Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians, who are the titular nation and comprise 63.0% of the country's population, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population; 37.7% of the population speak Russian as their native tongue.
The economy of Latvia is an open economy in Europe and is part of the European Single Market. Latvia is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1999, a member of the European Union since 2004, a member of the Eurozone since 2014 and a member of the OECD since 2016. Latvia is ranked the 14th in the world by the Ease of Doing Business Index prepared by the World Bank Group. According to the Human Development Report 2023/24 by the United Nations Development Programme, has a HDI score of a 0.879. Due to its geographical location, transit services are highly developed, along with timber and wood processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronic devices.
Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were formerly held by the same duke.
Talsi District was a district of Latvia, located in Courland region, in the country's west. It was one of the former 26 rural districts of Latvia and it consisted of 20 local communities. Districts were eliminated on 20 June 2009 as the result of the administrative-territorial reform in 2009.
The Venta is a river in north-western Lithuania and western Latvia. Its source is near Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It flows into the Baltic Sea at Ventspils in Latvia.
Kuldīga District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Courland region, in the country's west. It was organized into a city and thirteen parishes, each with a local government authority. The main city in the district was Kuldīga.
Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Northeast Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe, usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe, as well as from former Yugoslavia. Scholarly literature often uses the abbreviations CEE or CEEC for this term. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also uses the term "Central and Eastern European Countries" (CEECs) for a group comprising some of these countries. This term is sometimes used as an alternative to the term "Eastern Europe," for more neutral grouping.
Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions, more commonly called the Ventspils Stadions, is a multi-purpose stadium in Ventspils, Latvia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. Ventspils Stadions was the home stadium for FK Ventspils. It is one of the most famous football stadia in the Latvia. The stadium holds 3,200 people.
Daugavpils District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's south-east. It was organized into two cities and twenty one parishes, each with a local government authority. The district council headquarters were located in the city of Daugavpils, which, however, was not part of the district. As of 2009, The district's area was 2,525.5 km2, which contained 21 parishes, one city and one municipality.
BK Ventspils is a professional basketball club that is located in Ventspils, Latvia. The club competes in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League.
Carnikava Municipality is a former municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2006 by reorganization of Carnikava Parish of the Riga District, with the administrative centre being Carnikava. The population in 2009 was 6,261 people.
Ziras Parish is an administrative unit of the Ventspils Municipality, Latvia.The parish has a population of 543 and covers an area of 153.80 km2.
Kandava Municipality is a former municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 1999 by merging Cēre Parish and Kandava town with its countryside territory. Later it absorbed Matkule Parish, Vāne Parish, Zante Parish and Zemīte Parish the administrative centre being Kandava.
Kuldīga Municipality is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Ēdole parish, Gudenieki parish, Īvande parish, Kabile parish, Kurmāle parish, Laidi parish, Padure parish, Pelči parish, Renda parish, Rumba parish, Snēpele parish, Turlava parish, Vārme parish and Kuldīga town. The administrative centre is Kuldīga. As of 2020, the population was 22,028.
Saulkrasti Municipality is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by reorganization of Saulkrasti town with its countryside territory, with the administrative centre being Saulkrasti. In 2010 Saulkrasti parish was created from the countryside territory of Saulkrasti town. The population in 2020 was 6,735.
Smiltene Municipality is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging the town of Smiltene with the rural parishes of Bilska, Blome, Branti, Grundzāle, Launkalne, Palsmane, Smiltene and Variņi. During the 2021 Latvian administrative reform, the previous municipality was merged with Ape Municipality and Rauna Municipality.
Ventspils Municipality is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Piltene town, Ance Parish, Jūrkalne Parish, Piltene rural community, Pope Parish, Puze Parish, Tārgale Parish, Ugāle Parish, Usma Parish, Užava Parish, Vārve Parish, Ziras Parish and Zlēkas Parish. It is administered from Ventspils city, which is not included within its limits. The population in 2023 was 10,512.
Kurzeme Region, officially Kurzeme Planning Region, is one of the five planning regions of Latvia, it is situated in the western part of Latvia, at the shores of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Riga. The state institution was founded on 2 October 2006, based on the creation of the region territory as prescribed by Regulations No. 133 of the Cabinet of Ministers as of 25 March 2003, the "Regulations on Territories of Planning Regions". As of 2020, the region's population was 237,407.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.
Ventspils University of Applied Sciences is a higher education establishment in Ventspils, Latvia.
