Number of students in Latvia shrinks by more than a third over past decade

RIGA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of students in Latvia's higher education system has dropped by more than a third, or 35 percent, over the past decade as the population of the Baltic country has continued to dwindle, the national statistics office reported Tuesday.

The number of students at Latvia's universities and colleges this academic year was down 1.6 percent from last year to 81,600 people. This number included 27,100 students enrolled for studies this year, which is a 5 percent drop from last academic year, the statistics office said.

Although demand has been rising for professions like engineers and IT professionals, young Latvians traditionally preferred to study humanities and social sciences, with 43 percent of all freshmen enrolled in these study programs. At the same time, enrollments in engineering and sciences study programs fell 8.2 percent year-on-year.

Over half of all freshmen, or 55.4 percent, are paying their tuition with their own money, while the government is paying tuition for 44.6 percent of the freshmen.

The number of higher education institutions in Latvia declined by four over the past year to 54.

The number of students graduating from universities and colleges in Latvia has fallen nearly 50 percent from 2010, to 14,600 people in 2017, the statistics office reported. Enditem