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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 50 useable: 15 with permanent-surface runways: 11 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 7

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

300 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

coastal - Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja; inland - Daugavpils

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Note [time series]

Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of the devastating 16-year civil war in October 1990. Under the Ta'if accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process. Since December 1990, the Lebanese have formed three cabinets and conducted the first legislative election in 20 years. Most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has seized vast quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and extended central government authority over about one-half of the country. Hizballah, the radical Sh'ia party, is the only significant group that retains most of its weapons. Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel continues to support a proxy militia, The Army of South Lebanon (ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous to its border. The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of Jazzine. As of December 1992, Syria maintained about 30,000 troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord. Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 lat = 100 NA; introduced NA March 1993

Economic aid [time series]

Electricity [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

lats per US$1 - 1.32 (March 1993)

Exports [time series]

$NA commodities: NA partners: NA

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$650 million (1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Illicit drugs [time series]

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 [time series]

$NA commodities: NA partners: NA

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

growth rate -35% (1992 est.)

Industries [time series]

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) [time series]

2% per month (first quarter 1993)

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

GDP $NA

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$NA

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

-30% (1992)

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 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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

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

Geography

Area [time series]

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

Climate [time series]

maritime; wet, moderate winters

Coastline [time series]

531 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

160 km2 (1990)

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite

Terrain [time series]

low plain

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

none (all districts are under direct republic jurisdiction)

Capital [time series]

Riga

Constitution [time series]

adopted NA May 1922, considering rewriting constitution

Digraph [time series]

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

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

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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 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 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

Executive branch [time series]

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

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: Chairman Supreme Council Anatolijs V. GORBUNOVS (since NA October 1988) Head of Government: Prime Minister Ivars GODMANIS (since NA May 1990)

Legal system [time series]

based on civil law system

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Supreme Council

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

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 [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 (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

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

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) 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

People

Birth rate [time series]

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

Death rate [time series]

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

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

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

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Latvian (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

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

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian

Net migration rate [time series]

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

Population [time series]

2,735,573 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

0.5% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox

Total fertility rate [time series]

2 children born/woman (1993 est.)