| Geography | Latvia |
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Location:
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Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania |
Geographic coordinates:
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57 00 N, 25 00 E |
Map references:
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Europe |
Area:
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total: 64,589 sq km
land: 63,589 sq km
water: 1,000 sq km |
Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than West Virginia |
Land boundaries:
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total: 1,382 km
border countries: Belarus 171 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 292 km |
Coastline:
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498 km |
Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Climate:
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maritime; wet, moderate winters |
Terrain:
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low plain |
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Galzina Kalns 312 m |
Natural resources:
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peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land |
Land use:
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arable land: 28.19%
permanent crops: 0.45%
other: 71.36% (2005) |
Irrigated land:
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200 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 (2003) |
Total renewable water resources:
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49.9 cu km (2005) |
Total renewable water resources - per capita:
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22,362 cubic meters per capita |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 0.25 cu km/yr (55%/33%/12%)
Per capita: 108 cu m/yr (2003) |
Natural hazards:
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NA |
Environment - current issues:
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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 |
Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
Geography - note:
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most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east |
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