| Latvian Republic Latvijas Republika Timeline: Differently | ||||||
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| Anthem: Dievs, svētī Latviju! God Bless Latvia! |
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 Location of Latvia (green)
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| Capital (and largest city) | Riga | |||||
| Official languages | Latvian | |||||
| Religion | 56.2% Lutheranism 15.3% Catholicism 27.4% Orthodoxy 1.1% other |
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| Demonym(s) | Latvian | |||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Māris Graudiņš | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Aivars Lembergs | ||||
| Legislature | Saeima | |||||
| Independence from Germany and the Soviet Union | ||||||
| - | Declared | 18 November 1918 | ||||
| - | Soviet occupation | 12 August 1935 | ||||
| - | Restored | 4 December 1982 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 64,589 km2 24,938 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| - | Estimate | 1,907,675 (121st) | ||||
| Currency | Lats (LVL) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
Latvia, officially the Latvian Republic, is a country in northeastern Europe bounded by the Baltic Sea on the west. It shares borders with Estland to the north, Lithuania to the south, and Russia to the east. Its capital and largest city is Riga; other notable major cities include Daugavpils, Liepāja, Jelgava, Valmiera, Ventspils and Jūrmala. The Baltic Sea moderates Latvia's temperate seasonal climate, although the country has four distinct seasons and snowy winters.
Its surface area of 64,589 square kilometers makes Latvia the 21st-largest country in Europe and the 117th-largest in the world. With a population of over 2.2 million inhabitants, it is the 25th-most populous country in Europe and the 121st in the world.
After centuries of German, Swedish, Polish-Lithuanian and Russian rule, a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away from the German-dominated United Baltic Duchy and declared independence in the aftermath of the Great War. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de-facto independence was interrupted when it was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1935, forming the Latvian SSR, which lasted for 40 years until 1982.
Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions. However, as a consequence of centuries of Russian rule (1710–1918) and later Soviet occupation, 26.9% of the population of Latvia are ethnic Russians, ome of whom (10.7% of Latvian residents) have not gained citizenship, leaving them with no citizenship at all. Latvia is historically predominantly Lutheran Protestant, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population is largely Eastern Orthodox Christians.
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