Youth Policy in Latvia

The ministry responsible for youth policy is the Ministry of Education and Science. Youth policy in Latvia is a set of targeted actions in all national policies that promote the full and comprehensive development of young people, their inclusion in society and the improvement of their quality of life. Youth policy is an interdisciplinary policy implemented by various public administration and local government authorities within their competence, as well as youth organizations and other natural or legal persons. Young people themselves participate in the development and implementation of youth policy.

When planning youth policy, youth problems are assessed, factors that hinder the implementation of youth activities are identified, and accordingly the goals, tasks and measures taken to eliminate them and create favorable conditions for the development of young people's personality and their participation in social, political, economic and cultural life are identified. According to the Youth Law, young people in Latvia are 13 to 25 years old.

Youth policy is based on seven principles:

1) the principle of participation;

2) the principle of availability of information;

3) the principle of equal opportunities;

4) the principle of respect for the interests of young people;

5) the principle of favorable economic preconditions;

6) the principle of integration of young people;

7) the principle of mobility and international cooperation.

At local level, the main players involved in youth policy are municipalities and municipalities subordinate institutions, as well as institutions subordinate to sectoral ministries and their local departments. One of the functions of local authorities is to work with youth, taking into account the main principles and documentation of the national youth policies. Under the Youth Law, local authorities are planning youth work at local level, drawing up documentation on local government youth policies (eg youth work strategy); local youth also participates in the development of such documents, priorities and tasks of a local youth policy should directly affect the daily life of young people and their activities in the local municipality for a long time perspective.

In the beggining of 2022 there were 234 587 young people age 13 to 25 in Latvia, which is 12,5% of the whole population.