and budget crises.
Latvia's largely unregulated financial sector suffered a series of
bank failures, including the collapse of the country's largest
commercial bank - Bank Baltija - due largely to criminal activity by
the owners. The government's attempts to compensate depositors of
failed banks exacerbated an existing budget shortfall; poor revenue
collection and a soft treasury bill market had already caused the
government to incur a larger than expected deficit early in the
year. As a result of the crises, Latvia's budget deficit for 1995
was $168 million, double that originally planned. In addition, GDP
growth came to a halt. The Central Bank maintained its tough
monetary policies - severely limiting credits to the state, despite
the budget problems - helping to keep annual inflation the lowest
among the Baltic states, at about 20%. New Prime Minister SKELE
wants to invigorate the privatization of industry; agriculture
already is mainly in private hands.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -1.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World
Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 31%
services: 60% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.407 million
by occupation: industry and construction 41%, agriculture and
forestry 16%, other 43% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (1995 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic
fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines,
radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles;
dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate
products

Industrial production growth rate: -9.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 2,080,000 kW
production: 5.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,864 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; meat, milk,
eggs; fish

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central
and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; limited
producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic consumption; also
produces illicit amphetamines for export

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: timber, textiles, dairy products