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Country Overview
- Overview of SSH System
  - Brief Description of the structure of the SSH research system
  - Overview of structure
- Policy challenges and developments
  - Main societal challenges translated into SSH research
  - New SSH policy developments
Policy Setting System
- Government policy making and coordination
- Impacting factors
- Important policy documents
- Thematic priorities at national level
- Important research programmes
- SSH research infrastructures
  - National infrastructures
  - International infrastructures
Funding System
- Overview of funding flows
- National public SSH research funding
- Private research funding
- Foundations/ not-for-profit funding
- European and international funding
Performing System
- Overview of the performers
- Higher Education Institutions
  - HEIs as education performers
  - HEIs as research performers
- Public Research Organisations
- Private research performers
- Research performance

Latvia

Population (2011): 2.041.763
GBAORD related to SSH financed from GUF and other sources in Euro per inhabitant (2011): 0,9
Share of SSH researchers in the Higher Education sector, Head count (2010): 40,1%
Number of SSH researchers in the Higher Education Sector, Head count (2010): 1.939
Share of graduates (ISCED 5-6) in the humanities and arts as a share of all fields (2011): 7,3%
Share of graduates (ISCED 5-6) in the social science, business and law as a share of all fields (2011): 47,5%

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HEIs as education performers

There are 55 institutions of higher education in Latvia and two branches of foreign universities. Institutions of higher education in Latvia are divided into university-type higher education establishments (universities and universities of applied sciences); non-university type higher education establishments, and colleges.[1]

There are:

6 public universities of Latvia;
13 public universities of applied sciences;
12 private non-university type institutions of higher education- universities of applied sciences;
24 Colleges (17 public colleges and 7 private colleges)[2]

The public universities of Latvia are as follows:

University of Latvia (19,600 students),
Riga Technical University (15,579 students),
Latvia University of Agriculture (6,108 students),
Daugavpils University (3,439 students),
Riga Stradins University (6,135 students),
Liepaja University (2,266 students).

Public universities of applied sciences include the Banking Institution of Higher Education; Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music; Latvian Maritime Academy; Latvia Academy of Culture; Latvian Academy of Arts; National Academy of Defence; Latvian Academy of Sports Education; Rēzekne Higher Education Institution; Stockholm School of Economics in Riga; Riga Graduate School of Law; Riga Higher School of Pedagogy and School Management; The Ventspils College; and Vidzeme University Of Applied Sciences.

The total number of students in tertiary education has remained similar in the last decade but we can see a moderate decline from 110,500 students in the academic year 2001/2002[3] to 103,782 students in the academic year 2010/2011[4].

The distribution of students by thematic study fields has remained similar in the last years and currently every second student is studying social sciences.[5] In academic year 2002/2003 more than half of the students (59.6%) were studying in SSH fields (52.7% or 62,662 students in social sciences and 6.9% or 8,180 students in humanitarian science)[6]. The proportion of students in the SSH overall has remained constant, though there has been an increase in the social sciences and a slight decline in the humanities. In the academic year 2009/2010, 59.4% (51.1% or 57,683 students studied in the social sciences and 8.3% or 9,446 students in humanitarian science).[7] Describing the trends for graduates for SSH fields, a slight increase is apparent. From 57.1% graduates in SHH fields (50.7% in social sciences; 6.4% in humanitarian science)[8] out of all graduate students in academic year 2002/2003 the proportion increases up to 61.3 % (54.1% in social science; 7.2% in humanitarian science) in academic year 2009/2010.[9]

Numbers presenting students mobility based on incoming and outgoing students demonstrate that in academic year 2010/2011 there were 1,540 students from 32 institutions of higher education in Latvia studying abroad for an exchange programme in 42 foreign universities. The inflow of students in turn has been higher – 1,949[10] students coming from 72 countries.

Total government funding of the tertiary education sector in 2001 was LVL 30.9 million (€43,966,738) out of LVL 68.6 million[11] (€97,609,006) the total funding in the tertiary education sector. We can see a notable increase in 2009 up to LVL 86.2 million[12] (€122,651,550) out of a total funding of LVL 190.1 million (€270,487,931) of the tertiary education sector in 2009. Nevertheless the share of GDP allocated by the state budget to the tertiary education sector in Latvia is very low compared to other EU countries. While accounting for 0.65% of GDP in 2001, it had risen to only 0.66% in 2009.[13]

[1] MES, Latvijas Republikas izglītības sistēma. See: http://izm.izm.gov.lv/nozares-politika/izglitiba/7265.html

[2] AIKNC: Akreditētās augstskolas un koledžas. See http://www.aiknc.lv/lv/list.php

[3] Education system of Latvia. See: http://www.aic.lv/rec/LV/leg_lv/LVsysEN.htm

[4] MES (2010). Pārskats par Latvijas augstāko izglītību 2010.gadā. See http://izm.izm.gov.lv/registri-statistika/statistika-augstaka/6818.html.

[5] In this report the classification of Education Thematic Groups made by the Ministry of Education and Science is applied. The term “social sciences” indicated the thematic group "Social Sciences, business, law" that includes the following four areas: Social and human sciences, information and communication science, management and administration, law.

[6] MES Augstākās izglītības un zinātnes departaments (2002): Pārskats par Latvijas augstskolu darbību 2002.gadā, p. 71. See http://izm.izm.gov.lv/registri-statistika/statistika-augstaka.html

[7] MES (2009): Pārskats par Latvijas augstāko izglītību 2009.gadā (skaitļi, fakti, tendences), pp. 103.-104. See http://izm.izm.gov.lv/upload_file/Registri_statistika/05Tem-grupas-2009.pdf

[8] MES, Augstākās izglītības un zinātnes departaments (2002) : Pārskats par Latvijas augstskolu darbību 2002.gadā. pp. 71-72. See: http://izm.izm.gov.lv/registri-statistika/statistika-augstaka.html

[9] MES (2009): Pārskats par Latvijas augstāko izglītību 2009.gadā (skaitļi, fakti, tendences). Izglītības tematiskās grupas un studiju programmes, pp. 103-107. See http://izm.izm.gov.lv/upload_file/Registri_statistika/05Tem-grupas-2009.pdf

[10] MES (2010): Pārskats par Latvijas augstāko izglītību 2010.gadā (galvenie statistikas dati), pp. 90-93. See http://izm.izm.gov.lv/registri-statistika/statistika-augstaka/6818.html

[11] MES (2001): Augstskolu finansējums, p. 91. See http://izm.izm.gov.lv/registri-statistika/statistika-augstaka.html

[12] MES (2010): Pārskats par Latvijas augstāko izglītību 2010.gadā (galvenie statistikas dati), p. 66. See http://izm.izm.gov.lv/registri-statistika/statistika-augstaka/6818.html

[13] Unpublished MES material distributed at a discussion entitled „EU Structural Funds in Education: the Support of the ESF and the ERDF for Higher Education in the 2007-2013 Planning Period,” in Latvian, 30 June 2011.

Ilona Kunda (26-Apr-2012)