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Compare Latvia (2001) - Guinea-Bissau (2004)
Compare Latvia (2001) z Guinea-Bissau (2004)
| Latvia (2001) | Guinea-Bissau (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 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, Leipaja*, 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 | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.55% (male 201,746; female 193,036) 15-64 years: 68.15% (male 776,509; female 848,908) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 118,110; female 246,922) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.7% (male 288,760; female 289,975)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 367,728; female 400,996) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,570; female 23,334) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
| Airports | 25 (2000 est.) | 28 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
64,589 sq km land: 64,589 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
| Background | 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 continues to revamp its economy for eventual integration into various Western European political and economic institutions. | Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government consisted of a single party system and command economy. In 1980, a military coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and a path to a market economy and multiparty system was implemented. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him and in 1994 he was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIERA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. |
| Birth rate | 8.03 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 38.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$1.33 billion expenditures: $1.27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
| Capital | Riga | Bissau |
| Climate | maritime; wet, moderate winters | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
| Coastline | 531 km | 350 km |
| Constitution | the 1991 Constitutional Law which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Latvia conventional short form: Latvia local long form: Latvijas Republika local short form: Latvija former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
| Currency | Latvian lat (LVL) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
| Death rate | 14.8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.57 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $800 million (2000 est.) | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James H. HOLMES embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga mailing address: American Embassy Riga, PSC 78, Box Riga, APO AE 09723 telephone: [371] 721-0005 FAX: [371] 782-0047 |
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Aivis RONIS chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214 FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
| Disputes - international | draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Russia has not been signed; has not ratified 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights) | attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
| Economic aid - recipient | $96.2 million (1995) | $115.4 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | In 2000, 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. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999 - the first Baltic state to join - and was invited at the Helsinki EU Summit in December 1999 to begin accession talks in early 2000. Unemployment fell to 7.8% in 2000, down from 9.6% in 1999, and 9.2% in 1998. Privatization of large state-owned utilities and the shipping industry faced more delays in 2000, and political instability will continue to delay completion of the privatization process over the next year. Latvia projects 6% GDP growth, 2.5%-3.0% inflation, and a 1.7% fiscal deficit in 2001. Preparing for EU membership over the next few years remains a top foreign policy goal. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004. |
| Electricity - consumption | 4.316 billion kWh (1999) | 51.15 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 3.996 billion kWh (1999) | 55 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
31.78% hydro: 68.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
| Environment - current issues | air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Latvian 56.5%, Russian 30.4%, Byelorussian 4.3%, Ukrainian 2.8%, Polish 2.6%, other 3.4% | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
| Exchange rates | lati per US dollar - 0.614 (January 2001), 0.607 (2000), 0.585 (1999), 0.590 (1998), 0.581 (1997), 0.551 (1996) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA (since 8 July 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Andris BERZINS (since 5 May 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 17 June 1999 (next to be held by NA June 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA elected as a compromise candidate in second phase of balloting, second round (after five rounds in first phase failed); percent of parliamentary vote - Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA 53%, Valdis BIRKAVS 20%, Ingrida UDRE 9% |
chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 9 May 2004) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government |
| Exports | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
| Exports - partners | Germany 16%, UK 11%, Sweden 11%, Russia 7% (1999) | India 76.8%, Nigeria 12.1%, Italy 5.1% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.063 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 33% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | -7% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
| Geography - note | - | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
| Highways | total:
59,178 km paved: 22,843 km unpaved: 36,335 km (1998 est.) |
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 25.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
| Illicit drugs | 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; limited production of illicit amphetamine, ephedrine, and ecstasy for export | - |
| Imports | $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | Russia 15%, Germany 10%, Finland 9%, Sweden 7% (1999) | Senegal 18.1%, India 14.6%, Portugal 14.6%, China 9.7%, Italy 9%, Spain 4.9% (2003) |
| Independence | 18 November 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
| Industries | 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, raw materials, and intermediate products | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
| Infant mortality rate | 15.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 108.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 119.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2000) | 4% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 42 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1993 est.) | 170 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament) | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
| Labor force | 1.4 million (2000 est.) | 480,000 (1999) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (2000 est.) | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,150 km border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km |
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
| Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 46% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 8.82% other: 80.51% (2001) |
| Languages | Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | NA |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - People's Party 21%, LC 18%, TSP 14%, TB/LNNK 14%, Social Democrats 13%, New Party 7%; seats by party - People's Party 24, LC 21, TB/LNNK 17, TSP 16, Social Democrats 14, New Party 8 |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, then September, and were last scheduled to occur in March 2004
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2% ; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.7 years male: 62.8 years female: 74.9 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 46.98 years
male: 45.09 years female: 48.92 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 99% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
| Map references | Europe | Africa |
| 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 |
| Merchant marine | total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,984 GRT/29,978 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
none |
| Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze) | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $60 million (FY99) | $8.4 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY99) | 2.8% (2003) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
590,784 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 326,864 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
463,944 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 185,801 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,114 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 18 November 1991 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
| Nationality | noun:
Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
| Natural hazards | NA | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
| Natural resources | minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite, hydropower, arable land | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
| Net migration rate | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Anticommunist Union or PA [P. MUCENIEKS]; Christian Democrat Union or LKDS [Talavs JUNDZIS]; Christian People's Party or KTP [Uldis AUGSTKALNS]; Democratic Party "Saimnieks" or DPS [Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman]; For Fatherland and Freedom or TB [Maris GRINBLATS], merged with LNNK; For Human Rights in a United Latvia [Janis JURKANS], a coalition of the People's Harmony Party or TSP, the Latvian Socialist Party or LSP, and the Equal Rights Movement; Green Party or LZP [Olegs BATAREVSKI]; Latvian Liberal Party or LLP [J. DANOSS]; Latvian National Conservative Party or LNNK [Andrejs KRASTINS]; Latvian National Democratic Party or LNDP [A. MALINS]; Latvian Social-Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDWU [Juris BOJARS and Janis ADAMSONS, leaders]; Latvian Unity Party or LVP [Alberis KAULS]; Latvia's Way or LC [Andrei PANTELEJEVS]; New Christian Party [Ainars SLESERS]; New Faction [Ingrida UDRE]; "Our Land" or MZ [M. DAMBEKALNE]; Party of Russian Citizens or LKPP [V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV]; People's Party [Andris SKELE]; Political Union of Economists or TPA [Edvins KIDE] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 2,385,231 (July 2001 est.) | 1,388,363 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
| Population growth rate | -0.81% (2001 est.) | 1.99% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
| Radios | 1.76 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
2,412 km broad gauge: 2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992) narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994) |
- |
| Religions | Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | 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: international connections are now available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling direct connections for most calls (1998) |
general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: country code - 245 |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 748,000 (1997) | 10,600 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 77,100 (1997) | 1,300 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995) | NA (1997) |
| Terrain | low plain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
| Total fertility rate | 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 7.8% (2000 est.) | NA (1998) |
| Waterways | 300 km (perennially navigable) | 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004) |
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