Latvia

Latvia is a country in Northern Europe. The capital is Riga. It is one of the Baltic States, together with Estonia in the north and Lithuania in the south. Latvia's neighbours to the east are the countries Russia and Belarus. Latvia is split into four parts called Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zemgale, and Latgale.

Republic of Latvia Latvijas Republika
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Dievs, svētī Latviju!   God Bless Latvia!
Location of  Latvia  (dark green) – on the European continent  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Riga
Official languages	Latvian
Ethnic groups (2011)	62.1% Latvians, 26.9% Russians, 3.4% Belarusians, 2.2% Ukrainians, 2.2% Poles, 1.2% Lithuanians, 2% others and unspecified
Demonym(s)	Latvian
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Egils Levits
• Prime Minister	Krišjānis Kariņš
Independence  from Germany and Russia
• Declared1	November 18, 1918
• Recognized	January 26, 1921
• Soviet occupation	August 5, 1940
• Nazi German occupation	July 10, 1941
• Soviet occupation	May 8, 1945
• Announced	May 4, 1990
• Restored	August 21, 1991
Area
• Total	64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi) (124th)
• Water (%)	1.57% (1,014 km2)
Population
• 2011 estimate	2,229,641 (143rd)
• 2000 census	2,377,383
• Density	34.3/km2 (88.8/sq mi) (166th)
GDP (PPP)	2010 estimate
• Total	$32.513 billion
• Per capita	$14,460
GDP (nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	$24.045 billion
• Per capita	$10,694
Gini (2003)	37.7 medium
HDI (2011)	0.805 very high · 43rd
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+371
ISO 3166 code	LV
Internet TLD	.lv
1 Latvia is de jure continuous with its declaration November 18, 1918.

People from Latvia are called Latvians. They speak the Latvian language, which is a little like the Lithuanian language, though not close enough to be understood.

History

Latvia was settled by the Baltic tribes thousands of years ago. They mainly fished, hunted, and traded.

German traders and crusaders came to Latvia at the end of the 12th century. Latvians lost control of their homeland. Over the next 800 years, Germans, Danes, Swedes, Poles, and Russians all invaded Latvia. Latvia finally became independent in 1918.

The Soviet Union invaded Latvia during World War II and killed or took away many of its people to Siberia and other places far away from their homes. The Soviet Union then invaded again and occupied Latvia until 1991, when the Soviet Union fell apart and Latvia became an independent country again.

Politics

In Copenhagen on 13 December 2002, Latvia and nine other countries were invited to join the European Union. On 20 September 2003, Latvians held an election to vote on joining. Two thirds of Latvians voted to join, and on 1 May 2004 Latvia became a member of the EU.

Latvia has been a NATO member since 29 March, 2004.

International rankings

Rankings

Name	Year	Place	Out of #	Reference
CIA World Factbook – GDP per capita (PPP)	2008	66th	229	[1]
CIA World Factbook – life expectancy	2008	120th	223	[2]
World Economic Forum – Enabling Trade Index ranking	2008	43rd	118	[3]
Yale University / Columbia University – Environmental Performance Index	2008	8th	149	[4]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – e-readiness	2008	37th	70	[5]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – Global Peace Index	2008	39th	140	[6]
United States Patent and Trademark Office's list of patents by country	2007	95th	172	[7]
Save the Children – Mother's Index Rank	2007	25th	141	[8]
Save the Children – Women's Index Rank	2007	21st	141	[9]
Save the Children – Children's Index Rank	2007	33rd	141	[10]
Wall Street Journal / The Heritage Foundation – Index of Economic Freedom	2007	39th	157	[11]
United Nations – Human Development Index	2008	44th	179	[12]
World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report 2007–2008	2007	45th	131	[13]
World Economic Forum – The Global Gender Gap Report 2007	2007	13th	128	[14]
World Bank – Ease of Doing Business Index	2007–2008	29th	181	[15]
Reporters Without Borders – Worldwide Press Freedom Index	2007	12th	169	[16]
Transparency International – Corruption Perceptions Index	2007	49th	180	[17]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – Index of Democracy	2007	43rd	167	[18]
Privacy International – Privacy index (EU and 11 other selected countries)	2006	28th	36	[19]
New Economics Foundation – Happy Planet Index	2006	160th	178	[20]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – Quality-of-life index	2005	66th	111	[21]
Save the Children – % seats in the national government held by women	2004	23–25th	126	[22]
World Health Organization – suicide rates by country (both sexes)		8th	101	[23]
NationMaster's index of civil and political liberties		17th	140	[24]

Related pages

• Latvia at the Olympics
• Latvia national football team
• List of rivers of Latvia

Other websites

• Latvian Government official site