LATVIA - POLITICS

After regaining its independence, Latvia began to work at reintegrating into the West. In 1991, Latvia joined the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and became a member of the United Nations (UN). It is party to a number of UN organizations as well as other international agreements including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. Since 2004, Latvia has been an active member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU).

LATVIA - HISTORY

By the 10th century, the area that is today Latvia was inhabited by several Baltic tribes who had formed their own local governments. In 1054, German sailors who shipwrecked on the Daugava River inhabited the area, which initiated a period of increasing Germanic influence. The Germans named the territory Livonia. In 1201, Riga, the current capital of Latvia, was founded by the Germanic Bishop Alberth of Livonia; the city joined the Hanseatic League in 1285 and began to form important cultural and economic relationships with the rest of Europe.

LATVIA - ECONOMY

For centuries under Hanseatic and German influence and then during its inter-war independence, Latvia used its geographic location as an important East-West commercial and trading centre. Industry served local markets, while timber, paper, and agricultural products supplied Latvia’s main exports. The years of Soviet occupation tended to integrate Latvia’s economy into the U.S.S.R. in order to serve that empire’s large internal industrial needs. Since re-establishing its independence, Latvia has proceeded with market-oriented reforms.

LATVIA - BASIC FACTS

The Republic of Latvia is founded on November 18, 1918

Location: Latvia is situated in Northern Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

The Territory of Latvia: 64,589 square kilometres (24,938 square miles).

National anthem: ’Dievs, sveti Latviju!’ (God Bless Latvia)

International code: LV

Constitution: democratic parliamentary republic

The parliament, called the Saeima consists of 100 elected MPs.

President: Valdis Zatlers (since 8 July, 2007)

Official language: Latvian

Total population: 2 274 700 (2007)

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