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General Information about Latvia
Geography
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
Geographic coordinates: 57 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 64,100 sq km
land: 64,100 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,150 km
border countries : Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km
Coastline: 531 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea : 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters
Terrain: low plain
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point : Gaizinkalns 312 m
Natural resources: minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite
Land use:
arable land: 27%
permanent crops : 0%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 46%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 160 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases
Environment - international agreements:
party to : Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
People
Population: 2,421,163 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 238,793; female 229,160)
15-64 years : 66% (male 762,635; female 836,839)
65 years and over: 15% (male 112,989; female 240,747) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: -1.56% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 8.21 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 15.72 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female
total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.91 years
male: 60.8 years
female: 73.33 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.21 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Latvian(s)
adjective: Latvian
Ethnic groups: Latvian 51.8%, Russian 33.8%, Byelorussian 4.5%, Ukrainian 3.4%, Polish 2.3%, other 4.2%
Religions: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox
Languages: Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population : 100%
male: 100%
female: 99% (1989 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Latvia
conventional short form: Latvia
local long form: Latvijas Republika
local short form: Latvija
former : Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Data code: LG
Government type: republic
National capital: Riga
Administrative divisions: 26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons, Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas Rajons, Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*, Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons, Preiju Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons
Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 November (1918)
Constitution: the 1991 Constitutional Law which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Guntis ULMANIS (since 7 July 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Vilis KRISTOPANS
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the Parliament
elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 7 July 1993 (next to be held by 20 June 1997); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Guntis ULMANIS elected president in the first round of balloting; percent of parliamentary vote - 53%
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections : last held 30 September-1 October 1995 (next to be held NA October 1998)
election results: percent of vote by party - Saimnieks 18%, LC 17%, For Latvia 16%, TB 14%, LNNK 8%, Unity 8%, LSZ/LKDS 7%, Harmony 6%, Socialist 6%; seats by party - Saimnieks 18, LC 17, For Latvia 16, TB 14, LNNK 8, Unity 8, LSZ/LKDS 7, Harmony 6, Socialist 6
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges' appointments are confirmed by the Parliament
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party "Saimnieks" or DPS [Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman]; Latvia's Way or LC [Valdis BIRKAVS]; For Latvia [Joachim SIEGERIST]; Fatherland and Freedom or TB [Maris GRINBLATS]; Latvian Unity Party or LVP [A. KAULS]; Latvian National Conservative Party or LNNK [Anna SEILE]; Green Party or LSZ [O. BATAREVSK]; Latvian Farmers Union or LZS [A. ROZENTALS]; Christian Democrat Union or LKDS [Maris VITOLDS]; National Harmony Party or TSP [Janis JURKANS]; Latvian Socialist Party or LSP [F. STROGANOVS]; Latvian Liberal Party or LLP [J. DANOSS]; Political Association of the Underprivileged or MPA [B. PELSE, V. DIMANTS, J. KALNINS]; Latvian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP [J. BOJARS]; Party of Russian Citizens or LKPP [V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV]; Peoples Front of Latvia or LTF [Uldis AUGSTKALNS]; Political Union of Economists or TPA [E. KIDE]; Latvian National Democratic Party or LNDP [A. MALINS]; "Our Land" or MZ [M. DAMBEKALNE]; Anticommunist Union or PA [P. MUCENIEKS]; Latvian Social-Democratic Workers Party or LSDSP; Party for the Defense of Latvia's Defrauded People; Latvian Independence Party or LNP [Valdis KONOVALOVS]
International organization participation: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ojars Eriks KALNINS
chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214
FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Larry C. NAPPER
embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga
mailing address: PSC 78, Box R, APO AE 09723
telephone: [371] (2) 210-005
FAX : [371] (2) 226-530
Flag description: three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon
Economy
Economy - overview: In the five years following the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, the Latvian economy has made substantial progress toward establishing a modern market economy and widening economic ties with the West. Two major long-term concerns are the growing trade deficit and the impact of organized crime. The economy in 1996 has largely recovered from the mid-1995 collapse of several commercial banks - including Latvia's large bank, Bank Baltija - and a severe government budget crisis. Prime Minister SKELE has stated that he expects the country's GDP to grow 5% in 1997 through the implementation of the government's new economic reform program. In December 1996, the government passed a balanced 1997 budget - its first - that SKELE predicts will reduce inflation to 10% to 12% in 1997. Unemployment, which has held steady at about 6% over the past two years, reached roughly 7.5% in 1996. One of SKELE's key objectives for 1997 is to speed up the privatization program, which has lagged behind other areas of reform.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.4 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,800 (1996 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry : 34%
services: 57% (1994)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 13.2% (1996 est.)
Labor force:
total: 1.268 million (1995)
by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture and forestry 16%, services 43% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1996 official est.)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures : $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products
Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1996 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 2.018 million kW (1993)
Electricity - production: 4.27 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 2,197 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; meat, milk, eggs; fish
Exports:
total value: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: machinery and equipment, timber, textiles, foodstuffs
partners : Russia, other CIS, Germany, Sweden, UK
Imports:
total value: $2.4 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities : fuels, machinery and equipment, chemicals
partners: Russia, other CIS, Germany, Sweden, UK, Finland
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $122 million (1993)
note: commitments from the West and international institutions, $525 million (1992-95)
Currency: 1 Latvian lat (LVL) = 100 santims; introduced NA March 1993
Exchange rates: lats (LVL) per US$1 - 0.563 (January 1997), 0.551 (1996), 0.528 (1995), 0.560 (1994), 0.675 (1993), 0.736 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 660,000 (1993 est.)
Telephone system: service is better than in most of the other former Soviet republics
domestic: an NMT-450 analog cellular telephone network covers 75% of Latvia's population
international: international traffic carried by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch, through the new Ericsson digital telephone exchange in Riga, and through the Finnish cellular net; Sprint data network carries electronic mail
Radio broadcast stations: 25 (unknown type)
Radios: 1.4 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 30
Televisions: 1.1 million (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 2,412 km
broad gauge: 2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992)
narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994)
Highways:
total: 60,046 km
paved: 22,998 km
unpaved: 37,048 km (1995 est.)
Waterways: 300 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils
Merchant marine:
total: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 491,582 GRT/639,414 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, oil tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 18, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7 (1996 est.)
Airports: 50 (1994 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 36
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 27 (1994 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m : 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 10 (1994 est.)
Military
Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 575,121 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 450,640 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 16,323 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: 176 million rubles (1994); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3% to 5% (1994)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: based on the 1920 Treaty of Riga, Latvia had claimed the Abrene/Pytalovo section of border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; disputes maritime border with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights)
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia; produces illicit amphetamines for export
Source: The CIA World Handbook, 1997
Return to SAPE's Guide to Latvia
SAPE, P.O. Box 319, Monroe, CT 06468-0319, USA