Several of the contemporary higher education institutions (HEIs) in Latvia emerged at the start of the twentieth century and even before. Higher education in Latvia, one of the Baltic States with a population of approximately two million, is more than 150 years old and has developed through several transformations in different political and socioeconomic contexts.

Background Measuring and understanding the level of health literacy serves as a starting point for developing various policies in health care. The consequences of weak health literacy competencies are severe; they result in riskier health behaviour, poorer health status, more frequent emergency visits and hospitalizations. This research has three aims: i) measure the level of health literacy in the populations of Latvia and Lithuania; ii) investigate which demographic and socioeconomic determinants are associated with it; and iii) discuss the means of improving its current level. Methods We employ a validated survey tool, the 47-item European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q). In addition to the 47 questions in the domains of health care, disease prevention, and health promotion, the participants’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics are assessed. Face-to-face paper-assisted surveys are conducted with randomly selected residents from Latvia and Lithuania. The level of health literacy is measured by the health literacy index. Spearman correlation analyses and multiple regressions models are employed for investigating the association between the health literacy level and its determinants. The survey tool is complemented with in-depth interviews with six healthcare industry experts in order to assess the most promising ways to improve the level of health literacy. Results The stratified random sampling with quota elements assured a representative sample in terms of gender, urban/rural distribution and regions. In Latvia, 79% of the population possesses weak health literacy competencies. In Lithuania, 73% of the population can be characterized with inadequate or problematic level of health literacy. The most important determinants of the health literacy level include age, financial situation, social status, and ethnicity. In particular, elderly (aged 76 and over) and the Latvian-speaking population are less health literate, while those having better financial situation and higher social status are more health literate. The three most promising ways to improve the level of health literacy, as suggested by the healthcare industry experts, include health education in schools, provision of structured health-related information in Latvian and Lithuanian, and guidelines for the most common health problems. Conclusions The proportion of population with inadequate or problematic level of health literacy is higher in Latvia and Lithuania than in several other European countries. There is an urgent need to develop policies to improve it.

Data on migration flows suggest that young people are highly mobile. Yet, there are gaps in the evidence concerning the factors driving young people’s international migration in Latvia. Latvia is a potentially interesting case because of the high rate of migration from the country, but also because it is a complex ethnic and linguistic environment. Latvian and Russian speaking populations are shown to have diverse migration drivers, and this study addresses the differences in attitudes to studying and living abroad for adolescents at the time of school graduation. Literature suggests that Russian-speaking population have higher propensity to emigrate. We aim to contribute to the literature by exploring differences in migration intentions between Latvian and Russian speaking high school graduates.This study is based on individual-level survey data of secondary school graduates in Latvia in 2020, amidst COVID-19 pandemic. We analyse the strength of migration intentions from definitely not leaving Latvia to surely planning to emigrate. We conclude that Russian-speakers exhibit stronger intentions to emigrate compared Latvian-speaking youngsters, driven by wider networks and expected higher returns to their human capital abroad.

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Russian invasion in Ukraine in 2022 has created the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since WWII. Close to 7 million people have left the country as of August 2022 and figures keep growing. Latvia has accommodated a mere 36 thousand of them, but it exemplifies other smaller countries in the refugee flows. Patterns and factors of asylee destination decisions for less popular destinations have not been explored making one wonder what makes refugees deviate from the mainstream migration flows. We explore why and how Ukrainian war-displaced people have chosen Latvia using the narratives of Ukrainian displaced people who arrived in Latvia in early stages of the conflict. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with refugees in Latvia, we find that networks are the primary determinant of the choice to flee to Latvia. The closeness of kinship is not as important as the fact of having the contact as such, nor does it determine the level of support. Close or distant relatives and friends are the first instance to turn to for war-displaced civilians, while financial factors do not appear to be decisive. In the situation of acute displacement, the first asylee strategy is to seek support in kinship and other networks.