Situated in north-eastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia is geographically the middle of the three former Soviet Baltic republics.
It has language links with Lithuania to the south and historical and ecumenical ties with Estonia to the north.
Overview
Not much more than a decade after it declared independence following the collapse of the USSR, Latvia was welcomed as an EU member in May 2004. The move came just weeks after it joined Nato. These developments would have been extremely hard to imagine in not-so-distant Soviet times.
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For centuries Latvia was primarily an agricultural country, with seafaring, fishing and forestry as other important factors in its economy.
Latvia was under foreign dominion from the 13th until the 20th century. After the first world war it declared independence which Russia recognised in 1920.
Two decades later, following a pact between Stalin and Hitler, Soviet troops invaded in 1940 and Latvia was absorbed into the Soviet Union. Nazi forces pushed the Soviets back in 1941 but the Red Army returned in 1944 and remained for half a century.
During the Soviet period, which ended in 1991, Latvia underwent heavy industrialisation, and experienced a big influx of immigrants from other parts of the USSR, mainly Russia.
About a quarter of the population is Russian-speaking and the rights of this section of society have been a thorny issue since independence. Government reforms introduced in 2004 to restrict the use of the Russian language in schools remain controversial.
Legislation on citizenship was toughened up in 2006. Candidates who fail a Latvian language test three times will be denied citizenship. People without citizenship are entitled neither to vote nor to obtain an EU passport.
Like its Baltic neighbours, in the 10 years since independence Latvia has made a rapid transformation to embrace the free market.
Facts
- Full name:Republic of Latvia
- Population: 2.3 million (UN, 2007)
- Capital: Riga
- Area: 64,589 sq km (24,938 sq miles)
- Major languages: Latvian, Russian
- Major religion: Christianity
- Life expectancy: 67 years (men), 78 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 lats = 100 santims
- Main exports: Timber and wood products, fish and fish products
- GNI per capita:
US $9,930 (World Bank, 2007)
- Internet domain: .lv
- International dialling code: + 371
Leaders
President: Valdis Zatlers
Prime minister: Ivars Godmanis
Ivars Godmanis was voted in as head of a new four-party centre-right government in December 2007 - the country's 14th in 16 years - after the cabinet of outgoing PM Aigars Kalvitis resigned amid a series of scandals.
Ivars Godmanis seeks "European living standards" for Latvians
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Mr Godmanis was prime minister when Latvia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and interior minister in the outgoing government.
He returned as head of a cabinet that was virtually unchanged from its predecessor, with 15 out of 19 ministers regaining their posts.
Mr Godmanis said his priorities would include helping Latvia achieve "European living standards" within 10 years, and curb inflation, running at 13.7% in November 2007.
Media
Latvia's TV market is dominated by the commercial LNT, two networks operated by the national public broadcaster, commercial TV3 Latvia and the Baltic variants of the main Russian networks.
Dozens of stations sprang up after independence, but their numbers fell back after a broadcasting law was introduced in 1995.
Public radio and TV are financed by state subsidies and advertising revenue.
The media operate freely, with few legal restrictions on their work. A law provides prison terms for libel and incitement of racial hatred. A wide range of political viewpoints are represented by some 140 newspapers.
The press
Television
Radio
News agencies
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