Map of Latvia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Several eastern Baltic tribes merged in medieval times to form the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 25% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone in 2014 and the OECD in 2016. A dual citizenship law was adopted in 2013, easing naturalization for non-citizen children.


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Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania

Geographic coordinates: 57 00 N, 25 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 64,589 km²
Land: 62,249 km²
Water: 2,340 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries
Total: 1,370 km
Border countries: (4) Belarus 161 km; Estonia 333 km; Lithuania 544 km; Russia 332 km

Coastline: 498 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: limits as agreed to by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Russia
Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters

Terrain: low plain

Elevation
Highest point: Gaizina Kalns 312 m
Lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 87 m

Natural resources: peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, timber, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 29.2% (2018 est.)
Forest: 54.1% (2018 est.)
Other: 16.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 6 km² (2016)
Note: land in Latvia is often too wet and in need of drainage not irrigation; approximately 16,000 km² or 85% of agricultural land has been improved by drainage

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 94.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 25.2 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 61.5 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 34.94 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Natural hazards: large percentage of agricultural fields can become waterlogged and require drainage

Geography
Note: most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the east


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Population
Distribution: largest concentration of people is found in and around the port and capital city of Riga; small agglomerations are scattered throughout the country: 1,842,226 (2022 est.)
Growth rate: -1.11% (2022 est.)
Below poverty line: 22.9% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Latvian(s)
Adjective: Latvian

Ethnic groups: Latvian 62.7%, Russian 24.5%, Belarusian 3.1%, Ukrainian 2.2%, Polish 2%, Lithuanian 1.1%, other 1.8%, unspecified 2.6% (2021 est.)

Languages: Latvian (official) 56.3%, Russian 33.8%, other 0.6% (includes Polish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian), unspecified 9.4%; note - data represent language usually spoken at home (2011 est.)
Major language samples:

Religions: Lutheran 36.2%, Roman Catholic 19.5%, Orthodox 19.1%, other Christian 1.6%, other 0.1%, unspecified/none 23.5% (2017 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.32% (male 148,120/female 140,028)
15-24 years: 9% (male 87,372/female 81,965)
25-54 years: 40.41% (male 380,817/female 379,359)
55-64 years: 14.77% (male 125,401/female 152,548)
65 years and over: 20.5% (male 128,151/female 257,471) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 59.3
Youth dependency ratio: 24.9
Elderly dependency ratio: 34.4
Potential support ratio: 2.9 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 44.4 years
Male: 40.5 years
Female: 48 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: -1.11% (2022 est.)

Birth rate: 8.73 births/1000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate: 14.65 deaths/1000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.19 migrant(s)/1000 population (2022 est.)

Population distribution: largest concentration of people is found in and around the port and capital city of Riga; small agglomerations are scattered throughout the country

Urbanization
Urban population: 68.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: -0.68% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 621,000 RIGA (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: while land, water, and air pollution are evident, Latvia's environment has benefited from a shift to service industries after the country regained independence; improvements have occurred in drinking water quality, sewage treatment, household and hazardous waste management, as well as reduction of air pollution; concerns include nature protection and the management of water resources and the protection of the Baltic Sea
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 12.72 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 7 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 1.85 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.36 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 27.3 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 19 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.85 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5.27 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.42 deaths/1000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.91 years
Male: 71.47 years
Female: 80.56 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.54 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved:
Unimproved:

Current health expenditure: 6.6% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density: 3.4 physicians/1000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 5.5 beds/1000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved:
Unimproved:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2021 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
Vector borne diseases: tickborne encephalitis

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 23.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 12.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 4.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 1.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 5.3 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 37% (2020 est.)
Male: 50.3% (2020 est.)
Female: 23.7% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 6% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.9%
Male: 99.9%
Female: 99.9% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 17 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 14.8%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 14.9%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 14.6% (2021 est.)


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Latvia
Conventional short form: Latvia
Local long form: Latvijas Republika
Local short form: Latvija
Former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (while occupied by the USSR)
Etymology: the name "Latvia" originates from the ancient Latgalians, one of four eastern Baltic tribes that formed the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.)

