Diving

DIVING LATVIA INTRODUCTION

COUNTRY INFORMATION


Official name

Republic of Latvia


Capital

Riga


Coordinates

57°00’ N, 25°00’ E


Location

Latvia is located in Eastern Europe and shares borders with Estonia on the north, Russia on the east, Belarus on the southeast and Lithuania on the south.


Area

Total area: 64 589 sq km
Land area: 63 589 sq km
Water area: 1 000 sq km


Land boundaries

1 382 km


Coastline

498 km


Administrative division

Latvia is divided into 26 counties and 7 municipalities.


Political system

Latvia is a parliamentary democracy. President is the chief of state and is elected by Parliament for a four-year term. Prime Minister, who is the head of government, is appointed by President and confirmed by Parliament. Parliament (Saeima) is unicameral and has 100 members.


Population

2 231 503


Ethnic groups

Latvian 58%, Russian 30%, Belarusian 4%, Ukrainian 3%, Polish 2%, Lithuanian 1%, other 2%


Religions

Lutheran 20%, Orthodox 15%, other 65%