Latvia

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 
+RankingsNameYearPlaceOut of #ReferenceCIA World Factbook – GDP per capita (PPP)200866th229 CIA World Factbook – life expectancy2008120th223 World Economic Forum – Enabling Trade Index ranking200843rd118 Yale University / Columbia University – Environmental Performance Index20088th149The Economist Intelligence Unit – e-readiness200837th70The Economist Intelligence Unit – Global Peace Index200839th140 United States Patent and Trademark Office's list of patents by country200795th172Save the Children – Mother's Index Rank200725th141 Save the Children – Women's Index Rank200721st141 Save the Children – Children's Index Rank200733rd141 Wall Street Journal / The Heritage Foundation – Index of Economic Freedom200739th157 United Nations – Human Development Index200844th179World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report 2007–2008200745th131World Economic Forum – The Global Gender Gap Report 2007200713th128 World Bank – Ease of Doing Business Index2007–200829th181Reporters Without Borders – Worldwide Press Freedom Index200712th169 Transparency International – Corruption Perceptions Index200749th180 The Economist Intelligence Unit – Index of Democracy200743rd167Privacy International – Privacy index (EU and 11 other selected countries)200628th36 New Economics Foundation – Happy Planet Index2006160th178 The Economist Intelligence Unit – Quality-of-life index200566th111Save the Children – % seats in the national government held by women200423–25th126 World Health Organization – suicide rates by country (both sexes)8th101NationMaster's index of civil and political liberties17th140

Related pages
 Latvia at the Olympics
 Latvia national football team
 List of rivers of Latvia

 References 

 Other websites 

 Latvian Government official site


Category:European Union member states
Category:1991 establishments in Europe