| Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania |
| Geographic coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Map references | Europe |
| Area | total: 64,589 sq km land: 62,249 sq km water: 2,340 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,370 km border countries (4): Belarus 161 km, Estonia 333 km, Lithuania 544 km, Russia 332 km |
| Coastline | 498 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: limits as agreed to by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Russia continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | maritime; wet, moderate winters |
| Terrain | low plain |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Gaizina Kalns 312 m lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m mean elevation: 87 m |
| Natural resources | peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, timber, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 29.2% (2018 est.) arable land: 18.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 10.5% (2018 est.) forest: 54.1% (2018 est.) other: 16.7% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 12 sq km (2012) note: 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 |
| Total renewable water resources | 34.94 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | large percentage of agricultural fields can become waterlogged and require drainage |
| Geography - note | most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the east |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
