Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a sovereign country in Northern Europe, member of the European Union, constituted in a social and democratic state of law and whose form of government is the parliamentary republic. Its territory, with its capital in Riga, is organized into 110 municipalities and 9 cities with their own administration.
Located in the Baltic region, it has an area of 64,589 km² in area. It borders Estonia to the north, Lithuania and Belarus to the south, and Russia to the east, in addition to sharing a maritime border with Sweden. It is a country of low plains, populated by extensive forests and numerous rivers that flow into the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga.
The territory was populated by Indo-European tribes and at the end of the XII century ended up being occupied by the Teutonic order in the Baltic crusades. For seven centuries it has been subjugated by foreign forces; After being part of the Russian Empire, dominated by the Baltic Germans, Latvia declared its independence on November 18, 1918, taking advantage of the power vacuum created at the end of the First World War. The short-lived republic was replaced in 1934 by an autocratic regime. After the outbreak of World War II, it was occupied in 1940 by the Soviet Union based on the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact; invaded a year later by Nazi Germany, and reconquered by the Soviets in 1944, who suppressed independence and turned the country into a socialist republic for 45 years. Latvia became independent again in 1991, coinciding with a democratic movement in the Baltic countries and the subsequent dissolution of the USSR. Since 2004 it has been part of the European Union and NATO.
Latvians and Livonians are considered the native people of Latvia, while the Latvian language is, along with Lithuanian, the only surviving language of Baltic origin. The Latvian people have maintained their identity by oral tradition despite foreign rule, and from the 19th century they were influenced by nationalism romantic to develop their own culture and claim their independence. However, due to historical influence there is also a significant Russian-speaking minority (more than 26% of the population). After the 1991 restoration, the authorities established the Latvian language as the only official language, and distinguished between Latvian citizens—born and descendants of residents before 1940—and “non-citizens”—those who came to the country during the Soviet Union—by granting the new nationality. Approximately 11% of the Latvian population has not obtained any nationality after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Etymology
The Latvian name for the country, Latvija, derives from the Latgalians, one of four Indo-European tribes that are ancestors of present-day Latvians, along with Baltic Finns and Livonians. In the language of the Latgalians, Lætgale means "high land".
The priest Henry of Livonia coined the Latin terms Lettigallia and Lethia, also derived from Latgalians, in the chronicle of Henry of Livonia which covers events that occurred between 1180 and 1227. Both words inspired the variant Latvia in Romance languages and Lettland in Germanic languages.
History
The territory on which Latvia is located today was originally inhabited by several Baltic tribes —Curonians, Latgalians, Selonians, and Semi-Gallians— and Finno-Ugrics (lyvis), becoming an important commercial enclave on the route from amber by the Daugava River, and resisted Christianization until the campaign of the Baltic Crusades in the 12th century. Invading Teutons founded the city of Riga in 1201 and incorporated it into the Hanseatic League in 1282. For three centuries Livonian territory remained under the rule of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword.
The region was occupied in the 16th century by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later incorporated into the Republic of the Two Nations. At that time the culture of the different Baltic tribes in the area amalgamated to lay the foundations of the current Latvian people. In 1621, Sweden seized control of Riga in the Third Polish-Swedish War of the Thirty Years' War, eventually making it the second largest city in the Swedish empire. However, the west and south-west of present-day Latvia remained under Polish rule -as the Duchy of Courland- and had some autonomy until the second partition of 1793, so the inhabitants of those areas were not subjected to cultural assimilation.
The capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710 meant the integration of Swedish Livonia into the Russian Empire, which would later incorporate Latgale (1772) and Courland (1795). It is estimated that 40% of the population died in the course of of the Great Northern War by famines and plagues. In the 19th century Latvians were influenced by romantic nationalism and the economic development of the region, giving way to different currents nationalists who promoted the development of their own Latvian culture.
After the Bolshevik Revolution, Latvia took advantage of the power vacuum caused by World War I to declare its independence on November 18, 1918. A month later the War of Independence broke out between the defenders of the new state — led by Kārlis Ulmanis—Baltic German soldiers, and Latvian Bolsheviks who wanted to form a socialist republic. The conflict lasted for two years and ended with international recognition of Latvia, followed by the approval in 1922 of a democratic constitution and parliament. However, this model of government did not last long: in 1934 Prime Minister Ulmanis carried out a coup to establish an authoritarian regime for the next six years.
The signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact during World War II led to Latvia being invaded by the Soviet Union on June 17, 1940. The following year, during Operation Barbarossa, the country was occupied by the Nazi Germany and became a German province under which more than 70,000 Jews were deported and murdered. The territory was not recaptured by the Red Army until 1944; As of that year, the Latvian SSR, federated in the Soviet Union, was consolidated, and the foundations of a socialist state were laid for five decades. While the Soviet Union regarded this annexation as a "liberation" of Axis troops, the Western states did not recognize it. It is estimated that more than 49,000 Latvians were deported and another 150,000 went into exile.
Mikhail Gorbachev's liberalizing measures reinvigorated the three Baltic republics to claim their independence in the late 1980s, ushering in a process known as the "sung revolution". After the Popular Front won the first free elections In 1990, the new government of Ivars Godmanis declared the restoration of the independence of 1918, postponed and made illegal by Moscow, but ratified in a referendum in March 1991 with 75% of the votes and 87% participation., Latvia joined the United Nations Organization on September 17, 1991, before the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
After restoring independence, Latvia became a parliamentary republic with a market economy. When granting citizenship and the political rights it entails, the authorities distinguished between Latvian citizens—born and descendants of residents before 1940—and “people without citizenship”—those who came to the country during the Soviet Union, mostly Russian-speaking. —. To obtain Latvian nationality, this group had to pass a series of tests that included demonstrating proficiency in the Latvian language.
