Newsmaker

Latvia is experiencing a significant gender imbalance, prompting many women to hire temporary "husbands" to help with household tasks, according to a report by The New York Post. According to Eurostat, the country has 15.5% more women than men, which is more than three times the average gap in the European Union.

Among people aged 65 and above, there are reportedly twice as many women as men, as noted by World Atlas.

According to The Post, women say the shortage of men is visible in workplaces and daily life. Dania, who works at festivals, said that almost all her colleagues are women. She added that while she enjoys working with them, a better gender balance would make social interactions more engaging. Her friend Zane added that many women travel abroad to find partners because of the limited options at home.

To manage daily household needs in the absence of male partners, many Latvian women are turning to services that rent out handymen. Platforms such as Komanda24 offer "Men With Golden Hands," who assist with plumbing, carpentry, repairs, and television installation. Another service, Remontdarbi.lv, lets women book a "husband for an hour" online or by phone, with workers arriving quickly to handle tasks like painting, fixing curtains, and other maintenance work.

Experts attribute Latvia's gender imbalance partly to men's lower life expectancy, driven by higher smoking rates and lifestyle-related health issues. According to World Atlas, 31% of Latvian men smoke, compared to only 10% of women, and more men are overweight or obese.

The unusual solution reflects deeper social challenges. Male mortality in Latvia is among the highest in Europe, with men four times more likely than women to take their own lives. Sociologist Baiba Bela said the gender imbalance becomes sharply visible between the ages of 30 and 40.

“In this age group the mortality for men is three times higher than the same age group for women,” she said, citing factors such as alcoholism, risky driving and workplace accidents.

Among those under 30, men outnumber women, but the pattern reverses quickly; by ages 30 to 39 there are nearly 3000 more women than men. The overall life expectancy gap is the widest in the European Union, with Latvian women living 11 years longer on average.

Software engineer Agris Rieksts said “macho” culture contributes to damaging behaviour. “It is kind of perceived that it is manly, that the more alcohol you can handle, the more of a man you are,” he said. Psychoanalyst Ansis Stabingis noted that economic upheaval and the transition from Soviet rule pushed many men into depression and unhealthy coping habits.

Writer Dace Ruksane said highly educated and successful women are often left single because they struggle to find partners who match their ambitions. “The smartest girls are alone. The really beautiful girls are alone – if they are smart,” she said. “They want to find partners who are equal to them. But a man, having all this choice, doesn’t need to be very perfect. He just sits in front of the TV and knows he can get a woman. And if she doesn’t suit him, he will get another.”

Eurostat figures show Latvia has 15.5 per cent more women than men, more than three times the EU average. With the country’s median age at 44.1, a crude death rate of 14.9 per 1000 and men accounting for over 80 per cent of suicides, many women are increasingly turning to practical alternatives to fill the domestic gap left by the demographic divide.