Telecommunication in Latvia

Development of telephone and internet connections

With an average download speed of 76.01 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, Latvia ranks 56th in an international comparison. The upload rate was only 51.20 Mbit/second (36th place).
In mobile internet, i.e., on tablets and smartphones, Latvia comes 34th with a download speed of 58.90 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 11 Mbit was only enough for 62nd place.

The Speedtest Global Index published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in February 2023 from 180 countries.

The following diagrams show the development of the various telephone and internet connections as a percentage of the country's population. Values above 100 percent mean that, on average, every inhabitant has more than one connection.

Access to the internet in Latvia from 1990 - 2021

Broadband internet in Latvia 2000 - 2021

Latvia is lagging behind in the expansion of broadband internet connections. Around 91 percent of all residents have access to the internet. Around 26 percent have their own fast internet connection, which is at least faster than the former ISDN (more than 256 kbit/s). All fixed connections via DSL, cable or satellite were counted here, but not those connected to the internet via mobile communications. With around 2.3 people per household, this means that around 59.8 percent of all households are equipped with a high-speed internet connection.

The increasing prevalence of cell phones and the simultaneous decline in landline phones clearly indicate a change in Latvia. While the number of landlines has fallen significantly in recent years, the spread of cell phones has risen to 115 cell phone subscriptions per 100 people at last count. Such a clear shift does not occur in all countries, but the trend points in the same direction internationally.

All international calling codes