Latvia has strengthened its ties with Western Europe to the detriment of Russia, with which there have been tensions over its treatment of the Russian-speaking minority. In 2004 it became a full member of both NATO and the European Union Europe. Despite a serious financial crisis in 2008, the country was able to recover after implementing an austerity plan supervised by the International Monetary Fund. In 2014 it adopted the euro as legal tender, and in 2016 it was accepted into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Government and politics
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Latvia is a representative democracy with division of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches. The 1993 constitution defines the country as a parliamentary republic represented by a unicameral parliament—the Latvian Diet, known as Saeima—and a council of ministers that forms the executive branch.
Division of powers
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Egils Levits.
The head of state is the president of Latvia, elected in an electoral college by the deputies of the Saeima for a four-year term and the possibility of a single re-election. On the other hand, the prime minister He is the head of government of the country and presides over the council of ministers. The president serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, appoints the prime minister after the approval of the Saeima, and has some executive functions subject to the signature of the relevant minister. Compared to other Baltic countries, this figure has more functions than the Estonian president but less power than his Lithuanian counterpart.
Members of the Latvian parliament serve four-year terms and are elected by universal suffrage in multiparty elections. The legislature currently has 100 seats. The judicial system is made up of three levels and its apex is the Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed by the Saeima for a five-year term, except for the provisions on constitutional guarantees that depend on the Constitutional Court. Parliament is the only authority empowered to enact laws.
In the 2020 Democracy Index compiled by The Economist, the Republic of Latvia scored 7.24 out of 10.
Foreign Relations
Latvia has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004. Among the responsibilities it has assumed are the 2006 NATO summit and the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first semester of 2015.
After confirming the restoration of independence on August 21, 1991, Latvia has strengthened its relations with Western Europe. The state joined the United Nations Organization on September 17 of the same year. Since then, the country has been part of international organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and specialized UN agencies, as well as continental ones such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Defense Agency, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Nordic Investment Bank.
Latvia's diplomatic network is made up of 37 embassies and nine permanent representations. Within the country there are 37 foreign delegations and eleven international organizations. Riga is home to a community institution, the Body of European Regulators for Communications (BEREC).
Latvia's foreign policy priorities include cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, European integration, active participation in international organizations, contribution to European and transatlantic security and defense structures, participation in international operations civil and military peacekeeping, and development cooperation, especially the strengthening of stability and democracy in the countries of the Eastern Partnership of the EU.
Since the early 1990s, Latvia has been involved in active trilateral Baltic States cooperation with its neighbors Estonia and Lithuania, and in Nordic-Baltic cooperation with the Nordic countries. The Baltic Council is the joint forum of the interparliamentary Baltic Assembly (BA) and the intergovernmental Baltic Council of Ministers (BCM). The Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB-8) is the joint cooperation of the governments of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Nordic-Baltic Six (NB-6), which includes the Nordic-Baltic countries that are member states of the European Union, is a framework for meetings on EU-related issues. Inter-parliamentary cooperation between the Baltic Assembly and the Nordic Council was signed in 1992 and annual meetings have been held since 2006, as well as regular meetings at other levels. Joint Nordic-Baltic cooperation initiatives include the NordPlus education program and mobility programs for public administration, business and industry and culture. The Nordic Council of Ministers has an office in Riga.
Defense
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The Latvian National Armed Forces (Latvian: Nacionālie Bruņotie Spēki) are responsible for national defence. Its main task is to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of the country, defend territorial integrity and comply with the constitutional order. Latvia has been part of NATO since March 29, 2004 and is protected by the Baltic Air Police.
These have traditionally been divided into three arms: the Land Force (SzS), the Naval Force (LJS) and the Air Force (LGS), to which must be added the National Guard —a volunteer corps of light infantry for defense territory—, the Special Operations Unit and the Military Police. It currently has 5,500 regular troops and 8,500 in the reserves; compulsory military service was abolished in January 2007.
The Latvian Army was created on July 10, 1919 to unify forces in the war of independence. and it remained active until the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1940. As communist power consolidated, the weapons were absorbed by the Soviet army. A few days after the restoration of independence was proclaimed in 1991, the state created an infantry corps made up of volunteers, the National Guard, at the same time that it assumed the recovery of the army.
Latvian civilian experts have assisted in numerous EU civilian missions since its accession in 2004. Within NATO, the country has hosted the 2006 Riga summit and has hosted the Center of Excellence for Strategic Communications since 2014.
Police
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The Latvian State Police (Latvian: Latvijas Valsts policija) is the police service and one of the national law enforcement agencies in Latvia. It depends on the Ministry of the Interior. The agency is divided into five regional administrations (Riga, Kurzeme, Latgale, Vidzeme, Zemgale). Since October 13, 2020, the Chief of the State Police is Armands Ruks.
The founding date of the Latvian Police is considered to be December 5, 1918, when the transitional government of the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia, the Latvian People's Council, approved the Temporary Regulations of the Organization of the Internal Security (Pagaidu noteikumi par iekšējās apsardzības organizēšanu), which regulated the structure of the police and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Latvian Ministry of Interior, headed by Miķelis Valters. The date is now commemorated in Latvia as Police Day.
Due to the ongoing Latvian war of independence and the lack of territory controlled by Latvian forces at the time, the force was only able to begin its activities in the summer of 1919, after the Latvian army and its allies had liberated large parts of the country from the Red Army. Due to the lack of qualified personnel, that same year the Riga Prefectural Police School was opened.
