The study reveals a significant discrepancy between threat perception and actual preparedness. “Only 16% of Riga residents consider themselves sufficiently prepared for a crisis situation, whereas the highest figure was recorded in Munich at 31%. Despite a relatively high level of threat awareness, practical preparedness indicators remain low: only 14% of Riga residents know the location of the nearest shelter, and fewer than one in four households maintain a 72-hour water supply,” explains Ieva Birka, Lead Researcher at the UL Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences (FESS).
Radio remains the most trusted source of information during emergencies in six out of the seven surveyed cities.
The study is being conducted by an interdisciplinary UL research team comprising Lead Researcher Ieva Birka, Lead Researcher Inese Āboliņa, Lead Researcher Marita Zitmane, Lead Researcher Ģirts Dimdiņš from the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, as well as PhD students Roberts Kits and Armands Aivo Astukevičs.
The researchers are currently preparing for a new round of data collection within the framework of the “Baltic Individual Crisis Preparedness Barometer” project. The scope of the project has been significantly expanded: in addition to the cities already included, the research team will also examine the situation in Warsaw, Stockholm, and Copenhagen, thereby covering a total of eight countries in the Baltic region. The latest data will become available by the end of the summer.
The research data have been deposited and made openly accessible to researchers, policymakers, and other interested stakeholders via the Dataverse.lv platform, thereby supporting the principles of open science and promoting evidence-based decision-making at both national and regional levels.
Overview of the 2025 Results of the “Baltic Individual Crisis Preparedness Barometer” (PDF)
Updates on the study’s findings, analyses, and developments in the Baltic region are also available on the research group’s LinkedIn page.
The research project “Baltic Individual Crisis Preparedness Barometer” (No. ZDA-LIP2025/16) is one of the initiatives within the University of Latvia’s High-Impact Development Programme, implemented from 2026 to 2029. The programme was established to bring together interdisciplinary UL research teams in order to combine scientific expertise and collaboratively address challenges of national and global significance.
 has compiled the 2025 results of the "Baltic Individual Crisis Preparedness Barometer" into an accessible and concise report. The findings are based on a survey of approximately 5,000 residents across seven cities in the Baltic Sea region — Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Helsinki, Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich.){kind=link}