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LatviaLatviaThe '''Republic of Latvia''' (Latvian language|Latvian: ''Latvijas Republika''), or '''Latvia''' (Latvian language|Latvian: ''Latvija''), is a country in Northern Europe. Latvia has land borders with its two fellow Baltic states ? Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south ? and Russia and Belarus to the east. In the west Latvia shares a maritime border with Sweden. The capital of Latvia, Riga (Latvian language|Latvian: ''Rīga''), is the largest city in the Baltic States. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big><big>'''Latvijas Republika'''</big></big> | align="center" colspan="2"| {| border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="background:#f9f9f9; text-align:center;" | width="133px"| image:Latvia flag large.png|125px|Flag of Latvia || align=center width=133px| Image:Gerbonis.gif|100px|Latvia: Coat of Arms |- | align="center" width="140px" | (Flag of Latvia|Flag) | align="center" width="140px" | (Coat of Arms of Latvia|Coat of Arms) |- | width="130px"| |} |- | align=center colspan=2 | <small>''National motto: none''</small> |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background: #ffffff;" | image:LocationLatvia.png |- | '''Official language''' | Latvian language|Latvian |- | '''Capital and largest city''' | Riga|Rīga |- | '''List of Presidents of Latvia|President''' | Vaira Vike-Freiberga|Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga |- | '''Prime Minister of Latvia|Prime minister''' | Aigars Kalvitis|Aigars Kalvītis |- | '''Area'''<br/> - Total <br/> - % water | List of countries by area|Ranked 121st <br/>1 E10 m²|64,589 km² <br/> 1.5% |- | '''Population'''<br/> - Total (2005) <br/> - Population density|Density | List of countries by population|Ranked 137th<br/> 2,306,000 <br/> 35/km² |- | style="vertical-align: top;" | '''Independence'''<br/> - Declared<br/> - Recognised <br/> - Lost<br>'''Collapse of the Soviet Union|Independence'''<br> - Declared<br> - Recognised | From Imperial Russia<br/> 18 November 1918<br/> 11 August 1920<br />17 June 1940<br>From Soviet Union<br>4 May 1990<br>21 August 1991 |- | '''Currency''' | Lat|Lats (Ls) |- | '''Time zone'''<br/> - in European Summer Time|summer | Eastern European Time|EET (Coordinated Universal Time|UTC+2)<br/>Eastern European Summer Time|EEST (Coordinated Universal Time|UTC+3) |- | '''National anthem''' | ''Dievs, sveti Latviju|Dievs, svētī Latviju!'' |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' | .lv |- | '''List_of_country_calling_codes|Calling Code''' | +371 |} == History == ''Main article: History of Latvia'' Known for the most part as Livonia, the area that now constitutes Latvia was under the influence of the Germany|German Sword Brethren from the 13th century onward. However, in the 18th century|18th and 19th century, Russia gained control over Latvia and neighbouring regions. With Russia devastated by Russian Revolution|revolution and World War I, Latvia declared its independence on November 18 1918. During the 1920s and early 1930s, Latvia enjoyed an elected, republican government. Its constitution was adopted on February 15th, 1922. It acknowledged that the people were, themselves, sovereign, and provided for the proportional election of their representatives by all Latvians at least 21 years of age. As with most democratic governments, it was a multi-party system, with between 22 and 28 parties, at any given time, holding at least one seat in the parliament, called the Saeima. Governments (parliamentary governments refer to the administration in power as a "government", not to be confused with the formal entity running a given region, also called "government", such as the United States government) were usually organized by coalitions of parties, forming a large enough percentage to control the whole. This system was overthrown by its own Prime Minister, in a military coup in 1934. Latvia became an authoritarian state. Its independence lasted only briefly, as the Soviet Union annexed the country on 17 June 1940 in accordance to the Soviet-Nazi agreement (Ribbentrop-Molotov pact) of 1939. Except for a brief period of Nazi Germany|German occupation during World War II, Latvia remained a Soviet territory until reforms in Soviet communism such as glasnost stimulated the Latvian independence movement, and the country regained its independence on 21 August 1991. It has since recovered its links with the West and in 2004 became a member of both NATO and the European Union. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Latvia'' The 100-seat unicameral Latvian parliament, the ''Saeima'', is elected by direct, popular vote every four years. The president is elected by the ''Saeima'' in a separate election also every four years. The president invites a prime minister who, together with his cabinet (government)|cabinet, forms the executive branch of the government, which has to receive a confidence vote by the ''Saeima''. On 20 September 2003 in a nationwide referendum 66.9% of the Latvians voted in favour of joining the European Union. Latvia's EU membership took effect on 1 May 2004. Latvia is a NATO member since March 29 2004. == Counties == ''Main article: Counties of Latvia'' Latvia is divided into 26 counties called ''rajons''. 