After the war, the force was divided into Civil Police (Kārtības policija), Criminal Police (Kriminālpolicija) and Secret Police (Politiskā policija). i>). Latvia became a member of Interpol in 1929. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, the police force was disbanded and some 600 former servicemen and their relatives were persecuted. Under the Soviet regime, law enforcement in the Latvian SSR was primarily the task of the Soviet Militsiya.
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After the restoration of Latvian independence, the Latvian Police was reorganized on June 4, 1991 with the approval of the law "On Police" One of its first units was the 1.er Police Battalion (Patrol), created on April 30, 1991.
The main task of the battalion, which was one of the first Latvian government armed formations, was to provide security for the Latvian Supreme Council and buildings of strategic importance (government offices, radio and television broadcasting infrastructure). In 1992, the battalion was renamed the Security Service of the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republikas Drošības dienests), which was merged into the Military Police in 2010. Latvia rejoined Interpol on 4 November 1992.
Human Rights
In terms of human rights, regarding membership of the seven bodies of the International Bill of Human Rights, which include the Human Rights Committee (HRC), Latvia has signed or ratified:
 Latvia | International treaties | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CESCR | CCPR | CERD | CED | CEDAW | CAT | CRC | MWC | CRPD | |||||||||
| CESCR | CESCR-OP | CCPR | CCPR-OP1 | CCPR-OP2-DP | CEDAW | CEDAW-OP | CAT | CAT-OP | CRC | CRC-OP-AC | CRC-OP-SC | CRPD | CRPD-OP | ||||
| Pertenence |   |  | | |  | | | | | | | |  | | | | |
 Signed and ratified,  signed, but not ratified,  neither signed nor ratified,  without information,  it has agreed to sign and ratify the body concerned, but also recognizes the competence to receive and process individual communications from the competent bodies. | |||||||||||||||||
Status of major international human rights instruments
According to reports by Freedom House and the US State Department, human rights in Latvia are generally respected by the government: Latvia ranks above average among the world's sovereign states in democracy, freedom of the press, privacy and human development.
More than 56% of management positions are held by women in Latvia, which ranks first in Europe; Latvia is the first country in the world in women's rights, sharing the position with five other European countries, according to the World Bank.
Territorial organization
Latvia is a centralized state, whose capital and most populous city is Riga. As of July 2021 it is subdivided into 36 municipalities and 7 "state cities", each with its own administration: Daugavpils, Jēkabpils, Jelgava, Jūrmala, Liepāja, Rēzekne, Riga, Valmiera, and Ventspils. In turn, the municipalities are divided into parishes, cities, and localities with rural land.
There are four historical regions —Courland, Latgale, Vidzeme, Zemgale— that are recognized in the Latvian Constitution, and to which Riga is usually added as a separate region to avoid territorial imbalances. Historical regions are only taken into account for the production of statistics, so they do not have any administrative character.
The border between Latvia and Russia is 217 km. The state tried to reclaim in 1991 the territories of the former Abrene district that had been annexed to the Russian SFSR in 1945, including the city of Abrene (now Pytalovo, Pskov Oblast) and six eastern parishes, but the Russian Federation refused to return them. because it does not consider that they are subject to the Treaty of Riga. In 2007, the two countries signed a border treaty that recognized the territory as belonging to Russia. The expression "Abrene region" refers only to the part of present-day Russia, despite the fact that more than three-quarters of the former district is found in Latvia.
Geography
Latvia is located in the northeast of Northern Europe, surrounded by the Baltic Sea to the west. The total land area of the country is 64,589 km², making it the second largest Baltic state after Lithuania. It has 531 km of coastline and the ports of Ventspils and Liepāja are free of ice, which gives them an advantage over other neighboring countries. To the northwest lie the Gulf of Riga and the Irbe Strait.
Most of the territory is less than 100 meters above sea level; the highest point is Gaizina Hill (311 m s. n. m.).
The interior relief is made up of extensive plains, moors and swamps, so much of the land is fertile and there are hardly any elevations. The country has 30,798 km² of coniferous forests (more than 47% of the total), planted mostly with pine, birch, spruce and alder. This makes it the fourth European country in proportion of forested territory. In addition there are 7,469 km² of protected areas. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) includes Latvia in the temperate broadleaved forest ecoregion called sarmatic mixed forest.
It is estimated that there are more than 12,000 rivers and tributaries throughout the national territory, but only 17 measure more than 100 km. The most important is the Daugava River (1,020 km), which rises in the Valdai Hills (Russia), passes through Belarus and runs 370 km from Latvia until it empties into the Gulf of Riga. On the other hand, the longest is the Gauja River, whose 452 km run entirely through Latvia. There are also more than 2,300 lakes of glacial origin, among which Lake Lubāns stands out.
The country has a humid continental climate. Although the proximity to the Baltic Sea softens the temperature, winters can be very cold, with averages of -10 °C to -1 °C. In much of the country there is high humidity and constant rainfall, so most of the Agricultural land requires drainage. The hours of sunshine amount to 1,723 minutes a year, with only six hours a day at the beginning of winter.
Environment
Since the 1990s, steps have been taken to protect the environment. In times of the Soviet Union, heavy industry was committed to, which led to high levels of pollution, water contamination and even cases of acid rain. Another controversial aspect has been the establishment of hydroelectric plants: although they are important due to the country's energy dependence, their environmental impact has come to generate numerous citizen protests. Since 1995 there has been a National Plan for Environmental Policies that, together with the closure of the obsolete industries, has managed to reduce pollution.
