Ageing in Europe: Latvia vs. EU-27

A comparative data dashboard across seven key healthspan indicators.This dashboard draws on Eurostat, Eurofound, and European Commission data to present a structured comparison across seven dimensions most relevant to healthspan outcomes. Each indicator is presented with Latvia’s value, the EU-27 average, and the methodological source.

Latvia faces a significant “healthspan gap,” with seniors expected to live only 52.4 years in good health compared to the EU average of 63.5 years—a deficit of over a decade. This disparity is compounded by the EU’s highest rate of elder poverty at 41.2% and a loneliness rate of 34%, both of which are critical predictors of cognitive and cardiovascular decline. Furthermore, Latvia’s public expenditure on long-term care and its digital inclusion levels for seniors lag substantially behind European averages, creating structural barriers to healthy ageing.

To address these challenges, the Social Innovation Centre emphasizes shifting from a disease-management model to one that supports “functional capacity”. Key priorities include investing in community-level social infrastructure to combat isolation and reforming pension adequacy to ensure economic security, which is viewed as a fundamental health intervention. By closing the 11.1-year healthy life expectancy gap through targeted social and digital inclusion, Latvia can move toward a model where ageing is defined by purposeful engagement rather than managed decline.