Groglass, this thin-film coating technology lets people view and take photos of glass-protected artwork without glare.

Temperature-smart windows

In 2023, researchers at the University of Latvia Institute of Solid State Physics revealed that they’ve developed chromatic materials to be used in the production of windows that will keep rooms warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Business at a glance