"text":"Several eastern Baltic tribes merged in medieval times to form the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 26% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone in 2014."
"text":"land in Latvia is often too wet and in need of drainage not irrigation; approximately 16,000 sq km or 85% of agricultural land has been improved by drainage (2012)"
"text":"largest concentration of people is found in and around the port and capital city of Riga; small agglomerations are scattered throughout the country"
"text":"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"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"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":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the east"
"text":"-6.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Population distribution":{
"text":"largest concentration of people is found in and around the port and capital city of Riga; small agglomerations are scattered throughout the country"
"text":"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.)"
"text":"Independence 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"
"text":"several previous (pre-1991 independence); note - following the restoration of independence in 1991, parts of the 1922 constitution were reinforced and fully reinforced 6 July 1993; amended several times, last in 2014 (2016)"
"text":"Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by Parliament"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"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"
"text":"unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 4 October 2014 (next to be held in October 2018)"
"text":"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"
"text":"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":{
"text":"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"
"text":"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 [Solvita ABOLTINA]"
"text":"Embassy of the United States of America, 1 Samnera Velsa St, Riga, LV-1510, Latvia"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[371] 6710-7000"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[371] 6710-7050"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"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"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"white wagtail (bird); national colors: maroon, white"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Dievs, sveti Latviju!\" (God Bless Latvia)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Karlis BAUMANIS"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1920, restored 1990; first performed in 1873 while Latvia was a part of Russia; banned during the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1990"
"text":"Latvia is a small, open economy with exports contributing nearly a third of GDP. Due to its geographical location, transit services are highly-developed, along with timber and wood-processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronics industries. Corruption continues to be an impediment to attracting foreign direct investment and Latvia's low birth rate and decreasing population are major challenges to its long-term economic vitality. ++ ++ Latvia's economy experienced GDP growth of more than 10% per year during 2006-07, but entered a severe recession in 2008 as a result of an unsustainable current account deficit and large debt exposure amid the softening world economy. Triggered by the collapse of the second largest bank, GDP plunged 18% in 2009. The economy has not returned to pre-crisis levels despite strong growth, especially in the export sector in 2011-14. ++ ++ The IMF, EU, and other international donors provided substantial financial assistance to Latvia as part of an agreement to defend the currency's peg to the euro in exchange for the government's commitment to stringent austerity measures. The IMF/EU program successfully concluded in December 2011. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized, although the state still holds sizable stakes in a few large enterprises, including 99.8% ownership of the Latvian national airline. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999 and the EU in May 2004. Latvia joined the euro zone in 2014."
"text":"data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities, including sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government, and social security funds"
"text":"recent efforts focused on bringing competition to the telecommunications sector; the number of fixed lines is decreasing as mobile-cellular telephone service expands"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"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"
"text":"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)"
"text":"gas 928 km; refined products 415 km (2013)"
},
"Railways":{
"total":{
"text":"2,239 km"
},
"broad gauge":{
"text":"2,206 km 1.520-m gauge"
},
"narrow gauge":{
"text":"33 km 0.750-m gauge (2008)"
}
},
"Roadways":{
"total":{
"text":"72,440 km"
},
"paved":{
"text":"14,707 km"
},
"unpaved":{
"text":"57,733 km (2013)"
}
},
"Waterways":{
"text":"300 km (navigable year round) (2010)"
},
"Merchant marine":{
"total":{
"text":"11"
},
"by type":{
"text":"cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1"
},
"foreign-owned":{
"text":"3 (Estonia 3)"
},
"registered in other countries":{
"text":"79 (Antigua and Barbuda 16, Belize 9, Comoros 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 1, Liberia 5, Malta 8, Marshall Islands 19, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 15) (2010)"
"text":"National Armed Forces (Nacionalo Brunoto Speku): Land Forces (Latvijas Sauszemes Speki), Navy (Latvijas Juras Speki; includes Coast Guard (Latvijas Kara Flotes)), Latvian Air Force (Latvijas Gaisa Speki), Latvian Home Guard (Latvijas Zemessardze) (2011)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"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 (2012)"
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"0.91% of GDP (2014) ++ 0.99% of GDP (2013) ++ 0.92% of GDP (2012) ++ 1.05% of GDP (2011) ++ 0.92% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"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"
"text":"252,195 (2015); 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"
"text":"transshipment and destination point for cocaine, synthetic drugs, opiates, and cannabis from Southwest Asia, Western Europe, Latin America, and neighboring Balkan countries; despite improved legislation, vulnerable to money laundering due to nascent enforcement capabilities and comparatively weak regulation of offshore companies and the gaming industry; CIS organized crime (including counterfeiting, corruption, extortion, stolen cars, and prostitution) accounts for most laundered proceeds"
