The Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), or Latvia (Latvian: Latvija), is a country in Northern Europe. Latvia has land borders with its two fellow Baltic states — Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south — and Russia and Belarus to the east. In the west Latvia shares a maritime border with Sweden.

Latvijas Republika

National motto: none
Official language	Latvian
Capital and largest city	Rīga
President	Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
Prime minister	Aigars Kalvītis
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 121st 64,589 km² 1.5%
Population  - Total (2003)  - Density	Ranked 137th 2,331,500 36/km²
Independence  - Declared  - Recognised  - Lost Independence  - Declared  - Recognised	From Imperial Russia 18 November 1918 11 August 1920 17 June 1940 From Soviet Union 4 May 1990 21 August 1991
Currency	Lats (Ls)
Time zone  - in summer	EET (UTC+2) EEST (UTC+3)
National anthem	Dievs, svētī Latviju!
Internet TLD	.lv
Calling Code	+371

History

Main article: History of Latvia

Known for the most part as Livonia, the area that now constitutes Latvia was under the influence of the German Sword Brethren from the 13th century onward. However, in the 18th and 19th century, Russia gained control over Latvia and neighbouring regions. With Russia devastated by revolution and World War I, Latvia declared its independence on November 18 1918.

From 1934 Latvia was an authoritarian state. This period of independence lasted only briefly, as the Soviet Union annexed the country on 17 June 1940 in accordance to the Soviet-Nazi agreement (Ribbentrop-Molotov pact) of 1939.

Except for a brief period of German occupation during World War II, Latvia remained a Soviet territory until reforms in Soviet communism such as glasnost stimulated the Latvian independence movement, and the country regained its independence on 21 August 1991. It has since recovered its links with the West and in 2004 became a member of both NATO and the European Union.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Latvia

The 100-seat unicameral Latvian parliament, the Saeima, is elected by direct, popular vote every four years. The president is elected by the Saeima in a separate election also every four years. The president invites a prime minister who, together with his cabinet, forms the executive branch of the government, which has to receive a confidence vote by the Saeima.

On 20 September 2003 in a nationwide referendum 66.9% of the Latvians voted in favour of joining the European Union. Latvia's EU membership took effect on 1 May 2004. Latvia is a NATO member since March 29 2004.

Counties

Main article: Counties of Latvia

Latvia is divided into 26 counties called rajons. 7 cities have a separate status.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Latvia

Large parts of Latvia are covered by forests, and the country has over 12,000 small rivers and over 3,000 lakes. Most of the country consists of fertile, low-lying plains with some hills in the east, the highest point being the Gaiziņkalns at 312 m.

An inlet of the Baltic Sea, the shallow Gulf of Riga is situated in the northwest of the country. The capital city Riga is located on the shores of this inlet, where the Daugava river flows into it. Other major cities include Daugavpils further upriver and Liepāja along the Baltic coast.

The Latvian climate is maritime and temperate in nature, with cool summers and wet, moderate winters.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Latvia

Since year 2000 Latvia has had one of the highest GDP growth rates in Europe. In 2003, GDP growth was 7.5% and inflation was 2.9%. Unemployment was 8.8% in 2003, almost unchanged compared to the previous two years. Privatization is mostly complete, except for some of the large state-owned utilities. Latvia is a member of the World Trade Organisation (1999) and the European Union (2004).

Religion

The population is mostly Christian (majority being Lutheran, Catholic and Russian Orthodox). Another religion is Dievturi (The Godkeepers), which has historical roots based on prechristian era mythology.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Latvia

Latvians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Only around 60% of the population are ethnic Latvians. Almost 29% are Russian which is the largest national minority in Latvia. In some cities (e.g. Daugavpils and Rēzekne) Latvians are even outnumbered by Russians. Minorities from other countries such as Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania etc. also live in Latvia. The ethnic mix of the population of Latvia is largely the result of massive immigration during the years of Soviet occupation, which resulted in a decline of the share of ethnic Latvians from around 80% in 1935 to 52% in 1989.

Language

The state language of the Republic of Latvia is Latvian. The Latvian language belongs to the Baltic language group of the Indo-European language family and is neither Germanic or Slavic. Russian is widely spoken among the Russian community.

Culture

• List of famous Latvians
• Latvian mythology
• Music of Latvia
• Cuisine of Latvia

International rankings

• Reporters Without Borders world-wide press freedom index 2004: Rank 10 out of 167 countries
• Environmental Sustainability Index 2002 Rank 10 out of all countries

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Latvia
• Holidays in Latvia
• Transportation in Latvia
• Military of Latvia
• Foreign relations of Latvia
• List of cities in Latvia
• National Roads in Latvia
• Tourism in the Baltics
• Sports in Latvia
• Regions of Latvia

External links

Government

• The Latvian President's Chancery
• The Cabinet of Ministers
• The Latvian Parliament (Saeima)
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Other

• The Latvian Institute - The Latvian Institute [New Website]
• The Latvian Institute - The Latvian Institute - factual materials about Latvia in several languages (en, de, fr, fi, se, ru) [Old Website]
• Latvian Folklore
• Welcome to Latvia - A collection of Latvian links
• Latvians Online - Online Latvian community, oriented towards Latvians living abroad
• latvians.com - Latvian identity in exile
• Toronto Zinas - World's only bilingual Latvian e-zine
• Wikitravel guide
• http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/Latvia/
• websites in Latvian language
• images of Latvia
• politika.lv independent public policy website, the largest on-line resource on policy issues of Latvia