##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Latvia (2001) - Turkmenistan (2006)
Compare Latvia (2001) z Turkmenistan (2006)
| Latvia (2001) | Turkmenistan (2006) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
| 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: 35.2% (male 913,988/female 863,503)
15-64 years: 60.7% (male 1,501,486/female 1,557,155) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 79,227/female 127,561) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish | cotton, grain; livestock |
| Airports | 25 (2000 est.) | 29 (2006) |
| 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: 22
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006) |
| 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: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
| Area | total:
64,589 sq km land: 64,589 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly larger than California |
| 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. | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President Saparmurat NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. |
| Birth rate | 8.03 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$1.33 billion expenditures: $1.27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $1.401 billion
expenditures: $1.542 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Riga | name: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
geographic coordinates: 37 57 N, 58 23 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | maritime; wet, moderate winters | subtropical desert |
| Coastline | 531 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
| Constitution | the 1991 Constitutional Law which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms | adopted 18 May 1992 |
| 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: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Currency | Latvian lat (LVL) | - |
| Death rate | 14.8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $800 million (2000 est.) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jennifer L. BRUSH
embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
| 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 Meret Bairamovich ORAZOV
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
| 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) | cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled |
| Economic aid - recipient | $96.2 million (1995) | $16 million from the US (2001) |
| 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. | Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to an almost 50% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2005, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by 20% to 30% per year in 2003-2005, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. In 2005, Ashgabat sought to raise natural gas export prices to its main customers, Russia and Ukraine, from $44 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $66 per tcm. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. |
| Electricity - consumption | 4.316 billion kWh (1999) | 8.847 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (1999) | 1.136 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 3.996 billion kWh (1999) | 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
| 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: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
note: Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m) highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 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 | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification |
| 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
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% | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
| 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) | in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar; the official rate has consistently been 5,200 manat to the dollar |
| 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 and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty); in November 2005, the People's Council voted down NIYAZOV's suggestion to hold presidential elections in 2009 elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992; note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council on 28 December 1999; deputy chairmen of the Cabinet of Ministers are appointed by the president election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5% |
| Exports | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles |
| Exports - partners | Germany 16%, UK 11%, Sweden 11%, Russia 7% (1999) | Ukraine 43.5%, Iran 15%, Hungary 5.4% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon | green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five tribal guls (designs used in producing carpets) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon representing Islam with five white stars representing the regions or velayats of Turkmenistan appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 33% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture: 20.9%
industry: 38% services: 41.1% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | IMF estimate: 6%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
| Geography - note | - | landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
| Highways | total:
59,178 km paved: 22,843 km unpaved: 36,335 km (1998 est.) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 25.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
| 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 | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
| Imports | $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Russia 15%, Germany 10%, Finland 9%, Sweden 7% (1999) | UAE 12.4%, Azerbaijan 10.9%, US 9.4%, Russia 8.9%, Ukraine 7.4%, Turkey 7.2%, Iran 6.1%, Germany 5.3%, Kazakhstan 4.2% (2005) |
| Independence | 18 November 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (2000 est.) | 22% (2003 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 | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
| Infant mortality rate | 15.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 72.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2000) | 10.5% (2005 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 | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 42 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1993 est.) | 18,000 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
| Labor force | 1.4 million (2000 est.) | 2.32 million (2003 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 48.2%
industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,150 km border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km |
total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
| Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 46% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005) |
| Languages | Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system |
| 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 |
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); membership is scheduled to be increased to 65 seats
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be held December 2008); Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.7 years male: 62.8 years female: 74.9 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.83 years
male: 58.43 years female: 65.41 years (2006 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: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
| Map references | Europe | Asia |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| 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.) |
total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,870 GRT/25,801 DWT
by type: cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2006) |
| Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze) | Ground Forces, Artillery and Rocket Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $60 million (FY99) | $90 million (FY99) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY99) | 3.4% (FY99) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
590,784 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
463,944 (2001 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, 27 October (1991) |
| Nationality | noun:
Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
| Natural hazards | NA | NA |
| Natural resources | minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite, hydropower, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
| Net migration rate | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992) | gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006) |
| 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] | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been National Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT) and the United Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (UDPT); NDMT was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; UDPT is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 2,385,231 (July 2001 est.) | 5,042,920 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 58% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.81% (2001 est.) | 1.83% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
| 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) |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2005) |
| Religions | Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: poorly developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 748,000 (1997) | 376,100 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 77,100 (1997) | 52,000 (2004) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) |
| Terrain | low plain | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west |
| Total fertility rate | 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.37 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 7.8% (2000 est.) | 60% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | 300 km (perennially navigable) | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) |
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