The Republic of Latvia is founded on November 18, 1918
Location Latvia is situated in Northern Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
Total area 64,589 square kilometers (24,938 square miles).
Constitution democratic parliamentary republic
Official language Latvian
Population 2 294 200 (January 2006), Capital city; Riga (with 764,328 inhabitants)
Ethnic composition Latvians - 57.7%, Russians - 29.6%, Belorussians - 4.1%, Ukrainians - 2.7%, Poles- 2.5%,
Lithuanians - 1.4%, Others - 2%
Religion Non-religious - 35%, Lutheran - 24%, Catholic - 18%, Orthodox - 15%, Others - 8%
Currency Lats (LVL), 1 lats = 100 santimi
Time GMT +2, from April to November GMT +3
