95.6% of Latvia Uses Internet — Liepāja Fishermen Still Claim Their Fish Were Just Caught

The Central Statistical Bureau has proudly announced that 95.6% of Latvia's population uses the internet. This is almost as surprising as news that it's windy in Liepāja. But the most interesting part — the 4.4% who don't use the internet probably live in Riga and think WiFi is a new coffee variety.

Statistics reveal that women use the internet more than men — 96.5% versus 94.7%. Liepāja resident Juris comments: "My wife spends so much time on the internet, I'm starting to think she works there as an administrator." Meanwhile, young people aged 16 to 24 use the internet 99.5%, which means the 0.5% who don't are probably off at Liepāja port helping fishermen sell fish that are "just caught" — even though they were visible in Facebook photos last Wednesday.

The internet is used most for banking services — 85.8% of residents. This is understandable, because how else would you confirm that your salary is still just as pathetic? Email is used by 83.2%, which in Riga means complaints about traffic, but in Liepāja — photos of the seashore with the comment "Another beautiful day by our sea!"

Regionally, Riga boasts a 95.5% rate, but that's no surprise — people there have no other entertainment than sitting on the internet and complaining that Liepāja is better. In Latgale, 88.3% regularly use the internet, which is understandable — there are still people there who understand that a real conversation with a neighbor makes more sense than comments under news portal articles.