40% of people in Latvia have difficulty meeting their daily expenses and are unable to save - survey

RIGA - In Latvia, 40 percent of the population struggle to meet their daily expenses, save up money and protect their family finances, and are therefore perceived as vulnerable, representatives of Swedbank told LETA, citing a survey conducted by the Swedbank Institute of Finance.

Financial independence is especially fragile among women and young people. Accordingly, a large proportion of young people say they feel financially vulnerable in general and rely on parental support, while women face lower incomes that do not keep up with their everyday expenses.

Evija Kropa, head of financial literacy at Swedbank, indicated that the results of the survey point to significant differences in financial security among different age groups. People aged between 31 and 50 are generally the most confident about their financial independence, but they also face their own financial challenges, usually related to mortgage and other long-term loans. Young people and seniors are more likely to face challenges related to insufficient income and savings.

Kropa notes that there are also gender differences - women face lower incomes both in work and in retirement, but are more likely to try to save up for the long term. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to feel financial freedom (28 percent of men vs. 19 percent of women) and their financial habits, such as investments, tend to be riskier and higher return-seeking.

The survey shows that the most financially vulnerable people are aged 18-29 and 40-49. In these age groups, 42 percent of the population are vulnerable in terms of personal finances. When it comes to the best financial situation in different age groups, 30-39 year-olds stand out: 33 percent of people in this age group have a good and strong financial situation.

Women, on the other hand, are less protected in terms of financial security and protection - 37 percent of men and 43 percent of women in Latvia have vulnerable personal finances. The survey also shows that it is more difficult for women to save up for security and old age.

The most important prerequisite for healthy finances is a personal or family budget in which income exceeds expenditure - only one third of Latvians (33 percent) have managed to achieve this in the last year. The same proportion (33 percent) of respondents say they have had to live on paycheck to paycheck, or their income has been equal to their expenses for several months, while another 31 percent have not had enough income to cover all their expenses.

Looking at the income and expenditure structure across age groups, young people are more likely than others to have monthly expenses that exceed their income (31 percent). Women are also more likely than men to say that their income is less than their expenditure (24 percent of women vs. 20 percent of men). By contrast, people aged 30-39 have significantly more income than expenses.

Only one fifth of people in Latvia, or 21 percent, have a safety cushion of at least three months' salary, while 25 percent of respondents have no savings at all.

Men (27 percent vs. 17 percent of women) and people aged 40-59 (24 percent) are more likely to save at least three months' salary.

The Swedbank Institute of Finance's survey was conducted in February 2025 with the aim to find out the level of financial health of people in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Sweden. The survey was conducted using the Kantar platform and involved 1,000 people aged 18-75 in Latvia.