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Communications

Airports [time series]

NA total, NA usable; NA with permanent-surface runways; NA with runways over 3,659 m; NA with runways 2,440-3,659 m; NA with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

NA major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

300 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine [time series]

96 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 917,979 GRT/1,194,666 DWT; includes 14 cargo, 29 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 9 roll-on/roll-off, 42 petroleum tanker

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil NA km, refined products NA km, natural gas NA km

Ports [time series]

maritime - Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja; inland - Daugavpils

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

2,400 km (includes NA km electrified) does not include industrial lines (1990)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

broadcast stations - NA; international traffic carried by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch and the Finnish cellular net

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard, Russian Forces (Ground, Navy, Air, Air Defense, Border Guard

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

NA% of GDP; 3-5% of Latvia's budget (1992)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service; NA reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

employs 23% of labor force; principally dairy farming and livestock feeding; products - meat, milk, eggs, grain, sugar beets, potatoes, and vegetables; fishing and fish packing

Budget [time series]

revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

as of May 1992, retaining ruble as currency but planning early introduction of ``lat''

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $NA billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $NA million; Communist countries (1971-86), $NA million

Electricity [time series]

1,975,000 kW capacity; 6,500 million kWh produced, 2,381 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

Exports [time series]

$239 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: food 14%, railroad cars 13%, chemicals 12% partners: Russia 50%, Ukraine 15%, other former Soviet republics 30%, West 5%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$650 million (1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power equivalent - $NA; per capital NA; real growth rate - 8% (1991)

Illicit drugs [time series]

transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe

Imports [time series]

$9.0 billion (c.i.f., 1989) commodities: machinery 35%, petroleum products 13%, chemicals 9% partners: NA

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 0% (1991)

Industries [time series]

employs 33.2% 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) [time series]

approximately 200% (1991)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 electronics. One conspicuous vulnerability: Latvia produces only 10% of its 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, technological support, 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 USSR. Good relations with Russia are threatened by animosity between ethnic Russians (34% of the population) and native Latvians.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Geography

Climate [time series]

maritime; wet, moderate winters

Coastline [time series]

531 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than West Virginia

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

heightened levels of air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga heavily polluted

Area (Land area) [time series]

64,100 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

27% arable land; NA% permanent crops; 13% meadows and pastures; 39% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes NA% irrigated

Maritime claims [time series]

Contiguous zone: NA nm Continental shelf: NA meter depth Exclusive fishing zone: NA nm Exclusive economic zone: NA nm Territorial sea: NA nm

Natural resources [time series]

minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite

Terrain [time series]

low plain

Area (Total area) [time series]

64,100 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

none - all districts are under direct republic jurisdiction

Capital [time series]

Riga

Constitution [time series]

April 1978, currently rewriting constitution, but readopted the 1922 Constitution

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Dr. Anatol DINBERGS; Chancery at 4325 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20011; telephone (202) 726-8213 and 8214 US: Ambassador Ints SILINS; (mailing address is APO AE 09862); telephone [358] (49) 306-067 (cellular), (7) (01-32) 325-968/185; FAX [358] (49) 308-326 (cellular), (7) (01-32) 220-502

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

President: last held October 1988 (next to be held NA; note - elected by Parliament; new elections have not been scheduled; results - percent of vote by party NA Supreme Council: last held 18 March 1990 (next to be held NA); results - undetermined; 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, 126 supported by the Latvia Popular Front Congress of Latvia: last held April 1990 (next to be held NA); note - the Congress of Latvia is a quasi-governmental structure; results - percent of vote by party NA%; seats - (231 total) number of seats by party NA

Executive branch [time series]

Prime Minister

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

18 November 1918; annexed by the USSR 21 July 1940, the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence 6 September 1991 from USSR

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: Chairman, Supreme Council, Anatolijs GORBUNOVS (since October 1988); Chairmen, Andrejs KRASTINS, Valdis BIRKAVS (since NA 1992) Head of Government: Prime Minister Ivars GODMANIS (since May 1990)

Legal system [time series]

based on civil law system

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Supreme Council

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Latvia

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

CSCE, IAEA, UN

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 18 November (1918)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

15 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

12 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

19 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

1,407,000; industry and construction 41%, agriculture and forestry 16%, other 43% (1990)

Languages [time series]

Latvian NA% (official), Lithuanian NA%, Russian NA%, other NA%

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

65 years male, 75 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

NA% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write

Nationality [time series]

noun - Latvian(s);adjective - Latvian

Net migration rate [time series]

4 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

Population [time series]

2,728,937 (July 1992), growth rate 0.6% (1992)

Religions [time series]

Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.1 children born/woman (1992)