Cities and towns in Latvia There are 10 cities (Latvian : valstspilsēta , "state city", pl. valstspilsētas ) and 71 towns (Latvian : novada pilsēta , "municipality town", pl. novada pilsētas ) in Latvia .
By Latvian law, towns are settlements that are centers of culture and commerce with a well-developed architectural infrastructure and street grid, and have at least 2,000 residents. A settlement can still be designated a town if it has fewer residents, but fulfills all other requirements (or has been a historic town).
To become a city, a town must typically have at least 25,000 residents. Additionally, cities should have a well-developed commercial district, transport , public utilities , social infrastructure, and be a significant center of culture. However, these requirements may be disregarded if there is sufficient population.[ 1]
In 2020, an agreement was reached in Latvian parliament, Saeima , to rename the previous nine "republic" cities with the new title of "state city" (valstspilsēta ). It was at this time that a tenth state city, Ogre (formerly a town), was added to the list.[ 2]
The 7 largest state cities have their own local governance independent of any municipalities, whereas the smallest 3 (Jēkabpils , Ogre and Valmiera ) belong to their wider corresponding municipalities.[ 3]
Riga Daugavpils Liepāja Jelgava Jūrmala Ventspils Rēzekne City Population (2013)[ 4] Population (2019)[ 5] Population (2024)[ 6] Rīga pronunciation ⓘ 658,640 632,614 605,273 Daugavpils pronunciation ⓘ 93,312 82,604 77,799 Liepāja pronunciation ⓘ 76,731 68,945 66,680 Jelgava pronunciation ⓘ 59,511 55,972 54,701 Jūrmala pronunciation ⓘ 50,840 49,325 52,154 Ventspils pronunciation ⓘ 38,750 34,377 32,634 Rēzekne pronunciation ⓘ 32,328 27,820 26,131 Ogre pronunciation ⓘ 26,167 24,768 22,767 Valmiera pronunciation ⓘ 25,130 23,125 22,376 Jēkabpils pronunciation ⓘ 24,635 22,076 21,150
Town Population (2010)[ 4] Population (2018)[ 5] Population (2024)[ 6] Municipality [ 1] Ādaži 6,173 6,898 7,535 Ādaži Municipality Ainaži pronunciation ⓘ 1,008 787 644 Limbaži Municipality Aizkraukle pronunciation ⓘ 8,709 7,489 6,853 Aizkraukle Municipality Aizpute pronunciation ⓘ 5,104 4,443 3,892 South Kurzeme Municipality Aknīste pronunciation ⓘ 1,224 1,078 917 Jēkabpils Municipality Aloja pronunciation ⓘ 1,353 1,197 1,060 Limbaži Municipality Alūksne pronunciation ⓘ 8,900 7,555 6,175 Alūksne Municipality Ape pronunciation ⓘ 1,083 907 777 Smiltene Municipality Auce pronunciation ⓘ 3,076 2,640 2,136 Dobele Municipality Baldone pronunciation ⓘ 2,399 3,966 3,711 Ķekava Municipality Baloži pronunciation ⓘ 5,665 6,529 6,846 Ķekava Municipality Balvi pronunciation ⓘ 7,906 6,696 5,584 Balvi Municipality Bauska pronunciation ⓘ 10,060 8,988 9,811 Bauska Municipality Brocēni pronunciation ⓘ 3,411 3,117 2,834 Saldus Municipality Cēsis pronunciation ⓘ 18,021 16,888 14,699 Cēsis Municipality Cesvaine pronunciation ⓘ 1,668 1,443 1,210 Madona Municipality Dagda pronunciation ⓘ 2,502 2,108 1,805 Krāslava Municipality Dobele pronunciation ⓘ 11,152 9,702 8,589 Dobele Municipality Durbe pronunciation ⓘ 620 542 483 South Kurzeme Municipality Grobiņa pronunciation ⓘ 4,218 3,861 3,593 South Kurzeme Municipality Gulbene pronunciation ⓘ 8,807 7,779 6,715 Gulbene Municipality Iecava (pronunciation ⓘ ) 5,921 