| Republic of Latvia Latvijas Republika |
|---|
|
Anthem: Dievs, svētī Latviju!
God Bless Latvia!
|
|
Capital
(and largest city) | Riga
56°57′N24°6′E / 56.95°N 24.1°E / 56.95; 24.1 |
| Official language(s) | Latvian |
|---|
| Ethnic groups (2011) | 62.1% Latvians,
26.9% Russians,
3.3% Belarusians,
2.2% Ukrainians,
2.2% Poles,
1.2% Lithuanians,
2.1% others and unspecified[1][2] |
| Demonym | Latvian |
|---|
| Government | Parliamentary republic |
|---|
| - | President | Andris Bērziņš |
| - | Prime Minister | Valdis Dombrovskis |
| Legislature | Saeima |
|---|
| Independence | from Russia |
|---|
| - | Declared1 | November 18, 1918 |
| - | Recognized | January 26, 1921 |
| - | Soviet occupation | August 5, 1940 |
| - | Nazi German occupation | July 10, 1941 |
| - | Soviet occupation | 1944 |
| - | Announced | May 4, 1990 |
| - | Restored | August 21, 1991[3] |
| Area |
|---|
| - | Total | 64,589 km2 (124th)
24,938 sq mi |
| - | Water (%) | 1.57% (1,014 km2) |
| Population |
|---|
| - | 2012 estimate | 2,217,053[4] (143rd) |
| - | 2011 census | 2,070,371[5] |
| - | Density | 34.3/km2 (166th)
88.9/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate |
| - | Total | $34.921 billion[6] |
| - | Per capita | $15,662[6] |
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate |
| - | Total | $28.252 billion[6] |
| - | Per capita | $12,671[6] |
| Gini (2010) | 35.2 (medium) |
| HDI (2011) |  0.805[7] (very high) (43rd) |
| Currency | Lats (Ls) (LVL) |
|---|
| Time zone | EET(UTC+2) |
|---|
| - | Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Drives on the | right |
|---|
| ISO 3166 code | LV |
|---|
| Internet TLD | .lv |
|---|
| Calling code | +371 |
|---|
| 1 Latvia is de jure continuous with its declaration November 18, 1918. |
![Location of Latvia (dark green)– in Europe (green & dark grey)– in the European Union (green) — [Legend]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EU-Latvia.svg)
0.805