According to data released by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, the current gender ratio disparity in Latvia is approximately 8%, ranking first in the world. Experts in Latvia point out that the shortage of men is mainly due to the deaths of many men during World War II and the relatively short average lifespan of men in the country.
Despite the shortage of men, the country produces many beautiful women. In the recently concluded "2010 Miss Universe Pageant" held in Qingdao, China, a beauty from Latvia won the title. However, reports indicate that in the face of the reality of more women than men in the country, these beautiful women have to lower their standards for partners, stating that "finding a man to marry is already satisfying."
The gender ratio in Latvia is 2.067 million (2011), with 62.1% being Latvian, 26.9% Russian, 3.3% Belarusian, 2.2% Ukrainian, and 2.2% Polish, along with Lithuanians, Jews, Romani, Estonians, and Germans. The urban population accounts for 69%. The main religions practiced are Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, Russian Orthodoxy, Old Believers, and Baptists. The official language is Latvian, which has three dialects: Central, Eastern, and Northern, belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, and uses a Latin-based script. Over 95% of residents understand Russian, and about 10% understand German and English. English is commonly spoken. According to statistics from 2006, most people practice religion, but only 7% regularly participate in church activities. There are 500,000 Catholics, 450,000 Lutherans, and 350,000 Orthodox Christians. In 2007, the national average life expectancy was 72.3 years, with a literacy rate of 99.8% for the population aged 15 and above, and a school enrollment rate of 90.2%.
