Compare Chile (2005) - Latvia (2004)

Compare Chile (2005) z Latvia (2004)

	Chile (2005)	Latvia (2004)

Administrative divisions	13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica	26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons, Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava, Jelgavas Rajons, Jurmala, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Liepaja, Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons, Preilu Rajons, Rezekne, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga, Rigas Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils, Ventspils Rajons
Age structure	0-14 years: 25.2% (male 2,062,735/female 1,970,913) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 5,320,870/female 5,342,771) 65 years and over: 8% (male 534,737/female 748,886) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 15% (male 177,223; female 169,241) 15-64 years: 69.2% (male 772,496; female 823,410) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 118,035; female 245,901) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	grapes, apples, pears, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool; fish; timber	grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
Airports	364 (2004 est.)	51 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 71 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 15 (2004 est.)	total: 27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 16 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 293 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 60 under 914 m: 217 (2004 est.)	total: 24 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 20 (2003 est.)
Area	total: 756,950 sq km land: 748,800 sq km water: 8,150 sq km note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez	total: 64,589 sq km land: 63,589 sq km water: 1,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana	slightly larger than West Virginia
Background	Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.	After a brief period of independence between the two World Wars, Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It 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 30% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
Birth rate	15.44 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	8.87 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $21.53 billion expenditures: $19.95 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.33 billion (2004 est.)	revenues: $3.691 billion expenditures: $3.871 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital	Santiago	Riga
Climate	temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south	maritime; wet, moderate winters
Coastline	6,435 km	531 km
Constitution	11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989, 1993, and 1997	15 February 1922; an October 1998 amendment on Fundamental Human Rights replaced the 1991 Constitutional Law, which had supplemented the constitution
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Chile conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile	conventional long form: Republic of Latvia conventional short form: Latvia local long form: Latvijas Republika local short form: Latvija former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency	-	Latvian lat (LVL)
Death rate	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	13.73 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$44.6 billion (2004 est.)	$6.793 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Craig A. KELLY embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago mailing address: APO AA 34033 telephone: [56] (2) 232-2600 FAX: [56] (2) 330-3710	chief of mission: Ambassador Catherine Todd-Bailey embassy: 7 Raina Boulevard, Riga LV-1510 mailing address: American Embassy Riga, PSC 78, Box Riga, APO AE 09723 telephone: [371] 703-6200 FAX: [371] 782-0047
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Andres BIANCHI chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746 FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)	chief of mission: Ambassador Maris RIEKSTINS chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214 FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785
Disputes - international	Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile to Bolivian gas and other commodities; Peru proposes changing its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims	the Russian Duma refuses to ratify boundary delimitation treaty with Latvia; the Latvian Parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights
Economic aid - recipient	ODA, $0 (2002)	$96.2 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth rebounded to 4.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.1% in 2001 and 2.1% in 2002, largely due to lackluster global growth and the devaluation of the Argentine peso. Chile's economy began a slow recovery in 2003, growing 3.2% and accelerated to 5.8% in 2004. GDP growth benefited from high copper prices, solid export earnings (particularly forestry, fishing, and mining), and stepped-up foreign direct investment. Unemployment, however, remains stubbornly high. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004.	Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, largely due to the SKELE government's budget stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized, although the state still holds sizable stakes in a few large enterprises. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999. Preparing for EU membership continues as a top foreign policy goal. The current account and internal government deficits remain major concerns, but the government's efforts to increase efficiency in revenue collection may lessen the budget deficit.
