Location:
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
Geographic coordinates:
57 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area: Area - comparative: Land boundaries: Coastline: Maritime claims: Climate: Terrain: Elevation extremes: Natural resources: Land use: Irrigated land: Total renewable water resources: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements: Geography - note:
total: 64,589 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 124
land:
62,249 sq km
water:
2,340 sq km
slightly larger than West Virginia
total: 1,382 km
border countries:
Belarus 171 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 292 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]
498 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
maritime; wet, moderate winters
More Climate Details
low plain
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point:
Gaizina Kalns 312 m
peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, timber, arable land
arable land: 17.96%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops:
0.11%
other:
81.93% (2011)
8.3 sq km
note:
land in Latvia is often too wet and in need of drainage not irrigation; approximately 16,000 sq km or 85% of agricultural land has been improved by drainage (2007)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
35.45 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
total: 0.42 cu km/yr (42%/45%/13%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita:
177.9 cu m/yr (2007)
Latvia's environment has benefited from a shift to service industries after the country regained independence; the main environmental priorities are improvement of drinking water quality and sewage system, household, and hazardous waste management, as well as reduction of air pollution; in 2001, Latvia closed the EU accession negotiation chapter on environment committing to full enforcement of EU environmental directives by 2010
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the east