# Latvia

| Republic of Latvia*Latvijas Republika* |
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Flag

Coat of arms

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| **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] |
| Capitaland largest city | Riga ﻿ / ﻿ |
| Official languages | Latvian |
| Recognised languages | Russian |
| Recognised regional languages | * Latgalian
* Livonian
 |
| Spoken languages | Latvian, Russian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Polish, Romani |
| 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  | Edgars Rinkēvičs |
| • Prime Minister  | Andris Kulbergs |
| • Speaker of the Saeima  | Daiga Mieriņa |
|  |
| Independence from Germany and Russia |
|  |
| • Declared1 | 18 November 1918 |
| • Recognized  | 26 January 1921 |
| • Soviet occupation  | 5 August 1940 |
| • Nazi German occupation  | 10 July 1941 |
| • Soviet occupation  | 8 May 1945 |
| • Announced  | 4 May 1990 |
| • Restored  | 21 August 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 18 November 1918. |

**Latvia** (Latvian: *Latvija*), officially the **Republic of Latvia** (*Latvijas Republika*), 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 divided into four parts: Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zemgale, and Latgale.

People from Latvia are called Latvians. They speak the Latvian language, which is a little like the Lithuanian language but is not close enough to be understood. There are other peoples that live in Latvia, including the Germans and the Russians.

## 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.

Between the 13th and the 15th centuries, the Teutonic Knights had a state that occupied Latvian territory.

Before World War I, the aristocracy was mainly German.

During the Great Northern War from 1700 to 1721, what is now Latvia became the part of the Russian Empire and were organized as Courland and Livonia.

Latvian workers took part in the revolutionary struggle in 1905.

In 1940, Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union. It was briefly under German occupation during World War II in from 1941 to 1944.

After the war, many factories were opened. Latvia became one of the more successful Soviet republics.

In 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed, and Latvia had its independence restored.

## 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.

There are 43 local government units, set up in 2020. 36 are municipalities (Latvian: *novadi*) and 7 state cities. Before 2020 there were 110 municipalities and nine republic cities.

## International rankings

**Rankings**| Name | Year | Place | Out of # | Reference |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CIA World Factbook – GDP per capita (PPP) | 2008 | 66th | 229 |  Archived 2013-04-24 at the Wayback Machine |
| CIA World Factbook – life expectancy | 2008 | 120th | 223 |  Archived 2018-12-26 at the Wayback Machine |
| World Economic Forum – Enabling Trade Index ranking | 2008 | 43rd | 118 |  Archived 2018-12-25 at the Wayback Machine |
| Yale University / Columbia University – Environmental Performance Index | 2008 | 8th | 149 |  |
| The Economist Intelligence Unit – *e-readiness* | 2008 | 37th | 70 |  |
| The Economist Intelligence Unit – Global Peace Index | 2008 | 39th | 140 |  Archived 2009-11-25 at the Wayback Machine |
| United States Patent and Trademark Office's list of patents by country | 2007 | 95th | 172 |  |
| Save the Children – Mother's Index Rank | 2007 | 25th | 141 |  Archived 2010-07-05 at the Wayback Machine |
| Save the Children – Women's Index Rank | 2007 | 21st | 141 |  Archived 2010-07-05 at the Wayback Machine |
| Save the Children – Children's Index Rank | 2007 | 33rd | 141 |  Archived 2010-07-05 at the Wayback Machine |
| Wall Street Journal / The Heritage Foundation – Index of Economic Freedom | 2007 | 39th | 157 |  Archived 2008-02-13 at the Wayback Machine |
| United Nations – Human Development Index | 2008 | 44th | 179 |  |
| World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report 2007–2008 | 2007 | 45th | 131 |  |
| World Economic Forum – The Global Gender Gap Report 2007 | 2007 | 13th | 128 |  Archived 2008-11-03 at the Wayback Machine |
| World Bank – Ease of Doing Business Index | 2007–2008 | 29th | 181 |  |
| Reporters Without Borders – Worldwide Press Freedom Index | 2007 | 12th | 169 |  Archived 2010-01-18 at the Wayback Machine |
| Transparency International – Corruption Perceptions Index | 2007 | 49th | 180 |  Archived 2019-01-10 at the Wayback Machine |
| The Economist Intelligence Unit – Index of Democracy | 2007 | 43rd | 167 |  |
| Privacy International – Privacy index (EU and 11 other selected countries) | 2006 | 28th | 36 |  Archived 2012-01-10 at the Wayback Machine |
| New Economics Foundation – Happy Planet Index | 2006 | 160th | 178 |  Archived 2009-05-25 at the Wayback Machine |
| The Economist Intelligence Unit – Quality-of-life index | 2005 | 66th | 111 |  |
| Save the Children – % seats in the national government held by women | 2004 | 23–25th | 126 |  Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine |
| World Health Organization – suicide rates by country (both sexes) |  | 8th | 101 |  |
| NationMaster's index of civil and political liberties |  | 17th | 140 |  |

## Related pages

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

## Other websites

* Latvian Government official site