Latvia Communications 2021, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: 227,616

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11.96 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 2,071,814

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 108.83 (2019 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

recent efforts focused on bringing competition to the telecommunications sector; the number of fixed-line phones is decreasing as mobile-cellular telephone service expands; EU regulatory policies, and framework provide guidelines for growth; government adopted measures to build a national fiber broadband network, partially funded by European Commission; new competition in mobile markets with extensive LTE-A technologies and 5G service growth; developing sophisticated digital economy with e-commerce and e-government widely available; operator working on cable to Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East (2021)

(2020)

domestic: fixed-line 12 per 100 and mobile-cellular 109 per 100 subscriptions (2019)

international: country code - 371; the Latvian network is now connected via fiber-optic cable to Estonia, Finland, and Sweden

note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments

Broadcast media

several national and regional commercial TV stations are foreign-owned, 2 national TV stations are publicly owned; system supplemented by privately owned regional and local TV stations; cable and satellite multi-channel TV services with domestic and foreign broadcasts available; publicly owned broadcaster operates 4 radio networks with dozens of stations throughout the country; dozens of private broadcasters also operate radio stations

Internet country code

.lv

Internet users

total: 1,607,711

percent of population: 83.58% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 508,894

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 26.73 (2019 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Latvia on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Latvia 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Latvia 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.