##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Germany (2001) - Latvia (2007)
Compare Germany (2001) z Latvia (2007)
| Germany (2001) | Latvia (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen | 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:
15.57% (male 6,635,328; female 6,289,994) 15-64 years: 67.82% (male 28,619,237; female 27,691,698) 65 years and over: 16.61% (male 5,336,664; female 8,456,615) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 13.6% (male 157,451/female 150,184)
15-64 years: 69.6% (male 764,910/female 808,848) 65 years and over: 16.7% (male 123,952/female 254,465) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry | grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish |
| Airports | 613 (2000 est.) | 42 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
322 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 55 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 63 under 914 m: 124 (2000 est.) |
total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
291 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 53 under 914 m: 225 (2000 est.) |
total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 20 (2007) |
| Area | total:
357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
total: 64,589 sq km
land: 63,589 sq km water: 1,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly larger than West Virginia |
| Background | As Western Europe's richest and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries formed a common European currency, the euro. | The name "Latvia" originates from the ancient Latgalians, one of four eastern Baltic tribes that formed the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia 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 | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.43 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$996 billion expenditures: $1.036 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $7.198 billion
expenditures: $7.255 billion (2006 est.) |
| Capital | Berlin | name: Riga
geographic coordinates: 56 57 N, 24 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind | maritime; wet, moderate winters |
| Coastline | 2,389 km | 531 km |
| Constitution | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 | 15 February 1922; restored to force by the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Latvia adopted by the Supreme Council on 21 August 1991; multiple amendments since |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich |
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 | deutsche mark (DEM); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Germany at a fixed rate of 1.95583 deutsche marks per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
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| Death rate | 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $22.94 billion (2006 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John C. KORNBLUM (was due to resign on 20 January 2001) embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (30) 238-5174 FAX: [49] (30) 238-6290 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
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 Juergen CHROBOG chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-8141 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Wellington (America Samoa) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Andrejs PILDEGOVICS
chancery: 2306 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2840 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2860 |
| Disputes - international | none | Russia refuses to sign the 1997 boundary treaty due to Latvian insistence on a unilateral clarificatory declaration referencing Soviet occupation of Latvia and territorial losses; Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians in Latvia; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Latvia must implement the strict Schengen border rules with Russia |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $162 million (2004) |
| Economy - overview | Germany possesses the world's third most technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but structural market rigidities - including the substantial non-wage costs of hiring new workers - have made unemployment a long-term, not just a cyclical, problem. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy remains a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from western Germany amounting to roughly $70 billion. Growth picked up to 3% in 2000, largely due to recovering global demand; newly passed business and income tax cuts are expected to keep growth strong in 2001. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are transforming the German economy to meet the challenges of European economic integration and globalization in general. | Latvia's economy experienced average GDP growth of more than 7.0% over the past several years. In 2006 it reached 10.2% real GDP growth. 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. EU membership, a top foreign policy goal, came in May 2004. The current account deficit - more than 15% of GDP in 2006 - and inflation remain major concerns. |
| Electricity - consumption | 495.181 billion kWh (1999) | 6.09 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 39.5 billion kWh (1999) | 707 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 40.5 billion kWh (1999) | 2.855 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 531.377 billion kWh (1999) | 4.778 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
63.29% hydro: 3.59% nuclear: 30.3% other: 2.82% (1999) |
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| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Galzina Kalns 312 m |
| Environment - current issues | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government currently attempting to define mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive | 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, as well as 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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) | Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002) |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996) | lati per US dollar - 0.5597 (2006), - 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004), 0.5715 (2003), 0.6182 (2002) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999) head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall of 2002) election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7% |
chief of state: President Valdis ZATLERS (since 8 July 2007)
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 elected by Parliament for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 31 May 2007 (next to be held 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Valdis ZATLERS elected president; parliamentary vote - Valdis ZATLERS 58, Aivars ENDZINS 39 |
| Exports | $578 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 6,765 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | EU 55.3% (France 11.3%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.1%), US 10.1%, Japan 2.0% (1999) | Lithuania 14.2%, Estonia 12.3%, Russia 11.5%, Germany 9.8%, UK 7.6%, Sweden 6.3%, Denmark 4.8% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold | three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.936 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.2% industry: 30.4% services: 68.4% (1999) |
agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 21.5% services: 74.8% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 11.9% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 57 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea | most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east |
| Heliports | 59 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | total:
656,140 km paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.) |
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| Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 29.1% (2003) |
| Illicit drugs | source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs | transshipment and destination point for cocaine, synthetic drugs, opiates, and cannabis from Southwest Asia, Western Europe, Latin America, and neighboring Balkan countries; despite improved legislation, vulnerable to money laundering due to nascent enforcement capabilities and comparatively weak regulation of offshore companies and the gaming industry; CIS organized crime (including counterfeiting, corruption, extortion, stolen cars, and prostitution) accounts for most laundered proceeds |