Latvia today has four national parks. Gauja National Park became the first to receive such recognition in 1973, and it is also the largest in the country: more than 917 km² of biological diversity and natural attractions such as sandstone cliffs. The rest are the Kemeri National Park (1997), which stands out for its forests and swamps; the Slītere National Park (2000) and the Rāzna National Park (2007), built on the second largest lake in the country.
Flora and fauna
Forests cover 29,660 square kilometers of national territory, about 45% of Latvia. The most common trees in Latvian forests are pine (51%), birch (24%), and spruce (17%). There is also swampy vegetation in some places. The forest is the most characteristic natural ecosystem in Latvia and remains a very characteristic element of the Latvian landscape today, benefiting from the country's climatic conditions with high relative humidity. Approximately 67% of Latvia's forests are coniferous and 33% are deciduous.
The composition of the Latvian fauna has varied over the years. It has been affected by both climate change and vegetation change, as well as human impact on the environment. In the Atlantic period, when the climate was warmer, large herbivores lived on the territory of Latvia. It is estimated that there are 507 vertebrate species and more than 17,000 invertebrates in Latvia. The richness of the fauna is mainly explained by the geographical position of the country, within an area of mixed forest, which includes elements of both taiga and broadleaf forest fauna. In addition, bird migration routes run across the Baltic Sea through Latvia.
Some species of flora and fauna are considered national symbols: the common oak (Quercus robur, in Latvian: ozols) and the northern linden (Tilia cordata , Latvian: liepa) are the national trees, while the daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare, Latvian: pīpene) is the national flower. The national bird is the white wagtail (motacilla alba, in Latvian: baltā cielava), and the most characteristic insect is the two-spotted ladybird (Adalia bipunctata, Latvian: divpunktu mārīte). On the other hand, amber is considered to be one of the most important cultural symbols of the country, since Latvia was integrated into the amber route.
Climate
Latvia has a temperate climate that has been described in various sources as humid continental (Köppen Dfb) or oceanic/maritime (Köppen Cfb).
The coastal regions, especially the western coast of the Courland peninsula, have a more maritime climate, with cooler summers and milder winters, while the eastern parts have a more continental climate, with warmer summers and colder winters. raw. However, temperature variations are few, as Latvia's territory is relatively small. In addition, the terrain of Latvia is particularly flat (it does not exceed 350 meters in elevation), so the Latvian climate does not differ by altitude.
Latvia has four pronounced seasons of nearly equal duration. Winter begins in mid-December and lasts until mid-March. Winters average temperatures of -6°C and are characterized by stable snow cover, bright sunshine, and short days. Harsh winters are common, with cold winds, extreme temperatures of -30 °C (-22 °F) and heavy snowfall. Summer begins in June and lasts until August. Summers are usually warm and sunny, with cool afternoons and nights. Summers have average temperatures of about 19 °C (66 °F), with extremes of 35 °C (95 °F). Spring and autumn are quite mild.
Economy
Latvia today is a market economy. Due to its geographical location, it is a strategic enclave for the transport of people and goods. By nominal gross domestic product it is the 99th world economy according to the classification of the International Monetary Fund, while its human development index is 0.847 and the unemployment rate is 7%. The distribution by sector in GDP in 2016 was as follows: services (68.1%), industry (24.1%) and agriculture (7.7%).
It is a member of the World Trade Organization (1999), the European Union (2004) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2016). The legal tender is the euro, which has replaced the Latvian lats in 2014.
After the restoration of independence in 1991, Latvia has completed the transition to a market economy. Although there were problems at first, the country began to prosper when it made changes to the banking system and balanced the balance of payments so as not to be dependent on Russia. Starting in 2004, Latvian GDP rose by 6% per year for four consecutive years. However, this boom was at the cost of a credit bubble and an increase in public debt that would end in the outbreak of the Latvian financial crisis of 2008-2009: In just two years there was a sharp economic contraction of 24%, unemployment rose to 21%, and the Latvian government had to implement an austerity plan in addition to asking the IMF for help. The country was unable to recover the pre-crisis levels until 2017, and is currently growing at a rate of 4% of GDP.
Today, most of the state-owned companies in the days of the Soviet Union have been privatized, although public control continues to exist in strategic companies such as the airline AirBaltic and the electricity company Latvenergo. According to the IMF, the Latvian economy must adapt to the demographic decline, improve foreign investment and control inflation.
Foreign investment
The main trading partners are the states of the European Union and Russia. The national economy depends to a large extent on exports from the timber industry, being one of the world's largest sellers of wood energy, and on the transport of goods. The products it imports the most are consumer goods, machinery and fuel. The Latvian trade balance is in deficit because the country depends on imports to get by.
With regard to foreign direct investment, in 2016 it was distributed as follows according to data from the Bank of Latvia: financial services (24.9%), trade (15%), real estate sector (12.5%), industry (12.2%), agriculture (4.4%) and construction (4.3%). The main investing countries are Sweden, Russia and Germany. The government has simplified bureaucratic procedures to attract investors, by point that the World Bank places the country as the fourteenth best destination to do business, according to the report Doing Business 2017. Similarly, it occupies the 42nd position in the Global Competitiveness Index.
| Commercial balance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Exports to | Imports | ||
| Country | Percentage | Country | Percentage |
Lithuania Lithuania
| 17 % | LithuaniaLithuania
| 19 % |
Estonia Estonia
| 12 % | Germany Germany
| 12 % |
Russia Russia
| 9.2% | Poland Poland
| 9.3 % |
| GermanyGermany
| 7.4% | EstoniaEstonia
| 7.9% |
Sweden Sweden
| 6.3 % | Russia Russia
| 7.6% |
| Other | 48.1 % | Other | 44.2 % |
Tourism
Tourism has increased since Latvia became part of the Schengen area in 2007. According to official Latvian government figures, more than 1,779,000 tourists foreigners (1,153,000 from Europe) entered the country in 2017, of whom more than 1,300 000 visited Riga. The greatest activity occurs in the summer months, with an annual hotel occupancy rate of 46% nationwide and 56% in the capital. These figures reflect highly centralized tourism in the capital due to its status as a port city — with an increase in the number of cruise ships—and because the historic center is the only Latvian World Heritage Site not shared with other states. Riga airport is also the largest airfield in the Baltic countries.