5,481 5,343 Bauska Municipality Ikšķile pronunciation ⓘ 4,052 7,359 7,448 Ogre Municipality Ilūkste pronunciation ⓘ 2,856 2,502 2,082 Augšdaugava Municipality Jaunjelgava pronunciation ⓘ 2,246 1,999 1,713 Aizkraukle Municipality Kandava pronunciation ⓘ 4,225 3,831 3,276 Tukums Municipality Kārsava pronunciation ⓘ 2,420 2,105 1,843 Ludza Municipality Koknese pronunciation ⓘ 2,710 2,511 2,427 Aizkraukle Municipality Krāslava pronunciation ⓘ 10,160 8,653 6,854 Krāslava Municipality Kuldīga pronunciation ⓘ 12,755 11,275 9,940 Kuldīga Municipality Ķegums pronunciation ⓘ 2,487 2,271 2,059 Ogre Municipality Ķekava 8,048 8,103 5,039 Ķekava Municipality Lielvārde pronunciation ⓘ 6,837 6,369 5,853 Ogre Municipality Līgatne pronunciation ⓘ 1,239 1,094 1,009 Cēsis Municipality Limbaži pronunciation ⓘ 8,501 7,498 6,613 Limbaži Municipality Līvāni pronunciation ⓘ 8,934 7,939 6,790 Līvāni Municipality Lubāna pronunciation ⓘ 1,873 1,667 1,453 Madona Municipality Ludza pronunciation ⓘ 9,575 8,387 7,524 Ludza Municipality Madona pronunciation ⓘ 8,734 7,646 6,561 Madona Municipality Mazsalaca pronunciation ⓘ 1,474 1,264 1,113 Valmiera Municipality Mārupe 7,754 21,229 16,544 Mārupe Municipality Olaine pronunciation ⓘ 12,667 11,342 9,908 Olaine Municipality Pāvilosta pronunciation ⓘ 1,134 980 851 South Kurzeme Municipality Piltene pronunciation ⓘ 1,053 904 821 Ventspils Municipality Pļaviņas pronunciation ⓘ 3,692 3,248 2,823 Aizkraukle Municipality Preiļi pronunciation ⓘ 7,970 6,817 5,841 Preiļi Municipality Priekule pronunciation ⓘ 2,441 2,091 1,810 South Kurzeme Municipality Rūjiena pronunciation ⓘ 3,377 2,912 2,650 Valmiera Municipality Sabile pronunciation ⓘ 1,404 1,552 1,369 Talsi Municipality Salacgrīva pronunciation ⓘ 3,281 2,823 2,480 Limbaži Municipality Salaspils pronunciation ⓘ 18,159 18,698 17,826 Salaspils Municipality Saldus pronunciation ⓘ 12,306 10,869 9,553 Saldus Municipality Saulkrasti pronunciation ⓘ 3,299 3,176 3,149 Saulkrasti Municipality Seda pronunciation ⓘ 1,547 1,248 1,092 Valmiera Municipality Sigulda pronunciation ⓘ 11,168 11,191 14,632 Sigulda Municipality Skrunda pronunciation ⓘ 2,468 2,118 1,767 Kuldīga Municipality Smiltene pronunciation ⓘ 5,763 5,349 5,129 Smiltene Municipality Staicele pronunciation ⓘ 1,152 951 766 Limbaži Municipality Stende pronunciation ⓘ 1,868 1,743 1,532 Talsi Municipality Strenči pronunciation ⓘ 1,404 1,140 957 Valmiera Municipality Subate pronunciation ⓘ 749 663 549 Augšdaugava Municipality Talsi pronunciation ⓘ 11,201 10,070 8,649 Talsi Municipality Tukums pronunciation ⓘ 19,961 18,414 16,318 Tukums Municipality Valdemārpils pronunciation ⓘ 1,396 1,343 1,135 Talsi Municipality Valka pronunciation ⓘ 6,047 5,181 4,564 Valka Municipality Vangaži pronunciation ⓘ 3,999 3,649 3,192 Ropaži Municipality Varakļāni pronunciation ⓘ 2,106 1,897 1,653 Varakļāni Municipality Viesīte pronunciation ⓘ 1,902 1,615 1,510 Jēkabpils Municipality Viļaka pronunciation ⓘ 1,525 1,364 1,172 Balvi Municipality Viļāni pronunciation ⓘ 3,468 3,035 2,749 Rēzekne Municipality Zilupe pronunciation ⓘ 1,746 1,511 1,271 Ludza Municipality
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Sovereign states States with limited recognition Dependencies and other entities
Sovereign states States with limited recognition Dependencies and other entities