Alcohol consumption in Latvia keeps falling after sales-hour restrictions
A year after Latvia introduced limits on alcohol sales hours, beer consumption has dropped 6% and other alcoholic drinks 5%. A Health Ministry official says habits are starting to change, but slowly.
Alcohol consumption in Latvia has continued to decline a year after restrictions on alcohol sales hours were introduced on 1 August last year. Excise tax rates on various alcoholic drinks also kept rising. Over the August–July period, beer consumption fell by 6%, faster than in several previous years. Consumption of other alcoholic beverages dropped by 5%, which is less than in the preceding period but faster than in the previous seven years, according to the State Revenue Service.
Still high by global standards
World Health Organization (WHO) data from 2024 show Latvia has the third-highest alcohol consumption per capita in the world, behind only Romania and Georgia. Consumption has risen since 2010, taking into account the shrinking population. Beer shows a clear downward trend over the years, while other alcoholic drinks show none over a ten-year period. Spirits account for 47% of absolute alcohol consumed, and beer for 34%.
Sanita Lazdiņa, deputy head of the Mental Health, Addiction Prevention and Integrated Services Division at the Ministry of Health, says the main problem is strong spirits, whose excise tax was not raised in earlier years. In her view, a change in habits has begun, but indicators will not fall within a single year.
WHO data indicate that from 1 August to 31 December 2025, deaths attributable entirely to alcohol use fell by 27%, equal to more than 60 deaths prevented.
Retailer and economist views
Ilze Priedīte, board member and marketing director of the retail chain top!, told the LETA news agency that sales initially dropped but the situation has since levelled out as shoppers adjusted their shopping times. Sales fell most sharply for alcoholic and beer cocktails, fortified wines and beer in PET bottles, while non-alcoholic beers and wines, as well as pricier, higher-quality alcoholic drinks, saw growth.
Dainis Gašpuitis, an economist at SEB bank, stresses that restrictions should focus on reducing consumption rather than merely redistributing the market, including toward illegal alcohol. He also notes that in sparsely populated areas, a shop closure can cost residents access to other goods and services.