Approximately 31% of Latvian tourism is of domestic origin, while foreigners come from nearby states such as Russia (9.4%), Germany (8.1%), Latvia (7%), Estonia (6, 3%) and Finland (4.5%).
Services
Education
The Latvian education system is adapted to the standards of the European Union and consists of four levels: preschool, primary, secondary and higher education. Basic education is compulsory and free both in preschool education (5 to 7 years) and in the nine basic education courses (7 to 16 years). Those who pass an entrance exam will be able to attend secondary education or professional training (16 to 19 years old), with five common subjects: language and literature, mathematics, foreign language, history, and physical education. It is necessary to pass a final exam at the national level to obtain the degree.
The Latvian language is the only vehicular language in the public system. The state funds a bilingual educational program for linguistic minorities in some schools, most of which are in the Russian language, and private schools can teach classes in a foreign language. However, all students must prove their proficiency in Latvian in order to graduate. The literacy rate is 99.9%.
Higher education is provided at universities and higher academies under the bachelor's, master's and doctorate system. The admission process is not centralized, but the results of the secondary school final exam are usually taken into account. The University of Latvia, founded in 1919, is the largest in the Baltic states with more than 14,000 students enrolled, while the Technical University is the main polytechnic of the country.
Health
In Latvia there is public health care that is financed by taxes, but most services involve a co-payment per visit. Approximately 88% of the population has access to the system, with a gap between 91% in urban areas and 81.5% of the rural ones. Since 2018 all the inhabitants of the country must take out compulsory health insurance. There are population groups exempt from both copayment and insurance, including minors and people without resources.
In November 2011, a national public healthcare entity, the National Health Service (Nacionālais veselības dienests, NVD), was launched under the Ministry of Health. The new model has made it possible to reduce infant mortality and improve the financing of the system. However, Latvia is below the European average in health investment: only 61% of the total budget for 2021 came from public funds. Among the weak points are the waiting lists, insufficient access to medicines, the brain drain and the unequal geographical distribution, which has led to the closure of hospitals in rural areas.
Thanks to improvements in the system, Latvia has seen its life expectancy increase from 70.2 years in 2000 to 75.7 years in 2020. Despite this, it represents the penultimate place in the whole of the European Union. Within the community partners, Latvia has the second highest mortality rate in treatable cases. Another influential factor is lifestyle: it is the country in the Union with the highest rate of alcohol consumption and is above the European average in smoking and obesity.
Media
The Latvian constitution recognizes freedom of speech, press and information, and expressly prohibits censorship. Most of the media are in the Latvian language, although there are also publications for Russian speakers. Latvia ranks 24th in the press freedom ranking compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
The public media are run by two companies: Latvijas Radio (radio) and Latvijas Televizija (television), which since 2013 have been working under the umbrella of the Latvian Public Broadcasting (Latvian: Latvijas sabiedriskais medijs, LSM). In both cases, they compete in an audiovisual market open to competition since 1991. As regards the press, there are three national newspapers: Diena, Latvijas Avīze and Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze.
Infrastructure
Energy
More than a third of the power generated in Latvia comes from three hydroelectric power plants on the banks of the Daugava River, while the rest comes from two natural gas and heavy crude plants in Riga. Latvia claims to be the third country in the European Union in consumption of renewable energy, behind Sweden and Finland.
There is a great dependence on imported energy; Almost all of the natural gas, fuel oil, and coal that the country consumes come from Russia, and a small part of the electricity is generated at plants in Narva, Estonia. The only primary sources produced in the country are wood energy and peat, both with a symbolic weight. Regarding hydrocarbon pipeline transportation, the port of Ventspils is connected to the Polatsk oil pipeline (Belarus), operated by the Russian-Latvian company LatRosTrans, and is considered a strategic enclave at a European level.
The electricity company Latvenergo is controlled by the state and generates 70% of the energy consumed in the country. However, the natural gas company Latvijas Gāze has been privatized and its largest shareholder is the Russian group Gazprom.
Housing
The Baltic country had an approximate park of 1,389,227 real estate and 1,431,785 span> buildings at the end of 2015, according to data from the Latvian State Land Agency. Most of the houses were built when the country was part of the Soviet Union, so the park is undergoing renovation. The average price of a new house is €1,578/m², but it varies considerably depending on the municipality: the most expensive flats are in the Riga metropolitan area and in Valmiera, while prices have fallen in the areas with the highest unemployment.
Transportation
Transportation has developed since the 1990s, coinciding with the restoration of independence. The country has a road network of 14,600 km, including a total of fifteen motorways (1,650 km), 133 national highways and more than 1,480 secondary roads. The system is fundamentally radial, as the main roads start from the Riga metropolitan area. Since 2004 the management and maintenance corresponds to the state company Latvijas Valsts ceļi.
Riga International Airport carries six million passengers each year, making it the busiest in the Baltic countries. It has direct flights to more than 80 destinations in 30 countries, and is the hub of the AirBaltic airline. There are also two airports in Liepāja and Ventspils, but their use is limited to charter flights.
As far as maritime communications are concerned, the country's most important ports are located in Riga, Ventspils and Liepāja. The port of Riga is the busiest and depends on both imports and passenger transport, while the port of Ventspils is notable for crude oil exports.
