ABSTRACT
In Latvia, as in most EU countries, there is a pervasive struggle between the richest and poorest regions in the country. For Latvia, being the poorest country in the EU with a GDP per capita just above 40 per cent of the EU average, this poses a major challenge in terms of regional development policy. Furthermore, according to the European Commission (2004), the variation within Latvia between the highest and lowest income per capita region in 2002 was 3.8:1, considerably higher than the figures for her Baltic neighbours Estonia (2.6:1) and Lithuania (2.5:1). Regional disparities within the three Baltic States are discussed in detail in Fokins et al. (2005). According to GDP per capita, Riga Region is by far the richest in Latvia with 76 per cent of the EU average, while Latgale is the poorest, with 20 per cent. Hence, the capital region is by far the richest Latvian region, and this difference, as discussed in Fokins et al. (2005), has increased further over the last decade during a period of rapid economic growth. The Latvian population is also strongly concentrated in Riga where the city has one third of the national population, seven times more than the country’s second largest city, the Latgalian city of Daugavpils.
