Compare Latvia (2007) - Russia (2003)

Compare Latvia (2007) z Russia (2003)

	Latvia (2007)	Russia (2003)

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	49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays* (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod)**, and 1 autonomous oblast**(avtonomnaya oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop), Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)*, Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Altayskiy (Barnaul)**, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa), Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')*, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Evenkiyskiy (Tura), Ingushetiya (Nazran'), Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya (Elista), Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy**, Khakasiya (Abakan), Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk)*, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar), Koryakskiy (Palana), Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy, Krasnoyarskiy*, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), Moskovskaya, Moskva (Moscow)*, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar), Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar), Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutiya), Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)***, Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz), Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy**, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan'), Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)*, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk), Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard), Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya****; note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy,' the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the place name 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: 13.6% (male 157,451/female 150,184) 15-64 years: 69.6% (male 764,910/female 808,848) 65 years and over: 16.7% (male 123,952/female 254,465) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 16% (male 11,815,360; female 11,335,715) 15-64 years: 70.4% (male 49,399,322; female 52,367,194) 65 years and over: 13.6% (male 6,394,411; female 13,214,276) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish	grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
Airports	42 (2007)	2,743 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 9 (2007)	total: 471 over 3,047 m: 56 2,438 to 3,047 m: 178 1,524 to 2,437 m: 76 914 to 1,523 m: 69 under 914 m: 92 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 20 (2007)	total: 2,272 over 3,047 m: 28 2,438 to 3,047 m: 118 1,524 to 2,437 m: 204 914 to 1,523 m: 324 under 914 m: 1,598 (2002)
Area	total: 64,589 sq km land: 63,589 sq km water: 1,000 sq km	total: 17,075,200 sq km land: 16,995,800 sq km water: 79,400 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than West Virginia	approximately 1.8 times the size of the US
Background	The name "Latvia" originates from the ancient Latgalians, one of four eastern Baltic tribes that formed the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 30% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.	Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the 300-year old Romanov Dynasty. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.
Birth rate	9.43 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.09 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $7.198 billion expenditures: $7.255 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $70 billion expenditures: $62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
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	Moscow
Climate	maritime; wet, moderate winters	ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast
Coastline	531 km	37,653 km
Constitution	15 February 1922; restored to force by the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Latvia adopted by the Supreme Council on 21 August 1991; multiple amendments since	adopted 12 December 1993
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: Russian Federation conventional short form: Russia local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya local short form: Rossiya former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Currency	-	Russian ruble (RUR)
Death rate	13.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$22.94 billion (2006 est.)	$153.5 billion (yearend 2002)
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	chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000 FAX: [7] (095) 728-5090 consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Andrejs PILDEGOVICS chancery: 2306 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2840 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2860	chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
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; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Latvia must implement the strict Schengen border rules with Russia	China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun River as part of the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation; the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group identified by the Russians as the "Southern Kurils" and by Japan as the "Northern Territories" occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; boundary with Georgia has been largely delimited but not demarcated with several small, strategic segments remaining in dispute and OSCE observers monitoring volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties have been signed with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no resolution on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia; the Russian Parliament refuses to consider ratification of the boundary treaties with Estonia and Latvia, but in May 2003, ratified land and maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, which ratified the 1997 treaty in 1999, legalizing limits of former Soviet republic borders; discussions are still ongoing among Russia, Lithuania and the EU concerning a simplified transit document for residents of the Kaliningrad coastal exclave to transit through Lithuania to Russia; land delimitation with Ukraine is ratified, but maritime regime of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait is unresolved; delimitation with Kazakhstan is scheduled for completion in 2003; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea
Economic aid - recipient	$162 million (2004)	in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million
Economy - overview	Latvia's economy experienced average GDP growth of more than 7.0% over the past several years. In 2006 it reached 10.2% real GDP growth. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized, although the state still holds sizable stakes in a few large enterprises. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999. EU membership, a top foreign policy goal, came in May 2004. The current account deficit - more than 15% of GDP in 2006 - and inflation remain major concerns.	A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able within 3 to 5 years to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market reforms - Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy subsequently has rebounded, growing by an average of more than 6% annually in 1999-2002 on the back of higher oil prices and the 60% depreciation of the ruble in 1998. These GDP numbers, along with a renewed government effort to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to maintain vigorous economic growth. Other problems include a weak banking system, a poor business climate that discourages both domestic and foreign investors, corruption, local and regional government intervention in the courts, and widespread lack of trust in institutions. In 2003 President PUTIN further tightened his control over the "oligarchs," especially in the realm of political expression.
