Latvia is sandwiched by it’s two neighbours on the Baltic sea on either side. Known as ‘The land that sings’, this Eastern European escape is a travel escape that brings the traveller a breath taking coastline on the shores of the Baltic Sea, eye pleasing arts and crafts, historical churches, houses, manors and a vibrant people.
BACKGROUND
Latvia is home to 2,294,200 inhabitants and its ethnic composition consist of: Latvians – 57.7%, Russians – 29.6%, Belorussians – 4.1%, Ukrainians – 2.7%, Poles- 2.5%, Lithuanians – 1.4%, Others – 2%. The religious composition is as follows: Non-religious – 35%, Lutheran – 24%, Catholic – 18%, Orthodox – 15%, Others – 8%.
Some of the Latvians are into farming and some of the agricultural products include grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs and fish. Latvia has three major ports in Ventspils, Riga and Liepaja. Latvian is the official language although, English, German and Russian are also common.
GEOGRAPHY
The country Latvia is a total of 64, 589 sq kilometers meaning it is just a tad bit larger than West Virginia. The country is divided into four main regions, namely: Vidzeme, Latgale, Kurzeme and Zemgale. Neighboring countries are Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania and Russia.
