Latvia's man shortage has sparked a strange new industry: The hourly husband

Latvia, the Baltic nation known for its pine forests, folk songs, and medieval charm, now has a new-and far more unexpected-claim to fame: it is running dangerously low on men. This isn't a social media exaggeration or a dating-app complaint. 

Bite-Sized: Why are Latvian women hiring "Husbands for an hour" services?

Statistically, the country has a full-blown "man drought," with 15.5% more women than men, a gap more than three times the average across the European Union. Among seniors, the divide becomes even more dramatic: women over 65 outnumber men two to one, says the New York Post.

Researchers say there's no mystery behind the imbalance. Latvian men simply don't live as long. They smoke far more frequently than women-31% of them smoke, compared to just 10% of women-and carry higher rates of overweight and obesity. 

Poor diet, inconsistent healthcare habits, and leftover post-Soviet lifestyle patterns have caused men to die younger for decades. In a small country, this adds up quickly. Fewer men reach middle age, and even fewer make it into retirement. The imbalance has quietly reshaped the population.

But while demographers debate the health crisis, Latvian women have adopted a far more immediate solution: if the country doesn't have enough men, they'll hire one.

Across Latvia, services offering "husbands for an hour" have exploded in popularity. Companies like Komanda24 promise to send over "Men With Golden Hands"-a delightful piece of branding for workers who show up to fix leaky pipes, mount televisions, repair cabinets, or bring any misbehaving household appliance back in line. 

Another service, Remontdarbi.lv, takes the concept even further by branding its handymen explicitly as rented husbands. Customers book online or by phone, and within a short time, a man appears at the door-not to flirt, not to argue about weekend plans, but simply to paint the walls or fix the curtains.

The concept turns the traditional "handy husband" trope into a straightforward commercial transaction. No relationship required, no awkward dates involved, and no need to pretend anyone is assembling an IKEA bookshelf for love. In a country where women jokingly describe a "nationwide husband vacuum," the service has become a practical fix for the demographic gap.

Interestingly, Latvia isn't the only country developing this odd little corner of the gig economy. The idea reached viral fame in the UK in 2022 when a mother of three, Laura Young, created a business called Rent My Handy Husband, where she rented out her husband James for DIY work. For $44 an hour he tiled bathrooms, laid carpets, decorated rooms, and became so busy he routinely turned clients away. The business made international headlines not because it was outrageous, but because it seemed to tap into a global shift.

These services hint at more than just demographic quirks or clever marketing. They represent a quiet restructuring of domestic life. Tasks once automatically assigned to husbands are now treated the way we treat grocery delivery or app-based taxis: part of a professionalized service market. In Latvia, this shift is a direct response to demographic strain. Elsewhere, it reflects changing relationships, delayed marriages, and households that no longer fit the mid-20th-century mold.

A generation ago, relying on a rented husband might have felt strange. Today, it's simply efficient.

Latvia's man shortage isn't going away anytime soon. Unless male health dramatically improves, the gender gap will remain one of Europe's widest. But in typical Baltic fashion-calm, practical, and a bit deadpan-the country has already adapted. It can't conjure up more men. But it can make sure someone shows up to fix the broken sink.