Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
Population: 2,259,810 (July 2007 est.)
Religions: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox
Languages: Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
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
Currency (code): Latvian lat (LVL)
Exchange rates: lati per US dollar - 0.5162 (2007), 0.5597 (2006), 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004), 0.5715 (2003)