Electricity - consumption	6.09 billion kWh (2005)	773 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	707 million kWh (2005)	21.16 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	2.855 billion kWh (2005)	7 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	4.778 billion kWh (2005)	846.5 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 64.3% hydro: 20.5% nuclear: 14.8% other: 0.4% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Galzina Kalns 312 m	lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 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	air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Persistent Organic Pollutants
Ethnic groups	Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)	Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% (1989)
Exchange rates	lati per US dollar - 0.5597 (2006), - 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004), 0.5715 (2003), 0.6182 (2002)	Russian rubles per US dollar - 31.27 (2002), 29.17 (2001), 28.13 (2000), 24.62 (1999), 9.71 (1998) note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles
Executive branch	chief of state: President Valdis ZATLERS (since 8 July 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Aigars KALVITIS (since 2 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 31 May 2007 (next to be held 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Valdis ZATLERS elected president; parliamentary vote - Valdis ZATLERS 58, Aivars ENDZINS 39	chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000) head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); Deputy Premiers Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Boris Sergeyevich ALESHIN (since 24 April 2003), Galina Nikolayevna KARELOVA (since 24 April 2003), Vladimir Anatolyevich YAKOVLEV (since 16 June 2003) cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held March 2004); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
Exports	6,765 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs	petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Exports - partners	Lithuania 14.2%, Estonia 12.3%, Russia 11.5%, Germany 9.8%, UK 7.6%, Sweden 6.3%, Denmark 4.8% (2006)	Germany 7.5%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.7%, China 6.3%, US 6.1%, Ukraine 5.5%, Belarus 5.4%, Switzerland 5% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon	three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $1.409 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3.7% industry: 21.5% services: 74.8% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 5.8% industry: 34.6% services: 59.6% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	11.9% (2006 est.)	4.3% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	57 00 N, 25 00 E	60 00 N, 100 00 E
Geography - note	most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east	largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount Elbrus is Europe's tallest peak
Highways	-	total: 532,393 km paved: 358,833 km unpaved: 173,560 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 29.1% (2003)	lowest 10%: 5.9% highest 10%: 47% (2001)
Illicit drugs	transshipment and destination point for cocaine, synthetic drugs, opiates, and cannabis from Southwest Asia, Western Europe, Latin America, and neighboring Balkan countries; despite improved legislation, vulnerable to money laundering due to nascent enforcement capabilities and comparatively weak regulation of offshore companies and the gaming industry; CIS organized crime (including counterfeiting, corruption, extortion, stolen cars, and prostitution) accounts for most laundered proceeds	limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market
Imports	39,190 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles	machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products
Imports - partners	Germany 15.5%, Lithuania 12.9%, Russia 8%, Estonia 7.7%, Poland 7.2%, Finland 5.7%, Sweden 5%, Belarus 4.7% (2006)	Germany 14.3%, Belarus 8.9%, Ukraine 7.1%, US 6.4%, China 5.2%, Italy 4.8%, Kazakhstan 4.3%, France 4.1% (2002)
Independence	18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia)	24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	8.5% (2006 est.)	3.7% (2002 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	complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
Infant mortality rate	total: 9.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 19.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.53 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.5% (2006 est.)	15% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, GEF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	300 (June 2000)
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)	46,630 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament); Constitutional Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament)	Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president
Labor force	1.136 million (2006 est.)	71.8 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 13% industry: 19% services: 68% (2005 est.)	agriculture 12.3%, industry 22.7%, services 65% (2002 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,368 km border countries: Belarus 167 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 282 km	total: 19,990 km border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Land use	arable land: 28.19% permanent crops: 0.45% other: 71.36% (2005)	arable land: 7.46% permanent crops: 0.11% other: 92.43% (1998 est.)
