Romani people in Latvia

Romani people are one of Latvia's oldest ethnic minorities. According to the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs there were 7,456 Romani people living in Latvia as of 1 January 2017, comprising 0.3% of the total population. The Latvian Roma (Loftitke Roma) and the Russian Roma (Xaladytka Roma) have lived in Latvia since ancient times. According to the latest extensive survey "Roma in Latvia," the data reveals that nearly half of the Roma individuals interviewed (49.3%) responded negatively when asked about their ethnicity recorded in their passports. Additionally, 12.9% admitted that another nationality is stated, while only 36.5% acknowledged themselves as Roma in their passports. Out of all the officially registered Roma individuals, 94.4% hold Latvian citizenship, and approximately 70% of them are fluent in Latvian. Furthermore, a significant majority of Roma consider the Romani language as their mother tongue.^[2]

According to the Council of Europe, approximately 5,600 Romani people live in Latvia (0.3% of the population).^[3]