Latvia A country in Europe

30/09/2021

The population of Latvia is just shy of 2 million making it the 148th largest country in the world by population.

The ethnic layout of the country primarily is reflective of its location in Europe. The largest ethnic group are Latvians at approximately 60% of the population identifying as such. The next largest group claim Russian heritage and represent about 25% of the population, while the remaining ethnic mix claim nearby countries to be their heritage, such as Belarus and Ukraine.

Christianity is by far the dominant religion in Latvia, with just shy of 80% of the population identifying as Christians. They are split among three denominations; Evangelical, Roman Catholic, and Russian Orthodox. The other largest belief group comes in at more than 20%, which state that they don’t identify with any particular religion. The remaining population aligns with paganism, Judaism, and Islam.

28/09/2021

Settlement patterns
Latvia’s rural population decreased after World War II, largely because of poor socioeconomic and political conditions, while its urban population increased steadily. By the early 2000s more than two-thirds of the country’s population lived in urban areas. Riga is the most populous city, followed by Daugavpils and Liepāja.

28/09/2021

23/09/2021

Growing up, people would ask me where my family came from. "Latvia," I’d reply. "Where?" was the invariable response. "Riga," I’d explain. "Oh, Rio," they’d reply, ignoring my distinctly un-Brazilian pallor. I’d sigh and say nothing. Not much was known about the tiny Baltic country that was, at that time, still part of the behemoth USSR. Since gaining independence in 1990, Latvia and its historic capital city, Riga, have undergone a long period of historic preservation and restoration, making it one of the most picturesque places in Eastern Europe.

I’ve been travelling to Latvia since I was a teenager and I’ve witnessed the rebuilding of the country’s centuries-old heritage sites first hand. From repairing the beautiful Art Nouveau buildings of Alberta Street in Riga to replanting the Versailles-esque gardens at Rundāle Palace near Bauska, the country is more than ready for a huge wave of tourism. It’s no surprise that the Baltic States — Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia — were an honourable mention on G’s list of top destinations for 2018.

20/09/2021

Political System
Since 21 August 1991, Latvia is a parliamentary republic. Ceremonial Chief of State is the president, he is elected by the Saeima (parliament). Head of Government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the Prime Minister, he is appointed by the president with the approval of the Saeima. The Saeima is the unicameral legislative body for the Latvian government. The country is a member of the European Union (EU) since May 2004.

17/09/2021

Destination Latvia, one of the three Baltic states, situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania.
The country is also bordered by Russia and Belarus, and it shares maritime borders with Sweden.

With an area of 64,589 km², Latvia is about half the size of Greece, or slightly larger than the US state of West Virginia. Its mostly flat landscape offers a mix of beaches, rivers, lakes, marshes and forests. There are four major regions: West Latvia (Kurzeme), East Latvia (Latgale), North Latvia (Vidzeme), and South Latvia (Zemgale).

The country has a population of 1.95 million people (in 2017), capital and largest city is Riga, spoken languages are Latvian (official) and Russian, English (especially in business and tourism).

22/08/2021

14-day isolation is mandatory for visitors from regions where the incidence rate is between 15 and 25 people per 100,000 population in the last 2 weeks.

22/08/2021

Passengers from Lithuania, Estonia and countries with less than 15 cases of coronavirus infection per 100,000 population in the last 14 days can enter Latvia without quarantine.

22/08/2021

The new mechanism stipulates that now the list of countries to which regular flights are allowed is determined not by the Ministry of Transport, but by the government on the basis of statistics from the Latvian Center for Disease Control and Prevention.