Latvia

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Republic of Latvia
Flag Coat of arms
Official flag Official Coat of Arms
National information
National motto: "Tēvzemei un Brīvībai" (Latvian)
"For Fatherland and Freedom"
National anthem: "Dievs, svētī Latviju!" (Latvian)
"God, bless Latvia!"
About the people
Official languages: Latvian
Population: (# of people)
  - Total: 2,291,000 (2006) (ranked 143)
  - Density: 36 per km²
Geography / Places
country map
Here is the country on a map of the world.
Capital city: Riga
Largest city: Riga
Area
  - Total: 64,589 km²
24,937 sq mi (ranked 124)
Politics / Government
Established: November 18, 1918
Leaders: President: Valdis Zatlers[1]
Prime Minister: Ivars Godmanis[2]
Economy / Money
Currency:
(Name of money)		 Latvian lats (Ls)
International information
Time zone: EET (UTC+2)
EEST (UTC+3)
Telephone dialing code: +371
Internet domain: .lv

Latvia is a country in northern Europe. The capital is Riga. It is one of the Baltic States, together with Estonia in the north and Lithuania in the south. Latvia's neighbours to the east are the countries Russia and Belarus. Latvia is split into four parts called Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zemgale, and Latgale.

People from Latvia are called Latvians. They speak the Latvian language, which is a little like the Lithuanian language, though not close enough to be understood.

Contents

History

Latvia was settled by the Baltic tribes thousands of years ago. They mainly fished, hunted, and traded.

German traders and crusaders came to Latvia at the end of the 12th century. Latvians lost control of their homeland. Over the next 800 years, Germans, Danes, Swedes, Poles, and Russians all invaded Latvia. Latvia finally became independent in 1918.

The Soviet Union invaded Latvia during World War II and killed or took away many of its people to Siberia and other places far away from their homes. Nazi Germany invaded and killed nearly all of Latvia's Jews. The Soviet Union then invaded again and occupied Latvia until 1991, when the Soviet Union fell apart and Latvia became an independent country again.

Politics

In Copenhagen on 13 December 2002, Latvia and nine other countries were invited to join the European Union. On 20 September 2003, Latvians held an election to vote on joining. Two thirds of Latvians voted to join, and on 1 May 2004 Latvia became a member of the EU.

Latvia has been a NATO member since 29 March, 2004.

International rankings

Rankings
Name Year Place Out of # Reference
CIA World Factbook – GDP per capita (PPP) 2008 66th 229 [1]
CIA World Factbook – life expectancy 2008 120th 223 [2]
World Economic Forum – Enabling Trade Index ranking 2008 43rd 118 [3]
Yale University / Columbia University – Environmental Performance Index 2008 8th 149 [4]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – e-readiness 2008 37th 70 [5]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – Global Peace Index 2008 39th 140 [6]
United States Patent and Trademark Office's list of patents by country 2007 95th 172 [7]
Save the Children – Mother's Index Rank 2007 25th 141 [8]
Save the Children – Women's Index Rank 2007 21st 141 [9]
Save the Children – Children's Index Rank 2007 33rd 141 [10]
Wall Street Journal / The Heritage Foundation – Index of Economic Freedom 2007 39th 157 [11]
United Nations – Human Development Index 2008 44th 179 [12]
World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report 2007–2008 2007 45th 131 [13]
World Economic Forum – The Global Gender Gap Report 2007 2007 13th 128 [14]
World Bank – Ease of Doing Business Index 2007–2008 29th 181 [15]
Reporters Without Borders – Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007 12th 169 [16]
Transparency International – Corruption Perceptions Index 2007 49th 180 [17]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – Index of Democracy 2007 43rd 167 [18]
Privacy International – Privacy index (EU and 11 other selected countries) 2006 28th 36 [19]
New Economics Foundation – Happy Planet Index 2006 160th 178 [20]
The Economist Intelligence Unit – Quality-of-life index 2005 66th 111 [21]
Save the Children – % seats in the national government held by women 2004 23–25th 126 [22]
World Health Organization – suicide rates by country (both sexes) 8th 101 [23]
NationMaster's index of civil and political liberties 17th 140 [24]

References

  1. ↑ "Unknown surgeon elected president", The Baltic Times, 2007-06-06. Retrieved on 12 June 2007.
  2. ↑ "Latvia’s old coalition back in power", Reuters (The Peninsula Online), December 21, 2007.

Other websites


 
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