Languages	Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)	Russian, other
Legal system	based on civil law system with traces of Socialist legal traditions and practices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - TP 19.5%, ZZS 16.7%, JL 16.4%, SC 14.4%; LPP/LC 8.6%; TB/LNNK 7%; PCTVL 6%; seats by party - TP 23, ZZS 18, JL 18, SC 17, LPP/LC 10, TB/LNNK 8, PCTVL 6	bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; 225 seats elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and 225 seats from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2007) election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - United Russia 37.1%, KPRF 12.7%, LDPR 11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, KPRF 53, LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, Union of Rightist Forces 2, other 7, independents 65, repeat election required 3
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.6 years male: 66.39 years female: 77.1 years (2007 est.)	total population: 67.66 years male: 62.46 years female: 73.11 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2000 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania	Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
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	continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	total: 22 ships (1000 GRT or over) 201,684 GRT/221,186 DWT by type: cargo 9, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Estonia 1) registered in other countries: 122 (Antigua and Barbuda 9, Belize 14, Cambodia 2, Cyprus 1, Dominica 2, Jamaica 2, Liberia 15, Malta 36, Marshall Islands 10, Panama 5, Russia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 4, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20) (2007)	total: 933 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,495,122 GRT/5,490,103 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 22, cargo 553, chemical tanker 12, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 36, container 30, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 38, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 167, refrigerated cargo 21, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 9, Denmark 1, Estonia 4, Greece 3, Honduras 1, Latvia 4, Lithuania 3, Moldova 3, Netherlands 1, South Korea 1, Turkey 18, Turkmenistan 2, Ukraine 10, UK 5, US 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Latvian Republic Defense Force: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (Latvijas Gaisa Spelki), Border Guard, Latvian Home Guard (Latvijas Zemessardze) (2007)	Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces; Airborne troops, Strategic Rocket Forces, and Military Space Forces are classified as independent combat arms, not subordinate to any of the three branches
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.2% (2005 est.)	NA%
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 36 million (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 24 million (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 1.243 million (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 was the date Latvia declared itself independent from Soviet Russia; 4 May 1990 is when it declared the renewal of independence; 21 August 1991 was the date of de facto independence from the Soviet Union	Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
Nationality	noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian	noun: Russian(s) adjective: Russian
Natural hazards	NA	permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia
Natural resources	peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land	wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
Net migration rate	-2.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	gas 1,097 km; oil 82 km; refined products 415 km (2006)	gas 135,771 km; oil 70,833 km; refined products 11,536 km; water 23 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	First Party of Latvia or LPP [Ainars SLESERS]; For Human Rights in a United Latvia or PCTVL [Jakovs PLINERS]; For the Fatherland and Freedom/Latvian National Independence Movement or TB/LNNK [Roberts ZILE, Maris GRINBLATS]; Harmony Center or SC [Janis URBANOVICS, Nils USAKOVS]; Latvian Farmer's Union or LZS [Augusts BRIGMANIS]; Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDSP [Juris BOJARS]; Latvian Socialist Party or LSP [Alfreds RUBIKS]; Latvia's Way or LC [Ivars GODMANIS, Ainars BERZINS]; New Democrats or JD [Maris GULBIS]; New Era Party or JL [Einars REPSE, Krisjanis KARINS]; People's Party or TP [Aigars KALVITIS]; The Union of Latvian Greens and Farmers Party or ZZS [Indulis EMSIS]	Communist Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Motherland Bloc (Rodina) [Sergey GLAZYEV and Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; People's Party [Gennadiy RAYKOV]; Union of Rightist Forces or SPS [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Headquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools (SHTAB) [Aleksandr KAZAKOV]	NA
Population	2,259,810 (July 2007 est.)	144,526,278 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	25% (37622 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.648% (2007 est.)	-0.3% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', De-Kastri, Indigirskiy, Kaliningrad, Kandalaksha, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lazarev, Mago, Mezen', Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Onega, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Rostov, Shakhtersk, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Taganrog, Tuapse, Uglegorsk, Vanino, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg
Radio broadcast stations	AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998)
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 (2006)	total: 87,157 km broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified) narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island) note:: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrrier lines serve industries (2002)
Religions	Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox	Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.946 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.487 male(s)/female total population: 0.862 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
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; the number of fixed lines is decreasing as wireless telephony expands domestic: number of telecommunications operators has grown rapidly since the fixed-line market opened to competition in 2003; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 125 per 100 persons international: country code - 371; the Latvian network is now connected via fiber optic cable to Estonia, Finland, and Sweden	general assessment: the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density international: Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
Telephones - main lines in use	657,400 (2006)	30 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.184 million (2006)	19 million (January 2003)
Television broadcast stations	44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995)	7,306 (1998)
Terrain	low plain	broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
Total fertility rate	1.28 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.33 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	6.5% (2006 est.)	7.9% plus considerable underemployment (2002)
Waterways	300 km (2006)	95,900 km (total routes in general use) note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet - 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids - 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes - 16,900 km (January 1994)

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