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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 50 usable: 15 with permanent-surface runways: 11 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 7 with runways 1,060-2,439 m: 7 note: a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 59,500 km paved and graveled: 33,000 km unpaved: earth 26,500 km (1990)

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

300 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine [time series]

93 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 850,840 GRT/1,107,403 DWT, cargo 15, container 2, oil tanker 41, refrigerated cargo 27, roll-on/roll-off cargo 8

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 (1,524-mm gauge); 270 km electrified

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

Latvia is better provided with telephone service than most of the other former Soviet republics; subscriber circuits 660,000; subscriber density 240 per 1,000 persons (1993); an NMT-450 analog cellular telephone network covers 75% of Latvia's population; international traffic carried by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch and through the new Ericsson AXE local/transit digital telephone exchange in Riga and through the Finnish cellular net; electronic mail capability by Sprint data network; broadcasting services NA

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 dollars using the prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 652,444; fit for military service 514,055; reach military age (18) annually 18,803 (1994 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, retains most of its weapons. Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops in southern Lebanon and 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 1993, Syria maintained about 30,000-35,000 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 cents; introduced NA March 1993

Economic aid [time series]

$NA

Electricity [time series]

capacity: 2,140,000 kW production: 5.8 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,125 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates [time series]

lats per US$1 - 0.5917 (January 1994), 1.32 (March 1993)

Exports [time series]

$429 million from non-FSU countries (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: oil products, timber, ferrous metals, dairy products, furniture, textiles partners: Russia, other CIS countries, Western Europe

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$NA

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

$NA commodities: fuels, cars, ferrous metals, chemicals partners: Russia, other CIS countries, Western Europe

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

growth rate -38% (1992 est.)

Industries [time series]

employs 41% 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 (1993 average)

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

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $13.2 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Latvian statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)

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

$4,810 (1993 est.)

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

-5% (1993 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Latvia is rapidly becoming a dynamic market economy, rivaled only by Estonia among the former Soviet states in the speed of its transformation. The transition has been painful with GDP falling over 45% in 1992-93, according to official statistics, and industrial production experiencing even steeper declines. Nevertheless, the government's tough monetary policies and reform program, which foster the development of the private sector and market mechanisms, have kept inflation low, created a dynamic private sector - much of which is not captured in official statistics - and expanded trade ties with the West. Much of agriculture is already privatized and the government plans to step up the pace of privatization of state enterprises. The economy is now poised for recovery and will benefit from the country's strategic location on the Baltic Sea, its well-educated population, and its diverse - albeit largely obsolete - industrial structure.

Unemployment rate [time series]

5.6% (December 1993)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 64,100 sq km land area: 64,100 sq km 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]

current issues: 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 natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

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 sq km (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]

26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons, Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas Rajons, Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*, Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons, Preiju Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons

Capital [time series]

Riga

Constitution [time series]

newly elected Parliament in 1993 restored the 1933 constitution

Digraph [time series]

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

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

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: President Guntis ULMANIS (since 7 July 1993); Saeima elected President ULMANIS in the third round of balloting on 7 July 1993 head of government: Prime Minister Valdis BIRKAVS (since 20 July 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the Supreme Council

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

46-9-882-0047

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

Legal system [time series]

based on civil law system

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE (guest), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

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)

Legislative branch (Parliament (Saeima)) [time series]

elections last held 5-6 June 1993 (next to be held NA June 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (100 total) LC 36, LNNK 15, Concord for Latvia 13, LZS 12, Equal Rights 7, LKDS 6, TUB 6, DCP 5

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

Latvian Way Union (LC), Valdis BIRKAVS; Latvian Farmers Union (LZS), Alvars BERKIS; Latvian National Independence Movement (LNNK), Andrejs KRASTINS, Aristids LAMBERGS, cochairmen; Concord for Latvia, Janis JURKANS; Equal Rights, Sergejs DIMANIS; Christian Democrat Union (LKDS), Peteris CIMDINS, Andris SAULITIS, Janis RUSKO; Fatherland and Freedom (TUB), Maris GRINBLATS, Roberts MILBERGS, Oigerts DZENTIS; Democratic Center (DCP), Ints CALITIS; Popular Front of Latvia (LTF), Uldis AUGSTKALNS

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: use embassy street address telephone: 46-9-882-0046

People

Birth rate [time series]

13.84 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate [time series]

12.61 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

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]

21.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 69.44 years male: 64.37 years female: 74.75 years (1994 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]

3.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population [time series]

2,749,211 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

0.5% (1994 est.)

Religions [time series]

Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.98 children born/woman (1994 est.)