Rail service is provided by the public company Latvian Railways (Latvian: Latvijas dzelzceļš). Through a radial network with Russian gauge, it is specialized in freight transport to the ports of Ventspils and Liepāja. For passenger transport there is a subsidiary called Pasažieru vilciens.
According to the World Bank's 2018 Logistics Performance Index, which measures the quality of infrastructure among other aspects, Latvia ranks 70 out of 160 countries analysed.
Telecommunications
The telecommunications market has been open to competition since 2003. The majority operator is Lattelecom, founded in 1992 as a public monopoly, which operates fixed and mobile telephony services —through a stake in LMT—, internet and commercialization of energy. 51% of the shares belong to the state, while the remaining 49% is controlled by Telia.
In mobile telephony, there are four operators with their own network —LMT, Tele2, Bite Latvija and Triatel— and a small market of virtual mobile operators. As in other states of the European Union, in Latvia there are officially more mobile phone lines than inhabitants. However, in fixed telephony there are only 18 lines for every 100 inhabitants.
The Internet connection is guaranteed by fiber optics with the networks of Estonia, Finland and Sweden. According to data from the Latvian government, 78.5% of the population used the Internet regularly at the end of 2017, and the degree of penetration is 99% in users between 16 and 24 years old.
Demographics
The Latvian Central Statistics Office estimated a population of 1,930,000 inhabitants in 2018. Of this set, 84.8% (1, 78 million people) have Latvian nationality; 11.23% (237,000 people) have no defined citizenship, and the remaining 3.97% are foreign citizens. The average age of Latvians is 41 years old.
Between 1991 and 2011, Latvia has lost more than 23% of its population due to two factors: the drop in its fertility rate, and a negative migratory balance that has worsened with the economic crisis of 2008. The The drop has worsened with the country's entry into the European Union, and is especially pronounced in the Russian-speaking regions, where unemployment is higher than in the metropolitan area of the capital.
Ethnic composition
Citizens of Latvian origin are in the majority with 62.1% (1,284,194 people), followed by those of Russian origin with 26.9 % (556,422 people). In some cities in the south-eastern region, such as Daugavpils or Rēzekne, there are more people of Russian than Latvian origin. The rest of the population is made up of minority groups of Belarusians (3.3%), Ukrainians (2.2%), Poles (2.2%), Lithuanians (1.2%) and others (2.1%).
Latvian had been a multi-ethnic society for centuries, but the composition changed in the 20th century due to the Wars World Cups, the expulsion of the Baltic Germans, the Holocaust and the occupation of the Soviet Union. According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, Latvia was 68.3% Latvian, 12% Russian, 7.4% Jewish, 6.2% German and 3.4% Russian. Poles.
During the times of the Latvian SSR, emigrants from other socialist republics arrived, so the percentage of ethnic Latvians went from 77% in 1935 (1.46 million) to 52% in 1989 (1.38 million). millions). After independence many non-Latvian citizens left the country. However, population decline has meant that there are fewer Latvian residents today in number than in the Soviet era.
People without citizenship
The figure of “non-citizens” (Latvian: nepilsoņi) applies to people who came to Latvia during the Soviet Union, as well as their descendants, and who have not obtained another nationality after the dissolution of the USSR. For legal purposes they do not have the citizenship of any country, but they are not considered stateless either. Thanks to a special blue passport, they can circulate through the Schengen area and Russia without a visa for 90 days in a period of six months. However, they do not have the same political rights as a Latvian citizen: they do not have the right to vote, they cannot stand in any electoral process and they are not allowed to access public administration jobs. Today there are 238,000 people under this legal status, representing 11.23% of the population.
After becoming independent, the new state considered "Latvian origin" only those people born in Latvia before June 17, 1940 (if they could prove it) and their descendants, since the Union invasion took place on that date Soviet Union and the subsequent creation of the Socialist Republic of Latvia. In addition, a Latvian language test was established to obtain nationality, which excluded many Russian-speaking citizens who had arrived at the time of the Soviet Union.
"Non-citizens" can obtain Latvian citizenship if they have permanently resided in Latvia for five years and pass tests on the country's language, culture and history. The Latvian government claims that more than 140,000 people have taken advantage of this naturalization process between 1991 and 2011. However, the state reserves the right to veto the naturalization of anyone it deems "disloyal", including former members of the KGB or the Soviet Communist Party. The Human Rights Committee has challenged this practice on several occasions, while the state defends it as a social integration model.
Languages
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The only official language in the Republic of Latvia is Latvian, a Baltic language belonging to the Indo-European language family. 62.1% of the population have Latvian as their mother tongue, and 90% use it in their daily lives. All other languages are considered "foreign" for legal purposes, with the sole exception of Livonian.
The official status of Latvian is recognized both in the Latvian Constitution and in the 1999 Law on Languages, the preamble of which mentions “the integration of ethnic minorities into Latvian society, respecting their language rights ». To obtain Latvian nationality, as well as certain jobs, it is necessary to prove proficiency in the language in a state exam. In addition, it is mandatory that all official documents, place names and even proper names be written in Latvian. To To ensure compliance there are official institutions such as the State Language Commission, dependent on the presidency, or the Linguistic Language Committee, dependent on the Ministry of Justice and with sanctioning power.
37.2% of the population have Russian as their mother tongue, but as it is considered a "foreign language" it does not enjoy protection. Even so, 67% of Latvians have basic notions of Russian according to data from the Eurobarometer. Latvia has signed and ratified the European Treaty for the Protection of Minorities, although the national parliament approved an amendment that invalidates two points of article 10 (freedom of linguistic use) and one of article 11 (proper names). Despite After joining the European Union, Latvian language policy remains one of the toughest on the continent.
