Maris Kucinskis was confirmed as prime ministerby the Saeima (parliament) on Feb. 11, 2016.Kucinskis, of the Union of Greens and Farmers,

replaced Laimdota Straujuma, Latvia’s first female primeminister, who had resigned in December 2015. The exist-ing three-party coalition government remained in power,and its top concerns included the recovering Latvianeconomy and tensions with Russia. A Canadian-ledNATO mission was scheduled to be dispatched to Latviain 2017, bolstering the alliance’s presence in the Balticregion and triggering objections from Russia. Russianofficials were similarly critical of a report that calculatedthat a half-century of Soviet occupation cost Latvia over$200 billion. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dis-missed the estimate, saying that the Baltic countriesshould be grateful that they were “allowed” to leave theU.S.S.R. peacefully.

DemographyPopulation (2016): 1,963,000.Density (2016): persons per sq mi78.7, persons per sq km 30.4.

Sex distribution (20162): male 45.93%;female 54.07%.

Population projection: (2020)1,879,000; (2030) 1,660,000.

Major cities (20162): Riga 638,749;Daugavpils 85,286; Liepaja 70,494;Jelgava 57,045; Jurmala 49,305.

Urban-rural (20162):

Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 population (2015): 11.1 (world avg. 19.5).Death rate per 1,000 population (2015): 14.4 (world avg. 8.1).Life expectancy at birth (2014): male 69.1 years; female 79.3years.

Age breakdown (20162):

Ethnic composition (20162):

Religious affiliation (2005):

Latvia

Official name: Latvijas Republika(Republic of Latvia).

Form of government: unitary multipartyrepublic with one legislative house(Parliament, or Saeima [100]).

Head of state: President RaimondsVKjonis.

Head of government: Prime MinisterMaris Kucinskis.

Capital: Riga.Official language: Latvian.Official religion: none.Monetary unit: euro (>)1; valuation

(Sept. 1, 2016) 1 U.S.$ = >0.89; 1£ = >1.19.

Area and population3

area population area population

20152 20152

Planning region sq km estimate Planning region sq km estimate

Kurzeme 13,601 254,722CitiesLiepaja 61 71,125Ventspils 55 36,274AmalgamatedMunicipalities (18) 13,485 147,323

Latgale 14,547 281,581CitiesDaugavpils 72 86,435Re–zekne 18 29,317AmalgamatedMunicipalities (19) 14,457 165,829

Pieriga 10,134 367,609CityJurmala 100 49,646AmalgamatedMunicipalities (28) 10,034 317,963

Riga 307 641,007CityRiga 307 641,007

Vidzeme 15,258 199,027CityValmiera 18 23,432AmalgamatedMunicipalities (25) 15,240 175,595

Zemgale 10,742 242,150CitiesJe–kabpils 26 23,019Jelgava 60 57,180AmalgamatedMunicipalities (20) 10,656 161,951

TOTAL 64,589 1,986,096

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National economyBudget (2014)4. Revenue: >8,424,100,000 (social security contributions24.2%, VAT 21.2%, income tax 16.6%, excise taxes8.9%, corporate taxes 4.3%). Expenditures:>8,790,200,000 (social protection 30.5%, education15.7%, general public services 13.1%, health 10.2%,public safety and defense 7.8%).

Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture,forestry, fishing (2015): wheat 2,250,100, potatoes497,000, barley 368,400, rapeseed 292,700, oats160,400, rye 159,600, cabbages (2013) 52,658; live-stock (number of live animals) 419,000 cattle,334,000 pigs, 93,000 beehives; roundwood (2013)12,708,310 cu m, of which fuelwood 11%; fisheriesproduction 82,300 (from aquaculture 1%). Miningand quarrying (2013): peat 1,096,292; limestone (2008) 515,900; gyp-sum (2012) 230,000. Manufacturing (value added in U.S.$’000,000;2013): wood and wood products (excluding furniture) 401; food prod-ucts and beverages 336; fabricated metal products 159; machinery andapparatus 149; cement, bricks, and ceramics 132; textiles and wearingapparel 90; furniture 56. Energy production (consumption): electricity(kW-hr; 2015–16) 6,061,000,000 ([2012] 7,859,000,000), by source(2012): fossil fuels 32.2%; renewable energy 67.8%, of which hydro-electric 61.1%, biomass 4.8%, wind energy 1.9%; coal (metric tons;2010–11) none (160,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2012) 365,000(n.a.); petroleum products (metric tons; 2010–11) none (1,235,000);natural gas (cu m; 2013) none (1,410,000,000).

