Compare Latvia (2006) - Norfolk Island (2007)

Compare Latvia (2006) z Norfolk Island (2007)

	Latvia (2006)	Norfolk Island (2007)

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	none (territory of Australia)
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: 20.2% 15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish	Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry
Airports	46 (2006)	1 (2007)
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: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 19 (2006)	-
Area	total: 64,589 sq km land: 63,589 sq km water: 1,000 sq km	total: 34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than West Virginia	about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC
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.	Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.
Birth rate	9.24 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $5.673 billion expenditures: $5.889 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $4.6 million expenditures: $4.8 million (FY99/00)
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	name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	maritime; wet, moderate winters	subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline	531 km	32 km
Constitution	15 February 1922; an October 1998 amendment on Fundamental Human Rights replaced the 1991 Constitutional Law, which had supplemented the constitution	Norfolk Island Act of 1979, as amended in 2005
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: Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island
Death rate	13.66 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA
Debt - external	$10.8 billion (1 January 2006)	$NA
Dependency status	-	self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Transport and Regional Services
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 (territory of Australia)
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 (territory of Australia)
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	none
Economic aid - recipient	$1.2 billion (2004-06)	$NA
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.	Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs.
Electricity - consumption	5.839 billion kWh (2003)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	38 million kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	2.7 billion kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - production	3.97 billion kWh (2003)	NA kWh
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 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	NA
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	-
Ethnic groups	Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)	descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian
Exchange rates	lati per US dollar - 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004), 0.5715 (2003), 0.6182 (2002), 0.6279 (2001)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	$1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92)
Exports - commodities	wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs	postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados
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)	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon	three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 4% industry: 26.1% services: 69.9% (2005 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	10.2% (2005 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	57 00 N, 25 00 E	29 02 S, 167 57 E
Geography - note	most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east	most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 26.1% (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; 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	47,000 bbl/day (2004)	$17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles	NA
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)	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006)
Independence	21 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	5.6% (2005 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 and raw materials	tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete
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: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.8% (2005 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	UPU
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)	NA
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament)	Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions
Labor force	1.11 million (2005 est.)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 15% industry: 25% services: 60% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 10% industry and services: 90%
Land boundaries	total: 1,368 km border countries: Belarus 167 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 282 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 28.19% permanent crops: 0.45% other: 71.36% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)	English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian
Legal system	based on civil law system	based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law
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 Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.33 years male: 66.08 years female: 76.85 years (2006 est.)	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.)	NA
Location	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania	Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
Map references	Europe	Oceania
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 fishing zone: 200 nm
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)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of Australia
Military branches	Latvian Republic Defense Force: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze) (2005)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$87 million (FY01)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.2% (FY01)	-
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	Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856)
Nationality	noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian	noun: Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)
Natural hazards	NA	typhoons (especially May to July)
Natural resources	peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land	fish
Net migration rate	-2.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA
Pipelines	gas 1,097 km; oil 82 km; refined products 415 km (2006)	-
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]	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	Headquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools (SHTAB) [Aleksandr KAZAKOV]	none
Population	2,274,735 (July 2006 est.)	2,114 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	Below $2.15 per day (PPP): 3%	-
Population growth rate	-0.67% (2006 est.)	0.006% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005)
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)	-
Religions	Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox	Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.2%, none 18.1% (2001 census)
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.)	NA
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens	18 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: adequate domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station
Telephones - main lines in use	731,000 (2005)	2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.872 million (2005)	0; note - proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum (2002)
Television broadcast stations	44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995)	1 (local programming station plus 2 repeaters that air Australian programs by satellite) (2005)
Terrain	low plain	volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains
Total fertility rate	1.27 children born/woman (2006 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	7.5% (2005 est.)	-
Waterways	300 km (2005)	-

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