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Latvia
Location
Northern Europe.
Time
GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Area
64,589 sq km (24,938 sq miles).
Population
2.3 million (2006 estimate).
Capital
Riga. Population: 727,578 (2006 estimate).
Geography
Latvia is the central country of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). On the world map Latvia is to be found in North-eastern Europe, on the east coast of the Baltic Sea. The landscape of the country is marked by lowland plains and rolling hills. Most of the countryside is less than 100 metres above sea level. There are thousands of rivers and lakes in Latvia.
EU
Member since 2004.
Government
Republic. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Head of Government
Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis since 2004.
Language
Latvian is the official language. Russian, English and German are widely spoken. Latvian belongs to the Baltic language group, part of the Indo-European language family. The language has three main dialects, with the Latgallian dialect, spoken in the eastern part of Latvia, especially distinctive.
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