cultral+day

"Latvian Republic" redirects here. For other uses, see [|Latvian Republic (disambiguation)]. //Latvijas Republika// || [|Dievs, svētī Latviju!] God Bless Latvia!
 * ~ Republic of Latvia
 * =  ||= [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Flag_of_Latvia.svg/125px-Flag_of_Latvia.svg.png width="125" height="63" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Latvia.svg&page=1"]] ||= [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Coat_of_Arms_of_Latvia.svg/85px-Coat_of_Arms_of_Latvia.svg.png width="85" height="68" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Latvia.svg&page=1"]] ||
 * = [|Flag] ||= [|Coat of arms] ||  ||
 * = **Anthem:**

More… || Location of **Latvia** ( dark green ) – in [|Europe] ( green & dark grey )
 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/EU-Latvia.svg/250px-EU-Latvia.svg.png width="250" height="210" caption="Location of Latvia  (dark green)– in Europe  (green & dark grey)– in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:EU-Latvia.svg&page=1"]]

– in the [|European Union] ( green ) — || (and largest city) || [|Riga] [|56°57′N 24°6′E] || 26.9% [|Russians] 3.3% [|Belarusians] 2.2% [|Ukrainians] 2.2% [|Poles] 1.2% [|Lithuanians] 2.1% others / unspecified || 24,938 sq mi || 88.9/sq mi || **Latvia**       [|/][|ˈ][|l][|æ][|t][|v][|i][|ə][|/]  ( [|Latvian] : //Latvija//), officially the **Republic of Latvia** ( [|Latvian] : //Latvijas Republika//), is a [|country] in the [|Baltic region] of [|Northern Europe]. It is bordered to the north by [|Estonia] (border length 343 km), to the south by lithuanians (588 km), to the east by the [|Russian Federation] (276 km), to the southeast by [|Belarus] (141 km), [|[8]] and shares maritime borders to the west with [|Sweden]. With 2,070,371 inhabitants [|[5]] and a territory of 64,589 km2(24,938 sq mi) [|[9]] it is one of the least populous and least densely populated countries of the [|European Union]. The capital of Latvia is [|Riga]. The official language is [|Latvian] and the currency is called [|Lats] (Ls). The country has a [|temperate seasonal climate]. The [|Latvians] are a [|Baltic people], culturally related to the [|Lithuanians]. Together with the [|Finnic] [|Livs] (or [|Livonians] ), the [|Latvians] are the indigenous people of Latvia. [|[9]] [|Latvian] is an [|Indo-European language] and along with [|Lithuanian] the only two surviving members of the [|Baltic branch]. Indigenous minority languages are [|Latgalian] and the nearly extinct Finnic [|Livonian] language. In terms of geography, territory and population Latvia is the middle of three [|Baltic states] : [|Estonia], Latvia and [|Lithuania]. Latvia and [|Estonia] share a long [|common history] : historical [|Livonia], times of [|Polish-Lithuanian] , [|German (Teutonic Order)] , [|Swedish] , [|Russian] , [|Nazi German] and [|Soviet] rule, 13th century [|Christianization] and 16th century [|Protestant Reformation]. Both countries are home to a large number of [|ethnic Russians] (26.9% in [|Latvia][|[2]] and 25.5% in [|Estonia][|[10]] ) of whom some are [|non-citizens]. Latvia is historically predominantly [|Protestant], except for the region of [|Latgalia] in the southeast which has historically been predominantly [|Roman Catholic]. Latvia is a [|unitary] [|parliamentary republic] and is divided into 118 [|administrative divisions] of which 109 are municipalities and 9 are cities. There are five [|planning regions] : [|Courland] (Kurzeme), [|Latgalia] (Latgale), [|Riga] (Rīga), [|Vidzeme] and [|Zemgale]. The Republic of Latvia was founded on November 18, 1918. It was [|occupied and annexed] by the [|Soviet Union] between 1940–1941 and 1945–1991 and by [|Nazi Germany] between 1941–1945. The peaceful " [|Singing Revolution] " between 1987 and 1991 and " [|Baltic Way] " demonstration on August 23, 1989 led to the independence of the [|Baltic states]. Latvia declared the restoration of its //de facto// [|independence] on August 21, 1991. Latvia is a member of the [|United Nations], [|European Union] , [|Council of Europe] , [|NATO] , [|Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] , [|International Monetary Fund] and [|World Trade Organization] , and is part of the [|Schengen Area]. It was a member of the [|League of Nations] (1921–1946) and the [|Baltic Free Trade Area] (1994–2004). Latvia is also a member of the [|Council of the Baltic Sea States][|[11]] and [|Nordic Investment Bank], and is together with [|Estonia] and [|Lithuania] involved in trilateral [|Baltic States] cooperation [|[12]] and [|Nordic-Baltic] cooperation. [|[13]][|[14]] After economic stagnation in the early 1990s, Latvia posted Europe-leading [|GDP] growth figures during 1998–2006. In the [|global financial crisis of 2008–2010] Latvia was the hardest hit of the [|European Union] member states, with a GDP decline of 26.54% in that period. [|[15]][|[16]] Commentators noted signs of stabilisation in the Latvian economy by 2010, and the state of the economy continued to improve, as Latvia once again became one of the fastest growing economies of the EU in 2011. [|[17]][|[18]] The United Nations lists Latvia as a country with a "Very High" [|Human Development Index] (HDI). [|[7]]
 * **Capital**
 * ~ Official language(s) || [|Latvian] ||
 * **Ethnic groups** (2011 [|[1]][|[2]] ) || 62.1% [|Latvians]
 * ~ [|Demonym] || [|Latvian] ||
 * ~ [|Government] || [|Parliamentary republic] ||
 * - || [|President] || [|Andris Bērziņš] ||
 * - || [|Prime Minister] || [|Valdis Dombrovskis] ||
 * ~ Legislature || [|Saeima] ||
 * ~ [|Independence] || from [|Russia] ||
 * - || [|Declareda] || November 18, 1918 ||
 * - || [|Recognized] || January 26, 1921 ||
 * - || [|Soviet occupation] || August 5, 1940 ||
 * - || [|Nazi German occupation] || July 10, 1941 ||
 * - || [|Soviet occupation] || 1944 ||
 * - || [|Announced] || May 4, 1990 ||
 * - || [|Restored] || August 21, 1991 [|[3]] ||
 * ~ [|Area] ||
 * - || Total || 64,589 km2 ( [|124th] )
 * - || Water (%) || 1.57% (1,014 km2) ||
 * ~ [|Population] ||
 * - || 2012 estimate || 2,217,053 [|[4]] ( [|143rd] ) ||
 * - || 2011 census || 2,070,371 [|[5]] ||
 * - || Density || 34.3/km2 ( [|166th] )
 * ** [|GDP] ** ( [|PPP] ) || 2012 estimate ||
 * - || Total || $36.090 billion [|[6]] ||
 * - || Per capita || $16,235 [|[6]] ||
 * ** [|GDP] ** (nominal) || 2012 estimate ||
 * - || Total || $27.494 billion [|[6]] ||
 * - || Per capita || $12,368 [|[6]] ||
 * ** [|Gini] ** (2010) || 35.2 ( medium ) ||
 * ** [|HDI] ** (2011) || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png width="11" height="11" caption="Increase"]] 0.805 [|[7]] ( very high ) ( [|43rd] ) ||
 * ~ Currency || [|Lats] (Ls) ([|LVL] ) ||
 * ~ Time zone || [|EET] ( [|UTC] +2) ||
 * - || Summer ( [|DST] ) || [|EEST] ( [|UTC] +3) ||
 * ~ Drives on the || right ||
 * ~ [|ISO 3166 code] || [|LV] ||
 * ~ [|Internet TLD] || [|.lv] ||
 * ~ [|Calling code] || [|+371] ||
 * a. Latvia is // [|de jure] // continuous with its declaration of November 18, 1918. ||