FACTS

Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania

Area (only Total) total: 64,589 sq km

Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters

Terrain: low plain

Population: 2,245,423 (July 2008 est.)

Main Language (only first): Latvian

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital (Name): Riga

Capital (Time Difference): UTC+2

Independence: 18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 was the date Latvia declared itself independent from Soviet Russia; 4 May 1990 is when it declared the renewal of independence; 21 August 1991 was the date of de facto independence from the Soviet Union