1993 Edition

Area

total area: 64,100 km2 land area: 64,100 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Climate

maritime; wet, moderate winters

Coastline

531 km

Environment

heightened levels of air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases

International disputes

the Abrene section of border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944

Irrigated land

160 km2 (1990)

Land boundaries

total 1,078 km, Belarus 141 km, Estonia 267 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km

Land use

arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 39% other: 21%

Location

Eastern Europe, bordering on the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia

Map references

Arctic Region, Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite

Terrain

low plain

Birth rate

13.99 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

12.73 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Latvian 51.8%, Russian 33.8%, Belarusian 4.5%, Ukrainian 3.4%, Polish 2.3%, other 4.2%

Infant mortality rate

22 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

1.407 million by occupation: industry and construction 41%, agriculture and forestry 16%, other 43% (1990)

Languages

Latvian (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.23 years male: 64.15 years female: 74.55 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%

Nationality

noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian

Net migration rate

3.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

2,735,573 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

0.5% (1993 est.)

Religions

Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox

Total fertility rate

2 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Administrative divisions

none (all districts are under direct republic jurisdiction)

Capital

Riga

Chief of State

Chairman Supreme Council Anatolijs V. GORBUNOVS (since NA October 1988)

Congress of Latvia

last held April 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (231 total) number of seats by party NA; note - the Congress of Latvia is a quasi-governmental structure

Constitution

adopted NA May 1922, considering rewriting constitution

Digraph

LG

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Ojars KALNINS chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: (202) 726-8213 and 8214

Executive branch

Chairman of Supreme Council (president), prime minister, cabinet

FAX

[358] (49) 314-665 (cellular), (7) (01-32) 220-502 note: dialing to the Baltics still requires use of an international operator, unless you use the cellular phone lines

Flag

two horizontal bands of maroon (top and bottom), white (middle, narrower than other two bands)

Head of Government

Prime Minister Ivars GODMANIS (since NA May 1990)

Independence

6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on civil law system

Legislative branch

unicameral Supreme Council

Member of

CBSS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Latvia conventional short form: Latvia local long form: Latvijas Republika local short form: Latvija former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

National holiday

Independence Day, 18 November (1918)

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Labor Party of Latvia, Juris BOJARS, chairman; Inter-Front of the Working People of Latvia, Igor LOPATIN, chairman (Inter-Front was banned after the coup); Latvian National Movement for Independence, Eduards BERKLAVS, chairman; Latvian Democratic Party, Janis DINEVICS, chairman; Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, Uldis BERZINS, chairman; Latvian People's Front, Uldis AUGST-KALNS, chairman; Latvian Liberal Party, Georg LANSMANIS, chairman

President

last held October 1988 (next to be held NA); note - Anatolijs V. GORBUNOVS elected by Supreme Soviet; elected to restyled post of Chairman of the Supreme Council on 3 May 1990; new elections have not been scheduled

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Supreme Council

last held 18 March 1990 for the Supreme Soviet (next to be held 5-6 June 1993 for the Saeima); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (234 total) Latvian Communist Party 59, Latvian Democratic Workers Party 31, Social Democratic Party of Latvia 4, Green Party of Latvia 7, Latvian Farmers Union 7, Latvian Popular Front 126; note - the Supreme Council is an interim 201-seats legislative body; a new parliament or Saiema to be elected in June 1993

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Ints M, SILINS; embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, Riga 226050 mailing address: APO AE 09862 telephone: 0-11 [358] (49) 311-348 (cellular)

Agriculture

employs 16% of labor force; principally dairy farming and livestock feeding; products - meat, milk, eggs, grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; fishing and fish packing

Budget

revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Currency

1 lat = 100 NA; introduced NA March 1993

Economic aid

NA

Electricity

2,140,000 kW capacity; 5,800 million kWh produced, 2,125 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates

lats per US$1 - 1.32 (March 1993)

Exports

$NA commodities: NA partners: NA

External debt

$650 million (1991 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe; limited producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic consumption; also produces illicit amphetamines for export

Imports

$NA commodities: NA partners: NA

Industrial production

growth rate -35% (1992 est.)

Industries

employs 33% of labor force; highly diversified; dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products; produces buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2% per month (first quarter 1993)

National product

GDP $NA

National product per capita

$NA

National product real growth rate

-30% (1992)

Overview

Latvia is in the process of reforming the centrally planned economy inherited from the former USSR into a market economy. Prices have been freed, and privatization of shops and farms has begun. Latvia lacks natural resources, aside from its arable land and small forests. Its most valuable economic asset is its work force, which is better educated and disciplined than in most of the former Soviet republics. Industrial production is highly diversified, with products ranging from agricultural machinery to consumer

electric power needs. Latvia in the near term must retain key commercial ties to Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine while moving in the long run toward joint ventures with technological support from, and trade ties to the West. Because of the efficiency of its mostly individual farms, Latvians enjoy a diet that is higher in meat, vegetables, and dairy products and lower in grain and potatoes than diets in the 12 non-Baltic republics of the former USSR. Good relations with Russia are threatened by animosity between ethnic Russians (34% of the population) and native Latvians. The cumulative difficulties in replacing old sources of supply and old markets, together with the phasing out of the Russian ruble as the medium of exchange, help account for the sharp 30% drop in GDP in 1992.

electronics. One conspicuous vulnerability

Latvia produces only 10% of its

Unemployment rate

3.6% (March 1993); but large numbers of underemployed workers

Airports

total: 50 useable: 15 with permanent-surface runways: 11 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 7

Highways

59,500 km total; 33,000 km hard surfaced 26,500 km earth (1990)

Inland waterways

300 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine

96 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 905,006 GRT/1,178,844 DWT; includes 14 cargo, 27 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 9 roll-on/roll-off, 44 oil tanker

Pipelines

crude oil 750 km, refined products 780 km, natural gas 560 km (1992)

Ports

coastal - Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja; inland - Daugavpils

Railroads

2,400 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)

Telecommunications

NMT-450 analog cellular network is operational covering Riga, Ventspils, Daugavpils, Rezekne, and Valmiera; broadcast stations - NA; international traffic carried by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch and through new independent international automatic telephone exchange in Riga and the Finnish cellular net

Branches

Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops), Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)

Defense expenditures

176 million rubles, 3-5% of GDP; note - conversion of the military budget into US$ using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 648,273; fit for military service 511,297; reach military age (18) annually 18,767 (1993 est.)