Latvia pays 600 euros for army entry and free school. Over 1,500 young people applied, Slovakia wants 150 per year

Latvia's Defense Ministry opened registration on September 1st for state defense service starting in January, even though the nearest intake had originally been scheduled for summer. According to the ministry, the reason is young people's interest in starting in winter. A volunteer in an eleven-month service receives 600 euros monthly, 1,100 euros upon completion, and can apply for a state-funded place at university. Most importantly, they avoid the draft lottery that will select others instead. National Armed Forces of Latvia ↗

What Latvia offers and what it asks in return

Latvia renewed military service in 2023 first on a voluntary basis and from January 1, 2024 it is mandatory for men aged 18 to 27. Those who apply themselves can choose where they go. In the January intake, there is a choice of eleven-month service in the air force and in the staff battalion, five-year service in the Zemessardze National Guard, or a five-year reserve officer program for university students. Those who do not apply remain in a database from which missing positions are filled. National Armed Forces of Latvia ↗

The price list is published and short. Six hundred euros monthly receives only a volunteer in eleven-month service, severance pay of 1,100 euros is given to everyone including conscripts. Those who complete service successfully can apply for a state-funded place at state universities and higher vocational schools, full-time and part-time, if they meet minimum admission requirements. A conscript receives half of what a volunteer gets. Latvian Defense Ministry ↗

The price list works, but not because of money

For the July 2026 intake, Latvia needed 1,470 people. By the deadline of January 14, 1,560 young people voluntarily applied, nearly double compared to the previous year. Of them, 1,503 chose eleven-month service in the armed forces, including 46 women. The Defense Post ↗ Latvijas Sabiedriskie mediji ↗

Nevertheless, a week later a lottery was held. On January 21, the ministry drew 400 men from a list of almost eight thousand young people and itself expected about 210 of them, roughly half, to end up in uniform. The reason is health. Approximately a third of volunteers do not pass medical examination and among the drawn it is as much as half. Conscripts thus make up roughly a quarter of those who actually serve. Latvijas Sabiedriskie mediji ↗

Part of the cost is also paid elsewhere than in the defense budget. Of 770 volunteers from the first three intakes, 159 started state-funded studies. At the University of Latvia, 15 began two years ago, 57 last year. Universities point out that at this rate, funded places may not be enough for other applicants. Latvijas Sabiedriskie mediji ↗

Rector of the University of Latvia Gundars Bērziņš said on September 1 in a morning broadcast of Latvian television Rīta Panorāma that these students are increasing and that "most of them learn well, their results do not differ from other students". Latvijas Sabiedriskie mediji ↗

Why Finns noticed it and we didn't

The opening of the January intake was picked up overnight by two Finnish newspapers. Helsingin Sanomat gave it the headline "Young people lured into the army in Latvia, volunteers earn 600 euros monthly and have the opportunity of free studies" and placed it in the homeland defense section. Helsingin Sanomat ↗

Ilta-Sanomat brought the same story under the headline "Young Latvians lured into the army: 600 euros monthly and free study place". Ilta-Sanomat ↗

In both cases it is a short story, not an analysis. Interesting is where it ended up. Finland has general military service for men, so the Latvian price list is a comparison for it, not an exotic story. The same day Ilta-Sanomat also brought a statement by a former commander of Finnish defense forces about Finland needing defense cooperation with Sweden. Ilta-Sanomat ↗

In our monitoring of Slovak and Czech media, the Latvian offer did not appear, although a similar debate is ongoing here. From the academic year 2026/2027, four universities will offer an optional subject National Defense Forces — Comenius University, Technical University in Zvolen, Technical University in Košice and University of Žilina — consisting of lectures and a 14-day basic training course, for which the student receives credits. The capacity of the first year is 100 places. TASR ↗

Interest is higher than expected. Only at Comenius University, approximately 200 students came forward by August 20, over 130 seriously. Refresher ↗

And here the comparison turns against expectation. Slovak voluntary military training pays 1,452 euros net for each completed month of training, thus more than double what a Latvian volunteer receives, plus accommodation and meals free of charge. It lasts 11 weeks and the defense ministry aims to train 150 people per year. Latvia has roughly a third of Slovakia's population and fills a single intake with volunteers that is ten times larger than Slovakia's annual goal. Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic ↗

The difference thus apparently is not made by the monthly sum, but by what one buys for it. In Latvia, voluntariness means choice of unit, double what a conscript receives, years of free university and certainty that one will not wait for a lottery. In Slovakia, the reward ends with training and there is no lottery to avoid.

Limits of this perspective

This is not a comparison of the same things. The Latvian package is a motivational layer within a mandatory system, the Slovak one is a standalone offer without obligation in the background. The numbers say nothing about Slovak willingness to serve — they say what voluntariness actually solves in each country. And with money we compare monthly rates, not total pay: Slovak training lasts eleven weeks, Latvian service eleven months, so a Latvian takes home more in the end, even if they earn less monthly.

Finnish stories are moreover short news agency texts, not analysis. Their value is in noticing the event at all, not in what they claim about it. And Latvian numbers should be read backwards too: exceeding recruitment targets does not mean filled positions, because medical examinations will cut a third of applicants. Latvian media have long pointed this out. Latvijas Sabiedriskie mediji ↗

The price remains uncalculated by anyone. If the number of defense service graduates on state-funded places grows at the rate seen at the University of Latvia, someone will have to say whether funded places will be increased or whether other applicants will lose out. So far no one has said this.

Read also: Latvia will not allow books from Russia and Belarus from September. Economically it is 0.05 percent of imports, the ban lasts ten years

What hotinfo is monitoring

How many volunteers will apply for the January 2027 intake and whether Latvia will have to hold another lottery.

Whether Latvian universities receive additional funds for funded places for defense service graduates, or whether places are reshuffled at the expense of other applicants.

Whether the capacity of 100 places in the National Defense Forces subject at four Slovak universities will be filled and whether the subject will expand after the first year.

How many people will complete Slovak voluntary military training in 2026 and whether the defense ministry will approach its goal of 150 graduates per year.

Whether Latvia will reach the goal it set for 2028 — 4,000 people in eleven-month service, 2,000 in five-year service and up to 500 reserve officers.

Illustration photo: soldiers of Latvia's National Guard from the 2nd Brigade during tactical training, July 2019 — not a shot from this year's recruitment. Author Matt Hecht, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.