Geography

Area	64.589 km2
Population	About 2,281 millions, Latvians 58%, Russians 30%, Belarusians 4%, less Ukrainians and Poles
Borders	Estonia 343 km, Russia 282 km, Belarus 167 km, Lithuania 576 km
Capital	Riga
Degree of Urbanisation	60%
Language	Latvian (official), Russian, English is also widely spoken
Time zone	Central European Time + 1 hour
Structure	26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities
Religion	Evangelical Lutheran 55%, Catholics 24%, Russian-Orthodox 9%
Nature	Low plain, most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east
Climate	Transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers.

Politics

State	Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika)
Form of government	Parliamentary democracy
National day	Independence Day, 18 November (1918)
Head of the State	Valdis Zatlers
Prime Minister	Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis
Parliament	Unicameral Parliament or Saeima (10 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Economy

Currency	1 Lats (Ls)= 100 Santims
GDP (06)	16 billion EUR
GDP per capita (06)	EUR 7002
GDP growth (06)	11,9%
Inflation (average,5 years)	6.9%
External trade (06)	Exports: 4683,98 million EUR; wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals and metl products, textiles, foodstuffs Imports: 9051,94 million EUR; machinery and mechanical equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles, mineral products
Unemployment rate (06)	6,8%
Major industries	Buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note - dependent on imports for energy and raw materials