Polity · 1920 CE – present
Republic of Latvia
Latvija · Latvijas Republika
Also recorded as Latvia
- Peak recorded area
- 68,177 km²
- 1936 CE
- Rulers on record
- 8
- from 2011 CE
- Data series
- 373
- 1920 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,573 km2 (24,932 sq mi), with a population of 1.83 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
5 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 61 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1.9Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 76.48years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -7,330persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -1.13% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 80.73years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 71.94years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 132 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 28.2Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd65 obs · 1992 CE–2025 CE | 48.6Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Total Exports47 obs · 1918 CE–2014 CE | 14.4Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports47 obs · 1918 CE–2014 CE | 17.5Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance47 obs · 1918 CE–2014 CE | -3,143.22million USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness47 obs · 1918 CE–2014 CE | 31.8Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 39 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP65 obs · 1993 CE–2025 CE | 3.7% of GDP2025 CE · CIA World Factbook 2024 |
| CINC Score49 obs · 1918 CE–2016 CE | 0.0002CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production49 obs · 1918 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption48 obs · 1918 CE–2016 CE | 4.6Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel48 obs · 1918 CE–2016 CE | 5,000persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure47 obs · 1918 CE–2016 CE | 411Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %64 obs · 1992 CE–2023 CE | 21.85% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %64 obs · 1992 CE–2023 CE | 55% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Surface Area63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 64.6Ksq. km2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Co2 Emissions Mt Co2e55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 6.81mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Co2 Emissions per capita55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 3.65t_co2e_per_capita2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Methane Emissions Mt Co2e55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 2.07mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
Governance
6 of 27 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index55 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.838index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index55 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.765index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index55 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.601index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type55 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 3RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index55 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.972index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Legislature Total Seats49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 99seats2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 56 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index55 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.929index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 119.91per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Hospital Beds Per 100040 obs · 1980 CE–2023 CE | 4.95per_10002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Physicians Per 100039 obs · 1980 CE–2022 CE | 3.4per_10002022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Who Skilled Birth Attendance39 obs · 1985 CE–2023 CE | 18.72%2023 CE · WHO Global Health Observatory |
| Pupil Teacher Ratio Primary37 obs · 1981 CE–2017 CE | 11.54ratio2017 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
8 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Andris BērziņšHead of State2011 CE – 2015 CE
- Laimdota StraujumaHead of Government2014 CE – 2016 CE
- Raimonds VējonisHead of State2015 CE – 2019 CE
- Māris KučinskisHead of Government2016 CE – 2019 CE
- Egils LevitsHead of State2019 CE – 2023 CE
- Krišjānis KariņšHead of Government2019 CE – 2023 CE
- Edgars RinkēvičsHead of State2023 CE –
- Evika SiliņaHead of Government2023 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
- Government type
- parliamentary republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Edgars RINKEVICS (since 8 July 2023); head of government: Prime Minister Evika SILINA (since 15 September 2023); cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by Parliament;
- 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.)
- Natural resources
- peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, timber, arable land
- Economy
- high-income EU and eurozone member; weak recovery following economic contraction, with slight increase in private consumption and uncertain trade environment; challenges from skilled-labor shortages, capital market access, large informal sector, and green and digital transitions
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Latvian
- Currency
- euros (EUR)
Memberships
- Estonia–Latvia Defense Pact (1923)Military alliance · member1923 CE – 1940 CE
- Russia–Latvia Non-Aggression Pact (1932)Historical alliance · member1932 CE – 1939 CE
- Estonia–Latvia–Lithuania Entente (1934)Historical alliance · member1934 CE – 1940 CE
- Russia–Latvia Defense Pact (1939)Military alliance · member1939 CE – 1940 CE
- Germany–Latvia Non-Aggression Pact (1939)Historical alliance · member1939 CE – 1940 CE
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1991 CE –
- Poland–Latvia Non-Aggression Pact (1992)Historical alliance · member1992 CE –
- Latvia–Uzbekistan Non-Aggression Pact (1995)Historical alliance · member1995 CE –
- Latvia–Ukraine Non-Aggression Pact (1995)Historical alliance · member1995 CE –
- NATONATOMilitary alliance · member2004 CE –
- European UnionEUEconomic bloc · member2004 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Central Intelligence Agency (2024). The World Factbook. Washington, DC.
Public Domain (US Government work)
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
WHO Global Health Observatory2024
World Health Organization (2024). Global Health Observatory data repository.
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Latvia is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.