7 cities have a separate status. <table border="0"><tr><td> *Aizkraukle County *Aluksne County|Alūksne County *Balvi County *Bauska County *Cesis County|Cēsis County *Daugavpils *Daugavpils County *Dobele County *Gulbene County *Jekabpils County|Jēkabpils County *Jelgava *Jelgava County *Jurmala|Jūrmala *Kraslava County|Krāslava County *Kuldiga County|Kuldīga County *Liepaja|Liepāja *Liepaja County|Liepāja County </td><td valign="top"> *Limbazi County|Limba?i County *Ludza County *Madona County *Ogre County *Preili County|Preiļi County *Rezekne|Rēzekne *Rezekne County|Rēzekne County *Riga *Riga County *Saldus County *Talsi County *Tukums County *Valka County *Valmiera County *Ventspils *Ventspils County *Abrene region is sometimes considered as occupied part of Latvia; status undetermined. </td></tr></table> <div align="center">Image:Lg-map.gif|Map of Latvia with cities</div> == Geography == ''Main article: Geography of Latvia'' Large parts of Latvia are covered by forests, and the country has over 12,000 small rivers and over 3,000 lakes. Most of the country consists of fertile, low-lying plains with some hills in the east, the highest point being the Gaizinkalns|Gaiziņkalns at 312 m. An inlet of the Baltic Sea, the shallow Gulf of Riga is situated in the northwest of the country. The capital city Riga is located on the shores of this inlet, where the Daugava river flows into it. Other major cities include Daugavpils further upriver and Liepaja|Liepāja along the Baltic coast. The Latvian climate is maritime and temperate climate|temperate in nature, with cool summers and wet, moderate winters. Latvia is historically and culturally divided in four or five distinct regions, see regions of Latvia. == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Latvia'' Since year 2000 Latvia has had one of the highest GDP growth rates in Europe. In 2004, GDP growth was 8.5% and inflation was 6.2%. Unemployment was 8.5% in 2004, almost unchanged compared to the previous two years. Privatization is mostly complete, except for some of the large state-owned utilities. Latvia is a member of the World Trade Organisation (1999) and the European Union (2004). == Religion == The population is mostly Christian (majority being Lutheran, Catholic and Russian Orthodox). Another religion is Dievturi (The Godkeepers), which has historical roots based on prechristian era mythology. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Latvia'' Latvians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Only around 60% of the population are ethnic Latvians. Almost 29% are Russian which is the largest national minority in Latvia. In some major Latvian cities (e.g. Riga|Rīga, Daugavpils and Rezekne|Rēzekne) Latvians are even outnumbered by Russians. Minorities from other countries such as Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania etc. also live in Latvia. The ethnic mix of the population of Latvia is largely the result of massive immigration during the years of Soviet occupation, which resulted in a decline of the share of ethnic Latvians from around 80% in 1935 to 52% in 1989. [http://www.lka.edu.lv/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&topic=68] == Language == The state language of the Republic of Latvia is Latvian language|Latvian. The Latvian language belongs to the Baltic languages|Baltic language group of the Indo-European language family and is neither Germanic languages|Germanic or Slavic languages|Slavic. Russian language|Russian is widely spoken among the Russian community. == Culture == * List of famous Latvians * Latvian mythology * Music of Latvia * Cuisine of Latvia == International rankings == * Reporters Without Borders world-wide press freedom index 2004: Rank 10 out of 167 countries * [http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI/rank.html Environmental Sustainability Index 2002] Rank 10 out of all countries == Miscellaneous topics == * Communications in Latvia * Holidays in Latvia * Transportation in Latvia * Military of Latvia * Foreign relations of Latvia * List of cities in Latvia * National Roads in Latvia * Tourism in the Baltics * Sports in Latvia * Regions of Latvia == External links == === Government === * [http://www.president.lv/index.php?pid=210 The Latvian President's Chancery] * [http://www.mk.gov.lv/index.php/en The Cabinet of Ministers] * [http://www.saeima.lv/index_eng.html The Latvian Parliament (Saeima)] * [http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs] === Other === * [http://www.li.lv/en The Latvian Institute] - The Latvian Institute [New Website] * [http://www.li.lv/old The Latvian Institute] - The Latvian Institute - factual materials about Latvia in several languages (en, de, fr, fi, se, ru) [Old Website] * [http://folklora.lv/ Latvian Folklore] * [http://www.lv Welcome to Latvia] - A collection of Latvian links * [http://www.latviansonline.com Latvians Online] - Online Latvian community, oriented towards Latvians living abroad * [http://www.latvians.com latvians.com] - Latvian identity in exile * [http://www.torontozinas.com Toronto Zinas] - World's only bilingual Latvian e-zine * [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Latvia Wikitravel guide] * http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/Latvia/ * [http://dmoz.org/World/Latvian/ websites in Latvian language] * [http://www.travel-images.com/latvia.html images of Latvia] * [http://www.politika.lv/ politika.lv] independent public policy website, the largest on-line resource on policy issues of Latvia * [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/lg.html CIA World Factbook - Latvia] {{EU_countries}} {{NATO}} {{Europe}} Category:Latvia| Category:Republics Category:European Union member states af:Letland ar:لاتفيا bg:Латвия be:Латвія ca:Letònia cv:Латви cs:Lotyšsko cy:Latfia da:Letland de:Lettland et:Läti el:Λετονία es:Letonia eo:Latvio fr:Lettonie fy:Letlân gl:Letonia - Latvijas ko:라트비아 id:Latvia ia:Latvia is:Lettland it:Lettonia he:לטביה la:Lettonia lv:Latvija lt:Latvija lb:Lettland li:Letland hu:Lettország ms:Latvia zh-min-nan:Latvia nl:Letland nds:Lettland ja:ラトビア no:Latvia pl:Łotwa pt:Letónia ro:Letonia ru:Латвия simple:Latvia sk:Lotyšsko sl:Latvija fi:Latvia sv:Lettland tl:Latvia tt:Latvia uk:Латвія zh:拉脫維亞 First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Latvia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. 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