Latvia is a country on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Estonia. Its landscape is marked by wide beaches as well as dense, sprawling forests. Latvia’s capital is Riga, home to notable wooden and art nouveau architecture, a vast Central Market and a medieval Old Town with St. Peter's Church. Riga's museums include the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, showcasing local crafts, food and music.
Languages: LanguagesLatvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3%
Ethnic Groups: Latvian 59.3%, Russian 27.8%, Belarusian 3.6%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Polish 2.4%, Lithuanian 1.3%, other 3.1%
Belief Systems: Lutheran 19.6%, Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7%
Demographics:
Population: 2.22 million people (World Rank: 144th) (2014 estimate)
Population Density: 92.3 people/mi^2 (People per Square Mile) (World Rank: 180th) (2014 estimate)
Population Growth: -0.372 %/yr (World Rank: 231st) (2013 estimate)
Life Expectancy: 72.2 years (World Rank: 137th) (2013 estimate)
Median Age: 41.2 years (World Rank: 11th) (2010 estimate)
Sites for More Information:
Map of Latvia
Worldatlas.com
Country Profile for Latvia
United Nations
Latvia - Country Profile
U.S. Library of Congress
Latvia - General Information
Encyclopedia.com
Tourism:
Travel Info for Latvia
Travelnotes.org
Even More Travel Info for Latvia
Language Resources:
Government Related:
Latvian Embassy
in Washington D.C.
Latvian Government Web Sites
by Gunnar Anzinger