Electricity - consumption	41.8 billion kWh (2002)	6.046 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	703 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	1.813 billion kWh (2002)	2.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	48.6 billion kWh (2004)	4.365 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m
Environment - current issues	widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage	Latvia's environment has benefited from a shift to service industries after the country regained independence; the main environmental priorities are improvement of drinking water quality and sewage system, household and hazardous waste management, and reduction of air pollution; in 2001, Latvia closed the EU accession negotiation chapter on environment committing to full enforcement of EU environmental directives by 2010
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Ethnic groups	white and white-Amerindian 95%, Amerindian 3%, other 2%	Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)
Exchange rates	Chilean pesos per US dollar - 609.37 (2004), 691.43 (2003), 688.94 (2002), 634.94 (2001), 539.59 (2000)	lati per US dollar - 0.5715 (2003), 0.6182 (2002), 0.6279 (2001), 0.6065 (2000), 0.5852 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 12 December 1999, with runoff election held 16 January 2000 (next to be held December 2005) election results: Ricardo LAGOS Escobar elected president; percent of vote - Ricardo LAGOS Escobar 51.32%, Joaquin LAVIN 48.68%	chief of state: President Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA (since 8 July 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Aigars KALVITIS (since 2 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the Parliament elections: president reelected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 20 June 2003 (next to be held by June 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA reelected president; parliamentary vote - Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA 88 of 94 votes cast
Exports	0 bbl/day (2003)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	copper, fruit, fish products, paper and pulp, chemicals, wine	wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners	US 14%, Japan 11.4%, China 9.9%, South Korea 5.5%, Netherlands 5.1%, Brazil 4.3%, Italy 4.1%, Mexico 4% (2004)	UK 15.6%, Germany 14.8%, Sweden 10.5%, Lithuania 8.2%, Estonia 6.6%, Denmark 6%, Russia 5.4% (2003)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence; design was influenced by the US flag	three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $23.9 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 6.3% industry: 38.2% services: 55.5% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 4.5% industry: 24.5% services: 70.9% (2003)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $10,200 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.8% (2004 est.)	7.4% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	30 00 S, 71 00 W	57 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions	most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east
Highways	total: 79,605 km paved: 16,080 km (including 407 km of expressways) unpaved: 63,525 km (2001)	total: 73,202 km paved: 28,256 km unpaved: 44,946 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 47% (2000)	lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 25.9% (1998)
Illicit drugs	important transshipment country for cocaine destined for Europe and the US; economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone, but a new anti-money-laundering law improves controls; imported precursors passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising	transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and Scandinavia and Latin American cocaine and some synthetics from Western Europe to CIS; vulnerable to money laundering despite improved legislation due to nascent enforcement capabilities and comparatively weak regulation of offshore companies, exchange firms, and the gaming industry; organized crime (including counterfeiting, corruption, extortion, stolen cars, and prostitution) accounts for most laundered proceeds
Imports	221,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, electrical and telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, vehicles, natural gas	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles
Imports - partners	Argentina 17%, US 14%, Brazil 11.2%, China 7.4% (2004)	Germany 16.1%, Lithuania 9.7%, Russia 8.7%, Finland 7.4%, Estonia 6.4%, Sweden 6.3%, Poland 5.1%, Italy 4.4% (2003)
Independence	18 September 1810 (from Spain)	21 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	7.8% (2004 est.)	8% (2003 est.)
Industries	copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles	buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note - dependent on imports for energy and raw materials
Infant mortality rate	total: 8.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 9.67 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.4% (2004 est.)	2.9% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	APEC, BIS, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	18,000 sq km (1998 est.)	200 sq km 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 (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; the president of the Supreme Court is elected by the 21-member court); Constitutional Tribunal	Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament)
Labor force	6.2 million (2004 est.)	1.18 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 13.6%, industry 23.4%, services 63% (2003)	agriculture 15%, industry 25%, services 60% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 6,171 km border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km	total: 1,150 km border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km
Land use	arable land: 2.65% permanent crops: 0.42% other: 96.93% (2001)	arable land: 29.67% permanent crops: 0.47% other: 69.86% (2001)
Languages	Spanish	Latvian (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other
Legal system	based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction note: Chile is in the process of completely overhauling its criminal justice system; a new, US-style adversarial system is being gradually implemented throughout the country with the final stage of implementation in the Santiago metropolitan region expected in June 2005	based on civil law system
