gered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

People Latvia

Population:
2,290,237 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 169,284/female 161,648)
15-64 years: 69.4% (male 770,839/female 819,309)
65 years and over: 16.1% (male 120,306/female 248,851) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 39.12 years
male: 35.95 years
female: 42.15 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.69% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
9.04 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
13.7 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
-2.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.55 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.05 years
male: 65.78 years
female: 76.6 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.26 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.6% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
7,600 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Latvian(s)
adjective: Latvian

Ethnic groups:
Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%,
Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)

Religions:
Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox

Languages:
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3%
(2000 census)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.8% (2003 est.)

Government Latvia

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

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Riga

Administrative divisions:
26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities*: Aizkraukles
Rajons, Aluksne