Summary
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Latvia:
Latvia – sovereign country located in the Baltic region of Northern Europe.[1] Latvia is bordered to the north by Estonia (343 km), to the south by Lithuania (588 km), and to the east both by Belarus (141 km) and the Russian Federation (276 km). Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden. The territory of Latvia covers 64,589 km2 and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate.
The Latvians are a Baltic people closely related to the Lithuanians, with the Latvian language sharing many similarities to Lithuanian. Today the Latvians and Lithuanians are the only surviving members of the Baltic peoples and Baltic languages of the Indo-European family. The modern name of Latvia is thought to originate from the ancient Latvian name Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia.[citation needed]
Latvia is a democratic parliamentary republic and is divided into 26 districts. The capital and largest city is Riga. Latvia has been a member of the United Nations since 17 September 1991, of the European Union since 1 May 2004 and of NATO since 29 March 2004.
General reference edit
- Pronunciation: /ˈlætviə/
- Common English country name: Latvia
- Official English country name: The Republic of Latvia
- Common endonym(s): Latvija
- Official endonym(s): Latvija
- Adjectival(s): Latvian
- Demonym(s): Latvian
- Etymology: Name of Latvia
- International rankings of Latvia
- ISO country codes: LV, LVA, 428
- ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:LV
- Internet country code top-level domain: .lv
Geography of Latvia edit
- Latvia is: a country
- Location:
- Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
- Eurasia
- Time zone: Eastern European Time (UTC+02), Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+03)
- Extreme points of Latvia
- High: Gaizinkalns 312 m (1,024 ft)
- Low: Baltic Sea 0 m
- Land boundaries: 1,382 km
-
- Coastline: Baltic Sea 498 km
- Population of Latvia: 2,068,000 (February, 2012) - 144th most populous country
- Area of Latvia: 64,589 km2
- Atlas of Latvia
Environment of Latvia edit
- Climate of Latvia
- Renewable energy in Latvia
- Geology of Latvia
- Protected areas of Latvia
- Biosphere reserves in Latvia
- National parks of Latvia
- Wildlife of Latvia
Natural geographic features of Latvia edit
Ecoregions of Latvia edit
List of ecoregions in Latvia
- Ecoregions in Latvia
Administrative divisions of Latvia edit
Administrative divisions of Latvia
Regions of Latvia edit
Regions of Latvia (current article is actually about the provinces of Latvia. The new Latvian regions were developed in accordance with EU-standardisation)
Districts of Latvia edit
Subdivisions of Latvia edit
Municipalities of Latvia edit
- Capital of Latvia: Riga
- List of cities in Latvia
Demography of Latvia edit
Government and politics of Latvia edit
- Form of government: Representative democracy; unitary parliamentary republic
- Capital of Latvia: Riga
- Elections in Latvia
- Political parties in Latvia
Branches of the government of Latvia edit
Executive branch of the government of Latvia edit
- Head of state: President of Latvia, Egils Levits
- Head of government: Prime Minister of Latvia, Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš
- Cabinet of Latvia
Legislative branch of the government of Latvia edit
Judicial branch of the government of Latvia edit
Court system of Latvia
Foreign relations of Latvia edit
International organization membership edit
The Republic of Latvia is a member of:[1]
Law and order in Latvia edit
- Capital punishment in Latvia
- Constitution of Latvia
- Crime in Latvia
- Human rights in Latvia
- Latvian citizenship law
- LGBT rights in Latvia
- Freedom of religion in Latvia
- Law enforcement in Latvia
Military of Latvia edit
- Command
- Forces
- Army of Latvia
- Navy of Latvia
- Air Force of Latvia
- Special forces of Latvia
- Military history of Latvia
- Military ranks of Latvia
Local government in Latvia edit
Local government in Latvia
History of Latvia edit
- Timeline of the history of Latvia
- Current events of Latvia
- Military history of Latvia
Culture of Latvia edit
- Architecture of Latvia
- Cuisine of Latvia
- Festivals in Latvia
- Humor in Latvia
- Languages of Latvia
- Media in Latvia
- National symbols of Latvia
- People of Latvia
- Prostitution in Latvia
- Public holidays in Latvia
- Records of Latvia
- Religion in Latvia
- World Heritage Sites in Latvia
Art in Latvia edit
- Art in Latvia
- Cinema of Latvia
- Literature of Latvia
- Music of Latvia
- Television in Latvia
- Theatre in Latvia
Sports in Latvia edit
- Football in Latvia
- Ice Hockey in Latvia
- Basketball in Latvia
- Athletics in Latvia
- Tennis in Latvia
- Cycling in Latvia
- Floorball in Latvia
- Latvia at the Olympics
Economy and infrastructure of Latvia edit
- Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 82nd (eighty-second)
- Agriculture in Latvia
- Banking in Latvia
- Communications in Latvia
- Companies of Latvia
- Currency of Latvia: Euro
- ISO 4217: EUR
- Energy in Latvia
- Energy policy of Latvia
- Oil industry in Latvia
- Health care in Latvia
- Mining in Latvia
- Latvian Real Estate (needs fixing)
- Riga Stock Exchange
- Tourism in Latvia
- Transport in Latvia
Education in Latvia edit
Civil society organisations in Latvia edit
- Latvian Medical Foundation
- School of Young Geographers
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Latvia". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 2, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
External links edit
Wikimedia Atlas of Latvia
- The President of Latvia
- National Statistics Agency — Statistical information on economic, demographic, social, and environmental phenomena and processes of Latvia
- Latvia from The World Factbook
- Virtual World of Latvia (Latvian Institute)
- The Latvian Institute — Publications on Latvian society, economy, culture and history
