"The first emigration wave from Latvia took place in 2004 when the country joined the European Union. It mainly involved moderately skilled people from the country side, where unemployment levels were the highest, heading to the UK and Ireland. According to Latvian statistics, (link in Latvian), just 28,024 people emigrated in 2004-2009 comparing to 16,046 who entered the country. That is likely to be a gross underestimate: the majority of emigrants did not declare their departure." (Quoted from article)