Latvian population has always consisted of representatives from different nationalities and ethnic groups. According to the last pre-war population census in 1935 the total population in Latvia consisted of 77 % of Latvians and only 8.8 % of Russians.

Post-war deportations, particularly of Latvians, and immigration of newcomers from other Soviet republics had a substantial impact on the ethnic situation in Latvia. Latvia distinguished among European states by very high immigration rate and proportion of its foreign-born populations. The proportion of Latvians in the total population had decreased from 62 % to 52 % in 1989.

In the 1990s the changes in the ethnic composition are another character. For the first time the proportion of Latvians tends to increase gradually ( 57.6 % according to the 2000 census ) but the amount and the proportion of Russians, Belarussians, Ukrainians decrease.