In 2012, a referendum was held in which 74% of voters refused to include Russian as a second official language.
Religion
The Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, as well as freedom of worship.
Christianity is the religion with which more inhabitants identify themselves, 79% according to Eurostat data, but only 7% of the population regularly attend religious services. Within Christianity, the most practiced currents are Lutheranism, Catholicism and the Latvian Orthodox Church, the latter being the majority among Latvians of Russian origin. Historically, the west and center of the country have been more prone to Protestantism, while the southeastern region of Latgale was predominantly Catholic. 21% of the population do not identify with any religion.
Latvia was one of the last European regions to be Christianized. The inhabitants of the region used to practice Norse paganism and Baltic mythology, but from the 17th century XII fell under Catholic influence due to the invasion of Germans and Danes, in the framework of the so-called Baltic crusades. From the Protestant Reformation there was a rapid expansion of Lutheranism, to the point that only Latgale remained Catholic due to the influence of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, while the accession to the Russian Empire led to a rise of the Orthodox Church. Religion in the Soviet Union was discouraged and even persecuted.
It is worth noting the existence of a neopagan movement of Latvian origin, the dievturība, which emerged in 1925 as a reconstructionist movement of national folklore. Today it is a minority group.
Official statistics indicate that some 4,700 Jews currently live in Latvia.
Main Cities
Culture
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Latvian culture incorporates elements of the Baltic peoples, represented in the Latvian language, with others from European culture. By history and geography, Latvia has been influenced by the traditions of Livonians, Baltic tribes, Baltic Germans, Scandinavians and Russians. Notable among the latter group is a significant Russophone community in the southeastern region. Latvian belongs to the Indo-European language family, and the only living language to which it is related is Lithuanian.
The Latvian nationalist movement encouraged the development of its own culture from the 1850s, in opposition to the dominance of the Baltic Germans and later the Russian Empire. After independence in 1918, the Latvian language became became the only officer in the country. In times of the Soviet Union, the arrival of new inhabitants caused a process of Russification, but from 1990 the new government promoted a very restrictive language policy with the use of any language other than Latvian.
Latvia has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Old Town of Riga (1997) and the Struve Geodesic Arch (2005), the latter shared with nine other countries. The old town of the capital, also known as Vecrīga, stands out for its accumulation of emblematic places such as the Riga Cathedral, considered the largest medieval church in the Baltic, as well as for the many modernist buildings designed by Mikhail Eisenstein.
On the other hand, the state has two intangible cultural assets: the Latvian Song and Dance Festival —shared with the equivalent events in Estonia and Lithuania— and the Cultural Heritage of the Suiti People, a small community located in the town of Alsunga.
Architecture
Traditional architecture is based on wooden houses, with notable differences depending on the region. In the western area individual buildings predominate, while in the eastern the homes are located along a main street. ">XII construction began with stone under the influence of the Germans and Scandinavians, wooden buildings continued to be styled until the beginning of the century XX. Today few of these houses are still standing, but the authorities have tried to preserve this cultural legacy.
The economic development of Latvia in the 19th century led to the construction of numerous buildings, first in neoclassical style and later in modernist style, both in Riga and in other cities in the country. On the other hand, during the Soviet period, facilities such as military bases, hydroelectric plants, and apartment blocks were erected to cover population growth. From that period comes the tower of radio and television in Riga, inaugurated in 1986 as the third highest in Europe thanks to its 368 meters.
Riga Cathedral.
Cathedral of San Boris and Gleb in Daugavpils.
Ventspils Castle.
Fine Arts
One of the references of traditional art is Latvian ceramics and Latgale vessels. The region was part of the so-called Neolithic comb pottery culture, common to the entire Baltic region and Western Russia.
Opened in 1905, the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMM) houses a collection of 52,000 works reflecting the development of fine arts in the Baltic countries, including those of the local impressionist painter Janis Rozentāls (1866-1916), considered the father of the national school of painting. The LNMM building is the work of the German architect Wilhelm Neumann, who in turn became the first director of the center. The other great art gallery in the country, also in the capital, is the Latvian Museum of Foreign Art.
Among Latvian-born artists who have succeeded abroad include painter Mark Rothko, film director Sergei Eisenstein, sculptor Vera Múkhina, dancer Mikhail Barýshnikov, and photographer Philippe Halsman.
Literature
Classical Latvian literature is based on oral tradition, while learned literature used to be written in German and Latin until the end of the 18th century, represented by authors such as Garlieb Merkel. Although the first works in the Latvian language date from the 1550s, it could not develop on a literary level until the romantic nationalism of the 19th century. The collection of poems Dziesmiņas (Juris Alunāns), the epic Lāčplēsis (Andrejs Pumpurs) and the songbook Latvju dainas (Krišjānis Barons) stand out from that period. After independence in 1918, authors such as the fabulist Kārlis Skalbe and the poets Rainis and Aleksandrs Čaks stood out.
After World War II, Latvian literature divided into three groups: writers who remained in the country after the Soviet occupation —such as the poet Imants Ziedonis or the novelists Vilis Lācis and Vizma Belševica—, writers deported to gulags — Knuts Skujenieks—and exiled writers—Zenta Mauriņa—. Today most national authors publish in Latvian or Russian.
Music
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Latvia has a rich heritage of traditional music based on Latvian folklore. Its greatest symbol is the daina, a song sometimes presented as a literary work, whose subject matter ranges from Latvian mythology to agriculture. Although many of these works come from oral tradition, they have been preserved. largely thanks to the writer Krišjānis Barons, who came to collect more than 200 000 popular songs. Since 2001 the daina form part of UNESCO's Memory of the World Program. The national instrument is the kokles, a zither with a soundboard.