Legislative branch	bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (48 seats, 38 elected by popular vote, 9 designated members, and 1 former president who has served a full six-year term and is senator for life); elected members serve eight-year terms (one-half elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPD 20 (PDC 12, PS 5, PPD 3), APC 16 (UDI 9, RN 7), independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPD 62 (PDC 24, PPD 21, PS 11, PRSD 6), UDI 35, RN 22, independent 1	unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - New Era 23.9%, PCTVL 18.9%, People's Party 16.7%, ZZS 9.5%, First Party 7.6%, LNNK 5.4%; seats by party - New Era 26, PCTVL 24, People's Party 21, ZZS 12, First Party 10, LNNK 7
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 76.58 years male: 73.3 years female: 80.03 years (2005 est.)	total population: 70.86 years male: 65.91 years female: 76.09 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.2% male: 96.4% female: 96.1% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
Map references	South America	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 725,216 GRT/954,519 DWT by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 6, chemical tanker 9, container 1, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 4 registered in other countries: 21 (2005)	total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 53,153 GRT/37,414 DWT by type: cargo 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Germany 1, Greece 1, Ukraine 1 registered in other countries: 96 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Army of the Nation, National Navy (includes naval air, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps), Chilean Air Force, Chilean Carabineros (National Police)	Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$3.42 billion (2004)	$87 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.8% (2004)	1.2% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 594,596 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 466,659 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 19,209 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 18 September (1810)	Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 is the date Latvia declared itself independent from Soviet Russia; 4 May 1990 is when it declared the renewal of independence; 21 August 1991 is the date of de facto independence from the Soviet Union
Nationality	noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean	noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian
Natural hazards	severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis	NA
Natural resources	copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower	peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-2.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,583 km; gas/lpg 42 km; liquid petroleum gas 539 km; oil 1,003 km; refined products 757 km (2004)	gas 1,097 km; oil 409 km; refined products 415 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Chile ("Alianza") or APC (including National Renewal or RN [Sebastian PINERA] and Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Pablo LONGUEIRA]); Coalition of Parties for Democracy ("Concertacion") or CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Adolfo ZALDIVAR], Socialist Party or PS [Gonzalo MARTNER], Party for Democracy or PPD [Victor BARRUETO], Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Orlando CANTUARIAS]); Communist Party or PC [Gladys MARIN]	Alliance of the Greens and Farmers Union or ZZS [Augusts BRIGMANIS (Farmer's Union); Indulis EMSIS (Green Party)]; First Party of Latvia [Ainars SLESERS]; For Human Rights in a United Latvia or PCTVL [Jakovs PLINERS]; For Our Latvia or ML [Rihards Jablokovs]; Latvian National Democratic Party or LNDP [Jevgenijs Osiopovs]; Latvian National Front [Aivars GARDA]; Latvian Social-Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDSP [Alfred RUBIKS]; Latvia's Way Union or LC; Light of Latgale or LG; New Era Party or JL [Einars REPSE]; New Politics Party or JP [Sergejs DOLGOPOLOVS]; People's Harmony Party or TSP [Janis JURKANS]; People's Party or TP [Atis SLAKTERIS]; Social Democratic Union or SDS [Egils BALDZENS]; Union for the Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK or TB/LNNK [Janis STRAUME]; United Social Democratic Welfare Party or SLP [Juris ZURAVLOVS]; United Republican Party of Latvia or LARP
Political pressure groups and leaders	revitalized university student federations at all major universities; Roman Catholic Church; United Labor Central or CUT includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations	Headquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools (SHTAB) [Aleksandr KAZAKOV]
Population	15,980,912 (July 2005 est.)	2,306,306 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	20.6% (2000)	NA
Population growth rate	0.97% (2005 est.)	-0.71% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Antofagasta, Arica, Huasco, Iquique, Lirquen, San Antonio, San Vicente, Valparaiso	Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils
Radio broadcast stations	AM 180 (eight inactive), FM 64, shortwave 17 (one inactive) (1998)	AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 6,585 km broad gauge: 2,831 km 1.676-m gauge (1,317 km electrified) narrow gauge: 3,754 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)	total: 2,303 km broad gauge: 2,270 km 1.520-m gauge (257 km electrified) narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish NEGL%	Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens
Telephone system	general assessment: modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities domestic: extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations international: country code - 56; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an international capability independent of the Moscow international switch; more facilities are being installed for individual use domestic: expansion underway in intercity trunk line connections, rural exchanges, and mobile systems; still many unsatisfied subscriber applications international: country code - 371; international connections are now available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling direct connections for most calls (1998)
Telephones - main lines in use	3.467 million (2002)	653,900 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	6,445,700 (2002)	1,219,600 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	63 (plus 121 repeaters) (1997)	44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east	low plain
Total fertility rate	2.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.25 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	8.5% (2004 est.)	8.6% (2003 est.)
Waterways	-	300 km (2004)

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