Average household size (20162): 2.4.Gross national income (GNI; 2015): U.S.$29,486,000,000 (U.S.$14,900per capita); purchasing power parity GNI (U.S.$24,220 per capita).

Public debt (central government; 2015): U.S.$9,682,300,000.Population economically active (2015): total 994,200; participation rates:

ages 15–74, male 73.2%; female 63.7%; unemployed (July 2015–June2016) 9.9%, of which youth (ages 15–24) 19.0%.

Land use as % of total land area (2011): in temporary crops c. 17.8%,left fallow 1.1%, in permanent crops 0.1%, in pasture 10.5%, forestarea 54.1%.

Foreign trade9

Imports (2015): >12,488,545,000 (machinery andelectrical equipment 21.9%, food products, bever-ages, and tobacco 15.5%, mineral products 11.9%,chemicals and chemical products 10.3%, trans-portation equipment 8.1%, base and fabricatedmetals 8.0%). Major import sources (2014):

Exports (2015): >10,371,537,000 (food products, bev-erages, and tobacco 18.9%, machinery and electri-cal equipment 18.4%, wood and wood products16.7%, base and fabricated metals 8.7%, chemicalsand chemical products 7.1%, mineral products7.1%). Major export destinations (2014):

Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads: length (20152) 1,156 mi, 1,860 km;passenger-km (2014) 649,000,000; metric ton-km cargo(2015) 18,905,900,000. Roads (20152): total length36,396 mi, 58,573 km (paved [2013] 20%); pas-senger-km (2014)10 2,329,000,000; metric ton-kmcargo (2015)11 14,690,100,000. Vehicles (20162):passenger cars 679,048; trucks and buses 90,795.

Education and healthLiteracy (2015): virtually 100%.Health (20162): physicians 7,626 (1 per 258 persons);

hospital beds 11,261 (1 per 175 persons); infantmortality rate per 1,000 live births (2015) 4.1;undernourished population (2006–08) less than 5%of total population based on the consumption of aminimum daily requirement of 1,930 calories.

MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2015):5,310 (army 23.5%, navy 10.4%, air force5.8%, joint staff 49.0%, national guard11.3%); reserve 7,850. Military expenditureas percentage of GDP (2015): 1.0%; percapita expenditure U.S.$134.

1The euro (>) replaced the lats (Ls) on Jan. 1, 2014, at an exchange rate of >1 = Ls 0.70. 2January 1. 3Newadministrative scheme from July 2009. 4General government. 5Includes Mining and quarrying. 6Taxeson products less subsidies. 7Unemployed. 8Detail does not add to total given because of rounding.9Imports c.i.f.; exports f.o.b. 10Buses only. 11Total by road vehicles registered in Latvia. 12Subscribers.

Internet resources for further information:• Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia www.csb.gov.lv• Bank of Latvia www.bank.lv

Structure of gross domestic product and labour force2014 2015

in value % of total labour % of labour>’000 value force force

Agriculture, forestry, fishing 682,308 2.9 71,100 7.2Mining and quarrying … … 3,900 0.4Manufacturing 2,542,043 10.8 116,300 11.7Public utilities 913,0485 3.95 19,700 2.0Construction 1,425,254 6.0 71,900 7.2Transp. and commun. 3,066,961 13.0 111,300 11.2Trade, restaurants 3,294,852 14.0 159,300 16.0Finance, real estate 5,324,390 22.6 102,300 10.3Pub. admin., defense 1,529,078 6.5 59,100 5.9Services 2,114,410 9.0 181,100 18.2Other 2,688,5246 11.46 98,2007 9.97

TOTAL 23,580,868 100.08 994,200 100.0

Communications units unitsnumber per 1,000 number per 1,000

Medium date in ’000s persons Medium date in ’000s persons

TelephonesCellular 2015 2,57912 1,27012

Landline 2015 396 195

Internet users 2009 1,503 668Broadband 2015 51012 25112

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