Choirs are very important in national culture. In 1873 the first edition of the Latvian National Song and Dance Festival was held, in which songs in the Latvian language are performed every five years. The event is not limited to music, as it also hosts other artistic exhibitions. Since 2008 it has been considered a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Regarding popular music, Latvia has contributed artists such as Imants Kalniņš —the first author of a rock opera in the Soviet Union—, the composer Raimonds Pauls, the cellist Mischa Maisky and the violinist Gidon Kremer. Riga hosted the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest thanks to Marie N's triumph with "I Wanna" the previous year. Other famous groups outside the country include indie band Brainstorm and metal group Skyforger.
Gastronomy
Latvian gastronomy combines aspects common to the Baltic region with other habits from Germany and Russia. Due to the country's climate, it is high in calories, low in spices, and largely depends on seasonal products and the local agriculture. The traditional diet is made up of potatoes, peas, rye bread, dairy, pork and veal. In addition, fish from the Baltic Sea is consumed, either smoked (trout or salmon) or cooked in other ways. such as herrings, sardines and pike.
Some of the national dishes are those made from gray peas, beetroot soup and sklandrausis —carrot, potato and rye tartlet—, while the typical drinks are beer and a herbal liqueur known as "black balm." Influenced by the Soviet period, shashlik —roasted meat skewer— and herring salad became popular. The most typical desserts are cakes made with puff pastry, raspberries and blueberries.
National symbols
The country regained its national symbols during the dissolution of the USSR. All of them are protected both in the Criminal Code and in different specific laws. Violation of Latvian national symbols within the country is a crime that can be punished with up to three years in prison.
Flag
The Latvian flag was adopted on June 15, 1921 and is inspired by a description in the Livonian rhyming chronicle. According to the text, in 1279 there was a battle in Cēsis (Vidzeme) where the local tribes fought raising a red flag cut in two by a white stripe. And the legend that inspires this design is very similar to that of the Austrian flag: the head of a local tribe, seriously wounded, would have been lying on a white flag that was stained with blood, except for the central white stripe where he I was stoned
Already in the XIX century, and with a view to creating a national symbol for the Latvian people, university professor Jēkabs Lautenbahs made a study of the Livonian chronicle in which he developed this theme. There are documents about the use of red and white badges in the first Latvian Song and Dance Festival in 1873, as well as in the Latvian battalions that participated in the First World War. The current design dates from 1917 and is the work of Ansis Cīrulis, who standardized it with a variant of garnet—known as "Latvian red"—and ratios of 2:1:2.
The banner was banned during the Soviet occupation, but was reinstated on February 27, 1990. Its current use is regulated by the National Flag Law.
Anthem
The national anthem is called Dievs, svētī Latviju (English: “God bless Latvia”), with lyrics and music by Kārlis Baumanis, a member of the Latvian nationalist movement. Officially adopted on June 7, 1920, it was reinstated on February 15, 1990.
Baumanis composed this hymn on the occasion of the first Festival of Song and Dance in 1873, where it was scheduled to premiere. However, the authorities of the Russian empire vetoed it from the official program. It was not until the following edition of 1895 that Latvians could hear it for the first time, although the word "Latvia" (Latviju) had to be replaced by "Baltic" (Baltiju) to bypass censorship.
Shield
The Latvian coat of arms was designed by graphic artist Rihards Zariņš and brings together the national symbols (a sun and three stars in a semicircle) with the coats of arms of the country's historic regions: a rampant lion gules (representing Courland and Semigallia) and a rampant argen griffin (referring to Vidzeme and Latgalia). Its official approval dates from July 15, 1921.
Sports
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The most popular sports in Latvia are ice hockey and basketball. The country has hosted the Hockey World Championship in 2006 and has one team in the Continental League (KHL), Dinamo Riga. Regarding basketball, Latvia was the champion of the first edition of the EuroBasket in 1935, remained a regional power in the times of the Soviet Union, and although it has not won a title again, it has trained players of recognized prestige such as Gundars Vētra, Valdis Valters and Kristaps Porziņģis. The country was one of the venues for the 2015 European Men's Championship.
As for football, Latvia is the only Baltic team to have qualified for an international competition, Euro 2004, although its level is below the European average. It is a sport especially popular among the Russian-speaking community.
Riguena tennis player Jelena Ostapenko, a member of the WTA professional circuit, is the first Latvian person to have won a Grand Slam title, the 2017 Roland Garros tournament. Martins Dukurs has been a European and world champion in skeleton, and the cyclist Māris Štrombergs is a two-time Olympic BMX champion.
Latvia competes in the Olympic Games through the Latvian Olympic Committee, debuting in Chamonix 1924, and usually performs better at the Winter Games than at the Summer Games. The first Latvian medalist was athlete Jānis Daliņš, with a silver in the 50 km walk in Los Angeles 1932, while the first Olympic gold went to javelin thrower Inese Jaunzeme in Melbourne 1956, the latter representing the Soviet Union. The country has won most of its medals in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.
Several Latvians have been chess grandmasters. Among the most recognized are Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935), whose influence on game theory has lasted throughout history; Mikhail Tal from Rigues (1936-1992), world champion in times of the Soviet Union; and Alexei Shírov, who, however, has obtained most of his triumphs as a representative of Spain.
Geographic location
| Northwest: Gulf of Riga | North: Estonia
| Northeast:  Russia
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| West: Baltic Sea |  | This: Russia
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Southwest:  Lithuania
| South: Lithuania
| Sureste:  Belarus
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