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Riga
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
57 00 N, 25 00 E
total: 64,589 sq km
water: 1,000 sq km
land: 63,589 sq km
total: 1,150 km
border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania
453 km, Russia 217 km
531 km
maritime; wet, moderate winters
low plain
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m
peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land
arable land: 29.01%
permanent crops: 0.48%
other: 70.51% (1998 est.)
200 sq km
note: land in Latvia is often too wet, and in need of drainage,
not irrigation; approximately 16,000 sq km or 85% of agricultural
land has been improved by drainage (1998 est.)
200 sq km
note: land in Latvia is often too wet, and in need of drainage,
not irrigation; approximately 16,000 sq km or 85% of agricultural
land has been improved by drainage (1998 est.)
N/A
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2,245,423 (July 2008 est.)
0-14 years: 13.4% (male 154,077/female 146,825)
15-64 years: 69.7% (male 760,976/female 803,106)
65 years and over: 16.9% (male 124,658/female 255,781) (2008 est.)
total: 39.9 years
male: 36.9 years
female: 43 years (2008 est.)
-0.629% (2008 est.)
9.62 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
13.63 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
-2.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
total: 8.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.85 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
total population: 71.88 years
male: 66.68 years
female: 77.35 years (2008 est.)
1.29 children born/woman (2008 est.)
noun: Latvian(s)
adjective: Latvian
Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%,
Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)
Lutheran 19.6%, Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7% (2006)
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.7% (2000 census)
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conventional long form: Republic of Latvia
conventional short form: Latvia
local short form: Latvija
former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
local long form: Latvijas Republika
parliamentary democracy
21 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 is the date
Latvia declared itself independent from Soviet Russia; 4 May 1990 is when
it declared the renewal of independence; 21 August 1991 is the date of de
facto independence from the Soviet Union
the 1991 Constitutional Law, which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides
for basic rights and freedoms
based on civil law system
18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens
three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon
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Latvia's economy experienced GDP growth of more than 10% per year during 2006-07. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized, although the state still holds sizable stakes in a few large enterprises. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999. EU membership, a top foreign policy goal, came in May 2004. The current account deficit - more than 22% of GDP in 2007 - and inflation - at nearly 10% per year - remain major concerns.
Latvian lat (LVL)
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 and raw materials
wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles
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644,000 (2007)
2.217 million (2007)
general assessment: recent efforts focused on bringing competition to the telecommunications sector; the number of fixed lines is decreasing as wireless telephone service expands
domestic: number of telecommunications operators has grown rapidly since the fixed-line market opened to competition in 2003; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 125 per 100 persons
international: country code - 371; the Latvian network is now connected via fiber optic cable to Estonia, Finland, and Sweden (2007)
AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998)
44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995)
.lv
220,082 (2008)
1.177 million (2007)
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total: 2,303 km
broad gauge: 2,270 km 1.520-m gauge (257 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (2006)
total: 69,675 km
paved: 69,675 km (2006) )
300 km (perennially navigable)
gas 1,097 km; oil 412 km; refined products 421 km (2003)
Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils
42 (2007)
21
21
(Facts from the CIA
Factbook)
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