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Riga
Geographic coordinates: 56 57 N, 24 06 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Etymology: of the several theories explaining the name's origin, the one relating to the city's role in Baltic and North Sea commerce is the most probable; the name is likely related to the Latvian word "rija," meaning "warehouse," where the 'j' became a 'g' under the heavy German influence in the city from the late Middle Ages to the early 20th century

Administrative divisions: 36 municipalities (novadi, singular - novads) and 7 state cities (valstpilsetu pasvaldibas, singular valstspilsetas pasvaldiba)

Dependent areas

Independence: 18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia); 4 May 1990 (declared from the Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day (Republic of Latvia Proclamation Day), 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 was the date Latvia established its statehood and its concomitant independence from Soviet Russia; 4 May 1990 was the date it declared the restoration of Latvian statehood and its concomitant independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution
History: several previous (pre-1991 independence); note - following the restoration of independence in 1991, parts of the 1922 constitution were reintroduced 4 May 1990 and fully reintroduced 6 July 1993
Amendments: proposed by two thirds of Parliament members or by petition of one tenth of qualified voters submitted through the president; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of Parliament in each of three readings; amendment of constitutional articles, including national sovereignty, language, the parliamentary electoral system, and constitutional amendment procedures, requires passage in a referendum by majority vote of at least one half of the electorate; amended several times, last in 2019

Legal system: civil law system with traces of socialist legal traditions and practices

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: at least one parent must be a citizen of Latvia
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Egils LEVITS (since 8 July 2019)
Head of government: Prime Minister Krisjanis KARINS (since 23 January 2019)
Cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by Parliament
Elections and appointments: president indirectly elected by Parliament for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 29 May 2019 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by Parliament
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 6 October 2018 (next to be held in October 2022)
Election results: percent of vote by party - S 19.8%, KPV LV 14.3%, JKP 13.6%, AP! 12%, NA 11%, ZZS 9.9%, JV 6.7%, other 12.7%; seats by party - S 23, KPV LV 16, JKP 16, AP! 13, NA 13, ZZS 11, JV 8; composition as of April 2022 - men 73, women 27, percent of women 27%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the Senate with 36 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 7 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by chief justice and confirmed by the Saeima; judges serve until age 70, but term can be extended 2 years; Constitutional Court judges - 3 nominated by Saeima members, 2 by Cabinet ministers, and 2 by plenum of Supreme Court; all judges confirmed by Saeima majority vote; Constitutional Court president and vice president serve in their positions for 3 years; all judges serve 10-year terms; mandatory retirement at age 70
Subordinate courts: district (city) and regional courts

Political parties and leaders: Development/For! or AP! [Daniels PAVLUTS, Juris PUCE]
For a Humane Latvia or PCL [Maris MOZVILLO] (formerly known as Who Owns the State?)
National Alliance "All For Latvia!"-"For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK" or NA [Raivis DZINTARS]
New Unity or JV [Arturs Krišjānis KARINS]
Social Democratic Party "Harmony" or S [Janis URBANOVICS]
The Conservatives or K [Janis BORDANS] (formerly known as New Conservative Party or JKP)
Union of Greens and Farmers or ZZS [Aivars LEMBERGS]
United List or AS [Uldis PILENS] (electoral coalition including the Latvian Green Party or LZP, Latvian Association of Regions or LRA, Liepaja Party)

International organization participation: Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Maris SELGA (since 16 September 2019)
In the us chancery: 2,306 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 328-2,840
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 328-2,860
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John Leslie CARWILE (since 5 November 2019)
From the us embassy: 1 Samnera Velsa Street (former Remtes), Riga LV-1510
From the us mailing address: 4,520 Riga Place, Washington DC 20,521-4,520
From the us telephone: [371] 6,710-7,000
From the us FAX: [371] 6,710-7,050
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon; the flag is one of the older banners in the world; a medieval chronicle mentions a red standard with a white stripe being used by Latvian tribes in about 1280

National symbols: white wagtail (bird); national colors: maroon, white

National anthem
Name: "Dievs, sveti Latviju!" (God Bless Latvia)
Lyrics and music: Karlis BAUMANIS
Note: adopted 1920, restored 1990; first performed in 1873 while Latvia was a part of Russia; banned during the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1990

National heritage
Total world heritage sites: 2 (both cultural)


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 61.8% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 18.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 19.9% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.5% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 60.6% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -61.9% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.9% (2017 est.)
Industry: 22.4% (2017 est.)
Services: 73.7% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat, milk, rapeseed, barley, oats, potatoes, rye, beans, pork, poultry

Industries: processed foods, processed wood products, textiles, processed metals, pharmaceuticals, railroad cars, synthetic fibers, electronics

Industrial production growth rate: 10.6% (2017 est.)

