Latvia

total:

64,589 sq km

land:

62,249 sq km

water:

2,340 sq km

country comparison to the world: 125

total:

1,370 km

border countries (4):

Belarus 161 km, Estonia 333 km, Lithuania 544 km, Russia 332 km

territorial sea:

12 nm

exclusive economic zone:

limits as agreed to by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Russia

continental shelf:

200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation

mean elevation:

87 m

elevation extremes:

lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m

highest point:

Gaizina Kalns 312 m

agricultural land:

29.2%;

• arable land 18.6%;
• permanent crops 0.1%;
• permanent pasture 10.5%

forest:

54.1%

other:

16.7% (2011 est.)

• Latvia's environment has benefited from a shift to service industries after the country regained independence;
• improvements have occurred in drinking water quality, sewage treatment, household and hazardous waste management, as well as reduction of air pollution

party to:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Latvian(s)

adjective:

Latvian

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.79 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.48 male(s)/female

total population:

0.85 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

vectorborne diseases:

tickborne encephalitis (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of Latvia

conventional short form:

Latvia

local long form:

Latvijas Republika

local short form:

Latvija

former:

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

etymology:

the name "Latvia" originates from the ancient Latgalians, one of four eastern Baltic tribes that formed the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.)

name:

Riga

geographic coordinates:

56 57 N, 24 06 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• Independence Day (Republic of Latvia Proclamation Day), 18 November (1918);
• note - 18 November 1918 was the date Latvia established its statehood and its concomitant independence from Soviet Russia;
• 4 May 1990 was the date it declared the restoration of Latvian statehood and its concomitant independence from the Soviet Union

history:

• several previous (pre-1991 independence);
• note - following the restoration of independence in 1991, parts of the 1922 constitution were reintroduced 4 May 1990 and fully reintroduced 6 July 1993

amendments:

• proposed by two-thirds of Parliament members or by petition of one-tenth of qualified voters submitted through the president;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of Parliament in each of three readings;
• amendment of constitutional articles including national sovereignty, language, the parliamentary electoral system, and constitutional amendment procedures requires passage in a referendum by majority vote of at least one-half of the electorate;
• amended several times, last in 2014 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Latvia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Raimonds VEJONIS (since 8 July 2015)

head of government:

Prime Minister Maris KUCINSKIS (since 11 February 2016); Deputy Prime Minister Arvils ASERADENS (since 11 February 2016)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by Parliament

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by Parliament for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 3 June 2015 (next to be held in 2019);
• prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by Parliament

election results:

Raimonds VEJONIS elected president; Parliament vote - Raimonds VEJONIS 55 of 100

description:

unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 4 October 2014 (next to be held in October 2018)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - SC 23%, Unity 21.9%, ZZS 19.5%, NA 16.6%, NSL 6.9%, LRA 6.7%, other 5.4%;
• seats by party - SC 24, Unity 23, ZZS 21, NA 17, LRA 8, NSL 7

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the Senate with 27 judges and Supreme Court of Chambers with 22 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 7 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges nominated by chief justice and confirmed by the Saeima;
• judges serve until age 70, but term can be extended 2 years;
• Constitutional Court judges - 3 nominated by Saeima members, 2 by Cabinet ministers, and 2 by plenum of Supreme Court;
• all judges confirmed by Saeima majority vote;
• Constitutional Court president and vice president serve in their positions for 3 years;
• all judges serve 10-year terms;
• mandatory retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

district (city) and regional courts

• Alliance of Regions or LRA [Martins BONDARS]
• For Latvia from the Heart or NSL [Inguna SUDRABA]
• Social Democratic Party "Harmony" or SC [Nils USAKOVS]
• National Alliance "All For Latvia!"-"For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK" or NA [Gaidis BERZINS, Raivis DZINTARS]
• Union of Greens and Farmers or ZZS [Augusts BRIGMANIS]
• Unity [Andris PIEBALGS]

• Latvian Employers' Confederation or LDDK [Vitalijs GAVRILOVS]
• Farmers' Parliament or ZSA [Juris LAZDINS]
• Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia or LBAS [Egils BALDZENS]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Andris TEIKMANIS (since 16 September 2016)

chancery:

2306 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 328-2840

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-2860

chief of mission:

Ambassador Nancy Bikoff PETTIT (since 8 September 2015)

embassy:

1 Samnera Velsa St, Riga LV-1510

mailing address:

Embassy of the United States of America, 1 Samnera Velsa St, Riga, LV-1510, Latvia

telephone:

[371] 6710-7000

FAX:

[371] 6710-7050

• three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon;
• the flag is one of the older banners in the world;
• a medieval chronicle mentions a red standard with a white stripe being used by Latvian tribes in about 1280

name:

"Dievs, sveti Latviju!" (God Bless Latvia)

lyrics/music:

Karlis BAUMANIS

note: adopted 1920, restored 1990; first performed in 1873 while Latvia was a part of Russia; banned during the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1990

• grain, rapeseed, potatoes, vegetables;
• pork, poultry, milk, eggs;
• fish

agriculture:

7.7%

industry:

24.1%

services:

68.1% (2016 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.2%

highest 10%:

26.3% (2015)

general assessment:

• recent efforts focused on bringing competition to the telecommunications sector;
• the number of fixed lines is decreasing as mobile-cellular 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 roughly 150 per 100 persons

international:

country code - 371; the Latvian network is now connected via fiber-optic cable to Estonia, Finland, and Sweden (2016)

• several national and regional commercial TV stations are foreign-owned, 2 national TV stations are publicly owned;
• system supplemented by privately owned regional and local TV stations;
• cable and satellite multi-channel TV services with domestic and foreign broadcasts available;
• publicly owned broadcaster operates 4 radio networks with dozens of stations throughout the country;
• dozens of private broadcasters also operate radio stations (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

3; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 47

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,527,368

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

2,277,996 mt-km (2015)

total:

2,239 km

broad gauge:

2,206 km 1.520-m gauge

narrow gauge:

33 km 0.750-m gauge (2008)

country comparison to the world: 68

total:

72,440 km

paved:

14,707 km

unpaved:

57,733 km (2013)

country comparison to the world: 65

• 18 years of age for voluntary male and female military service;
• no conscription;
• under current law, every citizen is entitled to serve in the armed forces for life (2016)

• Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians in Latvia;
• boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania;
• the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights;
• as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Latvia has implemented the strict Schengen border rules with Russia

stateless persons:

• 242,736 (2016);
• note - individuals who were Latvian citizens prior to the 1940 Soviet occupation and their descendants were recognized as Latvian citizens when the country's independence was restored in 1991;
• citizens of the former Soviet Union residing in Latvia who have neither Latvian nor other citizenship are considered non-citizens (officially there is no statelessness in Latvia) and are entitled to non-citizen passports;
• children born after Latvian independence to stateless parents are entitled to Latvian citizenship upon their parents' request;
• non-citizens cannot vote or hold certain government jobs and are exempt from military service but can travel visa-free in the EU under the Schengen accord like Latvian citizens;
• non-citizens can obtain naturalization if they have been permanent residents of Latvia for at least five years, pass tests in Latvian language and history, and know the words of the Latvian national anthem