Country Sheet : Latvia

Information file

Last Update on 9th July 2024

LATVIA

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In English - version of 9th July 2024

Geography

Area : 64,589 km²

Borders : 1,348 km: Belarus (141 km), Estonia (343 km), Lithuania (588 km), Russia (276 km)

Coastline : 498 km

Capital : Riga

Official language : Latvian

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Population

Population : 1,821,750 inhabitants (2023)

Crude natural change rate : -7.9‰ (2022)

Population repartition: 14.9% under 15 years old, 21.7% over 65 years old (2023 est.)

Foreign residents: 0% EU nationals, 13% extra-EU nationals (2021)

Crude net migration rate: -5.1‰ (2023 est.)

First time asylum applicants: 620 (2022)

Life expectancy: men 71.8 years, women 80.8 years (2023 est.)

Ethnic groups: Latvian 62.7%, Russian 24.5%, Belarusian 3.1%, Ukrainian 2.2%, Polish 2%, Lithuanian 1.1%, other 1.8%, non specified 2.6% (est. 2021)

Source : Eurostat, The World Factbook

Economy

Currency: Euro (since January 1st 2014)

GDP: € 40,348 million (2023)

GDP per capita (PPS): €13,220 (2023)

GDP growth : -0.3% (2023)

Inflation: 0% (May 2024)

Public debt: 40.8% of GDP (December 2022)

Unemployment: 6.9% (May 2024)

Stock of foreign direct investment from the entire world: 60.7% of GDP (2022)

Budget balance: -1.4% of GDP (Q3 2023)

Source : Eurostat, Trading Economics, World Bank

Political system

Republic, parliamentary democracy (Constitution of August 21st 1991) since it regained its independence - Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1944.

Head of state: Egils Levits has been President of the Republic since 8th July . On 31st May 2023, Edgars Rinkevics was elected President of the Republic by the deputies of the Saeima. He took his function on July 8th 2023.

Prime minister: Evika Siliņa (New Unity) since September 15th 2023. She leads a coalition government of three parties: New Unity (JV), Progressives (P) and the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS).

Unicameral parliamentary system: The Saeima (the Parliament) comrises 100 seats. Representatives are elected for a 4-year mandate through direct universal suffrage by proportional representation (threshold of 5%).