Labor force: 885,000 (2020 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 7.7%
By occupation industry: 24.1%
By occupation services: 68.1% (2016 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 14.8%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 14.9%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 14.6% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line: 22.9% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income:

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.2%
Highest 10: 26.3% (2015)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $11.39 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $11.53 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: $-0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 37.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt:
Note: data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities, including sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government, and social security funds

Revenue
From forest resources forest revenues: 0.85% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: Lithuania 16%, Estonia 10%, Russia 9%, Germany 7%, Sweden 6%, United Kingdom 6% (2019)
Commodities: lumber, broadcasting equipment, whiskey and other hard liquors, wheat, packaged medicines (2019)

Imports:
Partners: Russia 21%, Lithuania 14%, Germany 9%, Poland 7%, Estonia 7% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, cars, packaged medicines, aircraft (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Installed generating capacity: 3.089 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 6.706 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: $2.548 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 4.173 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission distribution losses: 377 million kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 33.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 3.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 47.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 15.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 39,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 3,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 40,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 1,600 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 39,900 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 16,180 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 54,370 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 1,067,798,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 1,067,798,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 8.45 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 149,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 5.693 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 2.608 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 86.645 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 211,849 (2020 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 2,051,359 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 109 (2020 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: several national and regional commercial TV stations are foreign-owned, 2 national TV stations are publicly owned; system supplemented by privately owned regional and local TV stations; cable and satellite multi-channel TV services with domestic and foreign broadcasts available; publicly owned broadcaster operates 4 radio networks with dozens of stations throughout the country; dozens of private broadcasters also operate radio stations

Internet
Country code: .lv
Users total: 1,663,739 (July 2022 est.)
Users percent of population: 89.8% (July 2022 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 490,569 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 26 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: National Armed Forces (Nacionalie Brunotie Speki): Land Forces (Latvijas Sauszemes Speki), Naval Force (Latvijas Juras Speki, includes Coast Guard (Latvijas Kara Flote)), Air Force (Latvijas Gaisa Speki), National Guard (2022)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary male and female military service; no conscription (abolished 2007) (2022)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 3 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 53
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 4,058,762 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 4.01 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YL

Airports
Total: 42 (2021)
With paved runways total: 18
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (2021)
With unpaved runways total: 24
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 24 (2021)

Heliports: 1 (2021)

Pipelines: 1,213 km gas, 417 km refined products (2018)

Railways
Total: 1,860 km (2018)
Narrowgauge: 34 km (2018) 0.750-m gauge
Broadgauge: 1,826 km (2018) 1.520-m gauge

Roadways
Total: 70,244 km (2018)
Paved: 15,158 km (2018)
Unpaved: 55,086 km (2018)

Waterways: 300 km (2010) (navigable year-round)

Merchant marine
Total: 70
By type: general cargo 22, oil tanker 9, other 39 (2021)

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Riga, Ventspils


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Disputes international: Latvia-Belarus: Belarus and Latvia signed joint demarcation map in September 2008

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 34,792 (Ukraine) (as of 20 December 2022)
Stateless persons: 209,168 (mid-year 2021); note - individuals who were Latvian citizens prior to the 1940 Soviet occupation and their descendants were recognized as Latvian citizens when the country's independence was restored in 1991; citizens of the former Soviet Union residing in Latvia who have neither Latvian nor other citizenship are considered non-citizens (officially there is no statelessness in Latvia) and are entitled to non-citizen passports; children born after Latvian independence to stateless parents are entitled to Latvian citizenship upon their parents' request; non-citizens cannot vote or hold certain government jobs and are exempt from military service but can travel visa-free in the EU under the Schengen accord like Latvian citizens; non-citizens can obtain naturalization if they have been permanent residents of Latvia for at least five years, pass tests in Latvian language and history, and know the words of the Latvian national anthem

Illicit drugs: transshipment and destination point for cocaine, synthetic drugs, opiates, and cannabis from Southwest Asia, Western Europe, Latin America, and neighboring Baltic countries; despite improved legislation, vulnerable to money laundering due to nascent enforcement capabilities and comparatively weak regulation of offshore companies and the gaming industry; CIS organized crime (including counterfeiting, corruption, extortion, stolen cars, and prostitution) accounts for most laundered proceeds