Country

- Area: 64,589 km²
- Borders: 343 km with Estonia, 282 km with Russia, 176 km with Belarus and 576 km with Lithuania
- Baltic Coast: 494 km
- Highest point: Gaizinkalns (312 m)
- Capital: Riga (770,000 inhabitants)

- Forests: 41% of the territory
- Lakes: 2256 of at least 1 ha.
- Rivers: The Daugava (1005 km, including 352 in Latvia) and the Gauja (452 km)

- Regime: Parliamentary democratic republic, independent since 1990
- National Day: November 18th
- Constitution: February 15th, 1922, suspended during the Soviet occupation and reinstated July 6th, 1993
- President of the Republic: Valdis Zalters since May 31st, 2007
- Entry into the European Union: 2004


Population

- 2,294,600 inhabitants (2007)
- Composition: 59% Latvians, 28.3% Russians, 3.7% Belarusians, 2.5% Ukrainians, 2.4% Polish
- Life expectancy: 65.9 years for men, 76.8 years for women
- Birth rate: 9.7 ‰
- Death rate: 14.5 ‰
- Density: 35.3 inhabitants per km²
- Diaspora: about 250 000 Latvians living abroad
- Religion: Lutheran (25%), Catholics (24%) and Orthodox (17%)


Economy

- GDP per capita: $ 17,800 (2008)
- Public debt: 32% (2009)
- Unemployment: 18.9% (2009)
- Currency: LVL 1 = 1 € 42 Lv
- Average salary: 500 €
- Agriculture: 15% of the workforce, 5% of GNP of the country
- Energy and Industry: 25% of the workforce, 24% of the Gross National
- Services: 60% of the workforce, 71% of the Gross National