An Introduction to Latvia
The Republic of Latvia is one of the least populous and least densely populated countries of the EU. It has shared much of its history with neighbouring Estonia, and both countries have large populations (just over a quarter) of ethnic Russians. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Europe (Other)
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GOVERNMENT: parliamentary republic
AREA: 64,589 sq km
POPULATION: 2,217,053 (2012 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: Latvian
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Latvia
Nature, by contrast, gets plenty of respect in Latvia, which has been passing laws to protect it since the 16th century and has no fewer than 706 specially state-level protected natural areas covering around 20% of its land area. The 2012 Environmental Performance Index ranks Latvia 2nd after Switzerland.
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The Republic of Latvia is one of the least populous and least densely populated countries of the EU. It has shared much of its history with neighbouring Estonia, and both countries have large populations (just over a quarter) of ethnic Russians.
United with southern Estonia in the state of Livonia from the 13th century, the area fell under Polish and Lithuanian rule in the 16th century and then Russian at the end of the eighteenth century. It was independent between 1918 and 1940 and then again from 1991 onwards, with Soviet rule in between.The recent financial crisis has given the country a rollercoaster ride - it was one of Europe's leaders for GDP growth from 1998 to 2006, saw a 26.5% decline between 2008 and 2010 and in 2011 returned to being one of the fastest growers again.
GDP: $34.9bn (2011 est.) - $15,662 per capita (2011 est.)
Religions Evangelical Lutheran 20.4%; Roman Catholic 19.5%; Orthodox 16%; c.40% not affiliated
Currency: Latvian Lats: 0.7 Ls = I Euro
Telephone Code: + 371
Research Industry
Latvia is the 59th largest research market in the world, and the 29th largest in Europe. According to the ESOMAR Global Prices Study 2012 the country was the 66th most expensive for carrying out research.Latvia's consumption-driven growth, rapid before the crisis of 2008, has been partly restored since last year. In the early years of the century, the capital Riga emerged as a regional financial and commercial center. The country's mostly privatised economy has a negative trade balance, while unemployment remains high (15.2% in early 2012). High inflation has kept it out of the Euro thus far, but a new deadline has been set for 2014, the tenth anniversary of its joining the EU.
Exports totalled $6.7bn in 2009 while imports were $8.8bn. Wood, machinery and metals are key export commodities, with Lithuania (15.4%), Russia (14.7%) and Estonia (13.1%) taking a good proportion. Imports include machinery, chemicals, fuels and vehicles with Lithuania again topping the list of partners (16.0%), Germany 2nd on 12.8% and Russia 3rd (10.6%) - figures are from 2008.
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