- Riga; 733,000 - 64,589 square kilometers (24,938 square miles)
- Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian - Lutheran, Roman Catholic,
Russian Orthodox - Latvian lat - Life Expectancy: - GDP per
Capita: - U.S. $8,900 - Literacy Percent: Latvia Facts Flag Flat
and forested, Latvia lies on the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.
Few former Soviet republics experienced a more profound shift in
character during their 50 years of domination than this Baltic
country. From 1939-1989 the proportion of ethnic Latvians in
Latvia dropped from 73 to 52 percent—due to heavy Russian
immigration and Latvian emigration. Since independence in 1991,
Latvian ethnicity has started to rebound and now constitutes 59
percent of the population—Russians are 29 percent. An industrial
country with trade ties to the West, Latvia joined NATO and the
EU in 2004. - Industry: Buses, vans, street and railroad cars,
synthetic fibers - Agriculture: Grain, sugar beets, potatoes,
vegetables; beef; fish - Exports: Wood and wood products,
machinery and equipment,