| Imports | $505 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 39,190 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles |
| Imports - partners | EU 52.2% (France 10.5%, Netherlands 7.6%, Italy 7.4%, UK 6.9%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.6%), US 8.1%, Japan 4.9% (1999) | Germany 15.5%, Lithuania 12.9%, Russia 8%, Estonia 7.7%, Poland 7.2%, Finland 5.7%, Sweden 5%, Belarus 4.7% (2006) |
| Independence | 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991 | 18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2000) | 8.5% (2006 est.) |
| Industries | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; 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 | 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 9.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 6.5% (2006 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 123 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 4,750 sq km (1993 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 (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) | Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament); Constitutional Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament) |
| Labor force | 40.5 million (1999 est.) | 1.136 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) | agriculture: 13%
industry: 19% services: 68% (2005 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
3,618 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 135 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km |
total: 1,368 km
border countries: Belarus 167 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 282 km |
| Land use | arable land:
33% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 31% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 28.19%
permanent crops: 0.45% other: 71.36% (2005) |
| Languages | German | Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census) |
| Legal system | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system with traces of Socialist legal traditions and practices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 669 for the 1998 term; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by the fall of 2002); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%; seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245, FDP 43, PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party - SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15 |
unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - TP 19.5%, ZZS 16.7%, JL 16.4%, SC 14.4%; LPP/LC 8.6%; TB/LNNK 7%; PCTVL 6%; seats by party - TP 23, ZZS 18, JL 18, SC 17, LPP/LC 10, TB/LNNK 8, PCTVL 6 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.61 years male: 74.47 years female: 80.92 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.6 years
male: 66.39 years female: 77.1 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2000 census) |
| Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Merchant marine | total:
457 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,414,724 GRT/7,952,776 DWT ships by type: cargo 169, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 243, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 12, short-sea passenger 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 22 ships (1000 GRT or over) 201,684 GRT/221,186 DWT
by type: cargo 9, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Estonia 1) registered in other countries: 122 (Antigua and Barbuda 9, Belize 14, Cambodia 2, Cyprus 1, Dominica 2, Jamaica 2, Liberia 15, Malta 36, Marshall Islands 10, Panama 5, Russia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 4, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20) (2007) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard | Latvian Republic Defense Force: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (Latvijas Gaisa Spelki), Border Guard, Latvian Home Guard (Latvijas Zemessardze) (2007) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.8 billion (FY98) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY98) | 1.2% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
482,318 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) | Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 was the date Latvia declared itself independent from Soviet Russia; 4 May 1990 is when it declared the renewal of independence; 21 August 1991 was the date of de facto independence from the Soviet Union |
| Nationality | noun:
German(s) adjective: German |
noun: Latvian(s)
adjective: Latvian |
| Natural hazards | flooding | NA |
| Natural resources | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land | peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 2,500 km (1998) | gas 1,097 km; oil 82 km; refined products 415 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance '90/Greens [Renate KUENAST and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; note - Wolfgang GERHARDT will probably be replaced by Guido WESTERWELLE in May 2001; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabi ZIMMER]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman] | First Party of Latvia or LPP [Ainars SLESERS]; For Human Rights in a United Latvia or PCTVL [Jakovs PLINERS]; For the Fatherland and Freedom/Latvian National Independence Movement or TB/LNNK [Roberts ZILE, Maris GRINBLATS]; Harmony Center or SC [Janis URBANOVICS, Nils USAKOVS]; Latvian Farmer's Union or LZS [Augusts BRIGMANIS]; Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDSP [Juris BOJARS]; Latvian Socialist Party or LSP [Alfreds RUBIKS]; Latvia's Way or LC [Ivars GODMANIS, Ainars BERZINS]; New Democrats or JD [Maris GULBIS]; New Era Party or JL [Einars REPSE, Krisjanis KARINS]; People's Party or TP [Aigars KALVITIS]; The Union of Latvian Greens and Farmers Party or ZZS [Indulis EMSIS] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups | Headquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools (SHTAB) [Aleksandr KAZAKOV] |
| Population | 83,029,536 (July 2001 est.) | 2,259,810 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.27% (2001 est.) | -0.648% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 51, FM 767, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 77.8 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
40,826 km including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1998) note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks |
total: 2,303 km
broad gauge: 2,270 km 1.520-m gauge (257 km electrified) narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (2006) |
| Religions | Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% | Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.946 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.487 male(s)/female total population: 0.862 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region); 7 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone communication centers; tropospheric scatter links |
general assessment: recent efforts focused on bringing competition to the telecommunications sector; the number of fixed lines is decreasing as wireless telephony expands
domestic: number of telecommunications operators has grown rapidly since the fixed-line market opened to competition in 2003; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 125 per 100 persons international: country code - 371; the Latvian network is now connected via fiber optic cable to Estonia, Finland, and Sweden |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 45.2 million (1997)
note: 46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend 1998 |
657,400 (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 15.318 million (April 1999) | 2.184 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | 44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | low plain |
| Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9.9% (2000 est.) | 6.5% (2006 est.) |
| Waterways | 7,500 km
note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999) |
300 km (2006) |
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