Situated in northeastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia borders Estonia in the north, Lithuania in the south, the Baltic Sea in the west, Russia in the east, Belarus in the southeast.
Latvia
Overview
For centuries Latvia was primarily an agricultural country, with seafaring, fishing and forestry as other important factors in its economy.
Latvia was subsequently under foreign dominion of Germans, Poles, Swedes and Russians from the 13th until the 20th century. After the World War I, in 1918, it declared independence, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Not much more than a decade after it declared independence, Latvia was welcomed as an EU member in May 2004. The move came just weeks after it joined NATO. These developments would have been extremely hard to imagine in so historically short period of time.
| Country (long form) |
Republic of Latvia |
|---|---|
| Capital | Riga |
| Total Area | 24,937.95 sq mi
64,589.00 sq km |
| Population 2011 | 2,070,371 |
| Estimated Population 2016 | 1,957,200 |
| Languages | Latvian or Lettisch (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other |
| Literacy | 100.0% total, 48.0% male, 52.0% female (2016 est.) |
| Religions | Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox |
| Life Expectancy | 69.9 male, 79.3 female (2016 est.) |
| Government Type | parliamentary democracy |
| Currency | 1 Euro (EUR) = 100 cents |
| GDP (per capita) | $14,140 (2016 est.) |
| Industry | buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles;
note: dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products |
| Agriculture | grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
| Arable Land | 28,19% |
| Natural Resources | minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite, hydropower, arable land |
| International dialling code | + 371 |