Preliminary census data released by the Central Statistics Office on 7 November indicate that the country's population on 31 March 2000 was 2.375 million.

Preliminary census data released by the Central Statistics Office on 7 November indicate that the country's population on 31 March 2000 was 2.375 million, a decrease of 291,000 or 10.9 percent, from the 1989 census. Women number 1.282 million and men 1.093 million. The number of people over 60 increased by 39,000 to 502,300 while the number of residents below 14 decreased by 146,000 to 424,000 and those between 15-59 years by 186,000 to 1.448 million. The urban population decreased by 13.5 percent, with the largest declines in the cities of Liepaja (22 percent) and Riga (16 percent). The rural population fell by only 5.1 percent.