Compare Latvia (2006) - Korea, North (2004)

Compare Latvia (2006) z Korea, North (2004)

	Latvia (2006)	Korea, North (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, 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	9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural) provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang) municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
Age structure	0-14 years: 14% (male 162,562/female 155,091) 15-64 years: 69.6% (male 769,004/female 815,042) 65 years and over: 16.4% (male 121,646/female 251,390) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127) 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish	rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports	46 (2006)	78 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 24 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 13 (2006)	total: 35 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 19 (2006)	total: 43 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 8 (2003 est.)
Area	total: 64,589 sq km land: 63,589 sq km water: 1,000 sq km	total: 120,540 sq km land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than West Virginia	slightly smaller than Mississippi
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 joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.	An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when he assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international food aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs.
Birth rate	9.24 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $5.673 billion expenditures: $5.889 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital	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	Pyongyang
Climate	maritime; wet, moderate winters	temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline	531 km	2,495 km
Constitution	15 February 1922; an October 1998 amendment on Fundamental Human Rights replaced the 1991 Constitutional Law, which had supplemented the constitution	adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998
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: Democratic People's Republic of Korea conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: none note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country abbreviation: DPRK
Currency	-	North Korean won (KPW)
Death rate	13.66 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$10.8 billion (1 January 2006)	$12 billion (1996 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	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	none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Maris RIEKSTINS chancery: 2306 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2840 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2860	none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international	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; 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 China, certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; China has been attempting to stop mass illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South Korea
Economic aid - recipient	$1.2 billion (2004-06)	$NA; note - over $133 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations
Economy - overview	Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, largely due to the 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. EU membership, a top foreign policy goal, came in May 2004. The current account deficit - 11.5% of GDP in 2005 - remains a major concern. A growing perception that many of Latvia's banks facilitate illicit activity could damage the country's vibrant financial sector.	North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its tenth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land, collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. The regime, however, relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading to an expansion of market activity.
Electricity - consumption	5.839 billion kWh (2003)	27.91 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	38 million kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	2.7 billion kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	3.97 billion kWh (2003)	30.01 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m	lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Environment - current issues	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	water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Environment - international agreements	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	party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)	racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates	lati per US dollar - 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004), 0.5715 (2003), 0.6182 (2002), 0.6279 (2001)	official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002), 200 (December 2001)
Executive branch	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 (no term limits); 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	chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003) cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs	minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products
Exports - partners	Lithuania 11%, Estonia 10.8%, Germany 10.2%, UK 10.2%, Russia 7.9%, Sweden 7.8%, Denmark 5.3%, Poland 5.3% (2005)	South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon	three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $29.58 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 4% industry: 26.1% services: 69.9% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 30.2% industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	10.2% (2005 est.)	1% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	57 00 N, 25 00 E	40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note	most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east	strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports	-	19 (2003 est.)
Highways	-	total: 31,200 km paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 26.1% (1998)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
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; 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	for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, and China
Imports	47,000 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles	petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain
Imports - partners	Germany 13.9%, Lithuania 13.6%, Russia 8.6%, Estonia 7.9%, Poland 6.4%, Finland 5.9%, Belarus 5.8%, Sweden 5.1% (2005)	China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002)
Independence	21 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate	5.6% (2005 est.)	NA
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 and raw materials	military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 9.35 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.8% (2005 est.)	NA (2003 est.)
International organization participation	Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land	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)	14,600 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament)	Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force	1.11 million (2005 est.)	9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 15% industry: 25% services: 60% (2000 est.)	agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%
Land boundaries	total: 1,368 km border countries: Belarus 167 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 282 km	total: 1,673 km border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use	arable land: 28.19% permanent crops: 0.45% other: 71.36% (2005)	arable land: 20.76% permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001)
Languages	Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)	Korean
Legal system	based on civil law system	based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 October 2006 (next to be held 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	unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.33 years male: 66.08 years female: 76.85 years (2006 est.)	total population: 71.08 years male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Location	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania	Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references	Europe	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
Merchant marine	total: 21 ships (1000 GRT or over) 250,559 GRT/336,136 DWT by type: cargo 7, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 105 (Antigua and Barbuda 5, Bahamas 1, Belize 6, Cambodia 2, Cyprus 4, Dominica 1, Gibraltar 2, Liberia 14, Malta 40, Marshall Islands 7, Panama 3, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18) (2006)	total: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT by type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Latvian Republic Defense Force: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze) (2005)	Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$87 million (FY01)	$5,217.4 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.2% (FY01)	22.9% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 6,181,038 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 189,014 (2004 est.)
National holiday	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	Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality	noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian	noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Natural hazards	NA	late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources	peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land	coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate	-2.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	gas 1,097 km; oil 82 km; refined products 415 km (2006)	oil 154 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	First Party of Latvia or LPP [Juris LUJANS]; For Human Rights in a United Latvia or PCTVL [Tatjana ZDANOKA, Jakovs PLINERS]; For the Fatherland and Freedom/Latvian National Independence Movement or TB/LNNK [Janis STRAUME]; Harmony Center or SC [Sergejs DOLGOPOLOVS]; Latvian Green Party or ZZS [Indulis EMSIS, Viesturs SILENIEKS, Raimonds VEJONIS]; 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]; New Democrats or JD [Maris GULBIS]; New Era Party or JL [Einars REPSE]; People's Harmony Party or TSP [Aivars DATAVS]; People's Party or TP [Atis SLAKTERIS]; Social Democratic Union or SDS [Egils BALDZENS]	major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control)
Political pressure groups and leaders	Headquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools (SHTAB) [Aleksandr KAZAKOV]	none
Population	2,274,735 (July 2006 est.)	22,697,553 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	Below $2.15 per day (PPP): 3%	NA
Population growth rate	-0.67% (2006 est.)	0.98% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
Radio broadcast stations	AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999)
Railways	total: 2,303 km broad gauge: 2,270 km 1.520-m gauge (257 km electrified) narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (2005)	total: 5,214 km standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003)
Religions	Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox	traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Sex ratio	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 (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens	17 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: recent efforts focused on bringing competition to the telecommunications sector, beginning in 2003; the number of fixed lines is decreasing as wireless telephony expands domestic: two wireless service providers in addition to Lattelekom, the incumbent monopoly international: country code - 371; the Latvian network is now connected via fiber optic cable to Estonia, Finland, and Sweden	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use	731,000 (2005)	1.1 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.872 million (2005)	NA
Television broadcast stations	44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995)	38 (1999)
Terrain	low plain	mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate	1.27 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	7.5% (2005 est.)	NA (2003)
Waterways	300 km (2005)	2,250 km note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)

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