RIGA, March 20 (LETA) - According to the Quality of Life 2025 survey conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) in nine state cities, 96.8 percent of residents are satisfied to live in their city of residence. The highest shares are recorded in Valmiera (99.5 percent), while the most notable increases since 2022 are observed in Jelgava and Daugavpils.

Since 2022, when the previous survey was conducted, satisfaction with living in state cities has remained consistently high. An increase in the share of satisfied residents is observed in Jelgava (by 1.9 percentage points) and Daugavpils (by 1.5 percentage points), while a slight decrease is recorded in Jurmala (by 2.7 percentage points) and Rezekne (by 2 percentage points).

A safer environment goes hand in hand with higher satisfaction with life in the city, particularly among families with young children. In 2025, Liepaja has the highest share of residents who feel safe when walking alone at night (78.5 percent), exceeding the average across state cities (66.2 percent) by 12.3 percentage points. Large shares of such residents are also observed in Valmiera (77.7 percent) and Ogre (74.8 percent). Confidence in the police is high across all state cities, with the highest share recorded in Jurmala (82.6 percent).

Valmiera (97.8 percent) and Liepaja (97 percent) are most often seen as good places to live for households with young children, followed by Daugavpils (93.5 percent), which recorded the largest increase since 2022 (up by 6.9 percentage points). Overall, 92.2 percent of residents in state cities consider their city a good place to live for families with young children, with respondents from such households rating this even higher (95.3 percent).

Most residents in state cities view their city as inclusive for different population groups. At least three in four respondents (74.5 percent) consider their city a good place to live for people from racial or ethnic minority groups, with slightly higher share among respondents belonging to these groups (78.7 percent).

A total of 71.5 percent of residents consider their city a good place to live for immigrants from other countries, with 69.1 percent among immigrants themselves. The highest shares are recorded in Liepaja (85.2 percent), Valmiera (83.5 percent) and Jelgava (72.2 percent).

Overall, 81.4 percent of residents consider their city a good place to live for people with disabilities, while among respondents with disabilities this share is 72.2 percent.

State cities are also widely seen as suitable for elderly. In Valmiera, almost all respondents (95 percent) consider it a good place to live in old age, and similarly high shares are also observed in Liepaja and Ogre.

Compared with other state cities, Jelgava records the highest share of residents satisfied with educational facilities (kindergartens, schools and universities), at 84.4 percent, followed by Valmiera (82.1 percent) and Liepaja (79.3 percent). By contrast, the lowest shares are observed in Jekabpils (60.7 percent) and Daugavpils (67.5 percent).

The highest satisfaction with health care services, doctors and hospitals, is recorded in Jurmala (79.4 percent), Ogre (74 percent) and Ventspils (73.8 percent).

Liepaja records the highest share of residents satisfied with cultural facilities (concert halls, theatres, museums and libraries), at 96.6 percent. High levels of satisfaction are also reported in Rezekne, where nine out of ten residents are very or rather satisfied (91.9 percent), as well as in Ventspils and Valmiera (90.0 percent each). The smallest share of residents satisfied with cultural facilities is observed in Jekabpils (73.9 percent).

Residents of Liepaja and Valmiera also report the highest satisfaction with sports facilities (sport fields and indoor sports halls), at 91.7 percent and 91.5 percent respectively.

Residents of Valmiera and Ventspils report the highest levels of satisfaction with the city environment. Ventspils has the largest share of residents very or rather satisfied with public spaces (markets, squares and pedestrian areas), at 98.9 percent. In both Valmiera and Ventspils, almost all residents (98.8 percent and 98.7 percent) are satisfied with green spaces (parks and gardens), noise level (95 percent and 92.8 percent) and the cleanliness of the city (99.4 percent and 98.5 percent).

Satisfaction with environmental aspects is also high in the other state cities. Overall, 87.3 percent of residents are satisfied with public spaces, 94.6 percent with green spaces and 92.1 percent with cleanliness. Noise levels are rated positively by 89 percent of residents, while 90.2 percent are satisfied with air quality.

Satisfaction with personal job situation is high across all state cities, with at least nine out of ten employed residents reporting being very or fairly satisfied. Since 2022, satisfaction has increased in Jurmala (by 11.1 percentage points), Daugavpils (9.2 percentage points), Rezekne (6.2 percentage points) and Liepaja (5.6 percentage points).

As regards housing, residents of Daugavpils most often report that it is easy to find a good housing at a reasonable price (43.5 percent), followed by Ogre, where one in four residents (26.3 percent) share this view. The lowest share of such residents is recorded in Valmiera (10.3 percent). Overall, compared with 2022, the share of residents who consider it easy to find a good housing has increased in almost all state cities.

Less than half of residents in the State cities use public transport as one of their main modes of transport. Satisfaction with public transport is highest in Jurmala, Daugavpils and Liepaja (87.9 percent, 87 percent and 83 percent respectively), while the lowest share of satisfied residents is recorded in Ogre (42.1 percent).

Slightly less than half of state city residents (48.7 percent) report walking as a main mode of transport. Walking is more common among women (57.7 percent), while men more often rely on a car (71 percent). Overall, more than half of residents primarily use a car to get around.