Latvian descent

The Latvian diaspora refers to Latvians and people of Latvian descent residing outside Latvia.

According to estimates by the Latvian Foreign Ministry, as at 2012, about 370,000 Latvian citizens permanently resided Latvia, most of them having emigrated in the preceding decade. The largest Latvian communities are in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, Russia, Brazil, Germany, Belgium, Israel, Norway, and Spain.

While Latvia was part of the Russian Empire, many Latvians left to other regions of Russia (for instance, Bashkiria) looking for opportunities to farm, as well as for Latin America and Australia. The next large wave of emigration was related to the World War I, when thousands of refugees and evacuated factory workers moved to other regions of Russia. Many of the refugees returned after Latvia became independent, others formed communities in Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus. A significant number of Latvians from the ranks of the Bolshevik Latvian Riflemen occupied senior positions in the early Soviet Russia and Soviet Union.

A large wave of emigration from Latvia followed the Soviet and Nazi German occupations of the country during World War II.

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