There are 10 cities (Latvian: valstspilsēta, "state city", pl. valstspilsētas) and 71 towns (Latvian: novada pilsēta, "municipality town", pl. novada pilsētas) in Latvia.
By Latvian law, towns are settlements that are centers of culture and commerce with a well-developed architectural-infrastructure and street grid, and have at least 2,000 residents; however, a settlement can be designated a town if it has fewer residents, but fulfills all other requirements (or has been a historic town).
To become a city, a town must typically have at least 25,000 residents. Additionally, cities should have a well-developed commercial district, transport, public utilities, social infrastructure, and be a significant center of culture. However, these requirements may be disregarded if there is sufficient population.[1]
In 2020 agreement was reached in the Saeima to rename the previous nine "republic" cities with the new title of "state city" (valstspilsēta). It was at this time that a tenth state city, Ogre (formerly a town), was added to the list.[2]
The largest 7 state cities have their own local governance independent of any municipalities, whereas the smallest 3 (Jēkabpils, Ogre and Valmiera) belong to their wider corresponding municipalities.[3]
State cities
| City | Population (2013)[4] | Population (2019)[5] | Population(2023)[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
Daugavpils ⓘ  |
93,312 | 82,604 | 79,299 |
Jelgava ⓘ  |
59,511 | 55,972 | 55,384 |
Jēkabpils ⓘ  |
24,635 | 22,076 | 21,179 |
Jūrmala ⓘ  |
50,840 | 49,325 | 50,842 |
Liepāja ⓘ  |
76,731 | 68,945 | 67,335 |
Ogre ⓘ  |
26,167 | 24,768 | 22,767 |
Rēzekne ⓘ  |
32,328 | 27,820 | 26,805 |
Rīga ⓘ  |
658,640 | 632,614 | 614,987 |
Valmiera ⓘ  |
25,130 | 23,125 | 22,408 |
Ventspils ⓘ  |
38,750 | 34,377 | 33,053 |
Towns
See also
References
- 1 2 Law On Administrative Territories and Populated Areas
- ↑ "Vienojas par desmit valstspilsētām". LA.LV (in Latvian). Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ↑ "Levits izsludina Administratīvi teritoriālās reformas likumu". Sabiedrība un politika (in Latvian). 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- 1 2 "Latvijas iedzīvotāju skaits pašvaldībās" (PDF). Centrālās statistikas pārvaldes datubāzes (in Latvian). Retrieved 2019-10-25.
- 1 2 "Iedzīvotāju skaits un tā izmaiņas statistiskajos reģionos, republikas pilsētās, novadu pilsētās un novados". Centrālās statistikas pārvaldes datubāzes (in Latvian). Retrieved 2019-06-16.
- 1 2 "Population in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, rural territories, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas by ethnicity". National Statistical System of Latvia. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
External links
- Vietas.lv- Map and information of Cities and Districts
- MillionMetersAroundLatvia.Com- Map, information and photos of Cities
- Map at archive.today (archived 2012-12-04)
- Searchable map