| Full name: | Republic of Latvia |
| Founded on: | November 18, 1918 |
| Population: | 2.37 million |
| Area: | 64 589 sq. km |
| Total length of national border: | 1 800 km |
| Borders with other countries: | Estonia, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania |
| Capital city: | Riga (population: around 800,000) |
| Currency: | lats (LVL). One lats consists of 100 santims. The lats has been the currency since May 1993 |
| Official language: | Latvian |
| Head of State: | President, who is elected by the Saeima for a period of 4 years. The President promulgates laws, appoints the Prime Minister and performs representative functions. The current presiden, Ms Vaira Vike-Freiberga, was elected in July 1999. |
| Type of government: | Democratic, parliamentary republic. Legislative power is in the hands of a single-chamber parliament – the Saeima, composed of 100 deputies. Parliamentary elections take place every 4 years. The last parliamentary elections took place in the autumn of 1998. |
| Application for EU accession: | 27 October 1995 |