Situated in northeastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia is geographically the middle of the three former Soviet Baltic republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The landscape of the country is marked by lowland plains and rolling hills. Most of the countryside is less than 100 meters above sea level. There are thousands of rivers and lakes in Latvia.

Geographical Facts About Latvia:

Area 64,589 km
Regions Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme, Latgale
Total Length of National Border 1,862 km
Length of Latvia’s Baltic coastline 494 km
Largest Lake Lubans (80.7 square km)
Deepest Lake Dridzis (65.1 meters)
Longest River in Latvia The Gauja (452 km)

Latvia Map

          Latvia's weather is governed by a moderate oceanic climate. Summer in Latvia is from June to August and winter is from December to February. The average summer temperature is 16°C and –4.5° in winter. The warmest month is July and the coldest is January.  

         Latvia is a country of magnificent and diverse natural landscapes. Forests cover 44% of the land. The larger forest tracts are to be found in the northern part of Kurzeme, where it is still possible to enjoy the beauty and uniqueness of nature untouched by man. Latvia is also know for having the largest otter population in Europe, and there is a much greater chance of seeing the rare black stork in Latvia's forests than in any other European country.

         The Latvian language is a Baltic language, which belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. The Latvian language is considered one of the oldest of the Indo-European languages. It is a non-Slavic and a non-Germanic language, similar only to Lithuanian.

Most common foreign languages in Latvia are: English, Russian, and German.

Type of government: Democratic, parliamentary republic.

Legislative power is in the hands of a single chamber parliament - the Saeima, consisting of 100 deputies. Parliamentary elections take place every 4 years.

The country's head of state is the President, who is elected by the Saeima for a period of 4 years. The President signs laws, chooses the Prime Minister (who heads the government) and performs representative functions.

Electoral system: proportional representation. There is universal suffrage for Latvian citizens over 18 years of age.

Latvia is a member of many organizations and councils, to list a few:

  • United Nations Organization

  • Council of Europe

  • World Trade Organization

  • Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

  •  Council of the Baltic Sea States

  • Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council

Ever since the restoration of independence back in 1991, Latvia plays an active role in world affairs. A key foreign policy goal is full membership in the European Union and NATO.

As of the end of  2004 Latvia’s population is estimated to be 2,351,400 with the following ethnic composition:

  • 57.6% Latvian

  • 29.6% Russian

  • 4.1% Belarusian

  • 2.7% Ukrainian

  • 2.5% Polish

  • 1.4% Lithuanian

  • 0.4% Jewish

  • 1.7% other nationalities

         The ethnic mix of the population of Latvia is largely the result of massive post-war immigration, which resulted in a decline in the share of ethnic Latvians from 77% in 1935 to 52% in 1989.

         The Latvian state guarantees free primary and secondary (high school) education. More than 90% of children attend state schools, which provide free education. 9 years of primary education are obligatory. The most of the students attend state-universities. Apart from state-financed educational institutions, there are also private schools and private universities in Latvia. Latvia also has state-financed ethnic minority schools or classes where courses are presented in Belarusian, Estonian, Gypsy, Hebrew, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian.

Latvia is a mix of many religious beliefs, the largest of which are, Evangelic Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox.

         Nearly one third of Latvia's population (788 thousand) lives in the capital city Riga. Riga, the oldest still existing medieval city, was founded in 1201. The value of Riga's cultural and historical significance has been recognized by the fact that its old city centre has been included in UNESCO's list of the world's most important cultural and natural sites.

Largest towns and cities: 

  • Riga

  • Daugavpils

  • Jelgava

  • Jurmala

  • Liepaja

  • Ventspils

  • Rezekne

  • Valmiera

  • Jekabpils

Nowadays there are 77 towns and cities are located within Latvia's borders. 23 cities have a population of over 10,000.

Latvia's three major ports are Ventspils, Riga and Liepaja.

Ventspils is the busiest port in the Baltic Sea region and is among the 15 leading European ports in terms of cargo turnover.

The most prospective production sectors:

  • Information technologies

  • Electronics and mechanical engineering

  • Chemical and pharmaceutical industries

  • Wood processing

  • Food processing industry

  • Textiles industry.

         Special economic zones: Ventspils Free Port, Liepaja Special Economic Zone, Rezekne Special Economic Zone. Incentives in special economic zones include 80-100% reduction in corporate, property and land taxes, full exemption from VAT and customs duties upon the import of goods into the zone from abroad.

The largest trade-partner: the European Union.

         Latvian national currency is the Lats (LVL), 1 Lats consists of 100 Santims. The Latvian currency has remained strong and secure since its inception in 1993. The stability of Lats is a result of covering the supply of the national currency with gold reserves, hard currency reserves, and investments in a diversified collection of foreign currencies.

November 18, the date of the proclamation of Latvia's independence.

Most important traditional festival

         The annual celebration of the summer solstice, known as Jani, is generally viewed as the most important Latvian holiday. Jani is celebrated on June 23 and 24. These days of celebration mark the summer solstice with a colorful array of ancient traditions whose origins date back thousands of years.

Writer: Rainis (real name: Janis Plieksans, 1865-1929), the most distinguished Latvian writer of all time who is the author of a number of poetry collections. Rainis is also acknowledged as the "Man of the 20th Century of Latvia".

Composers: Andrejs Jurjans (1856-1922) and Jazeps Vitols (1863-1948), the founders of the national style in the sphere of Latvian instrumental music.

Painters: Janis Rozentals (1866-1916) and Vilhelms Purvitis (1872-1945) are the most widely recognised Latvian painters. Janis Rozentals developed Latvian genre and portrait painting and Vilhelms Purvitis consistently turned to the genre of scenery painting and raised the standard of Latvian scenery painting in Europe.

Scientist: Davids Hieronims Grindelis (1776-1836), the first Latvian natural scientist, chemist, pharmacist and doctor.

Athletes: Janis Lusis (1939), the only athlete (javelin) in Latvia to have a complete Olympic medal set (gold, silver, bronze). Uljana Semjonova (1952), tallest female basketball player in the Olympic history, 3-time World Champion.