Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/136.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 10.2 KB | 377 lines

@node Geography (Latvia)
@section Geography (Latvia)

@display

Location:
  Eastern Europe, bordering on the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia
Map references:
  Arctic Region, Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:   64,100 km2
 land area:
  64,100 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
  total 1,078 km, Belarus 141 km, Estonia 267 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217
  km
Coastline:
  531 km
Maritime claims:
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  the Abrene section of border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
  to Russia in 1944
Climate:
  maritime; wet, moderate winters
Terrain:
  low plain
Natural resources:
  minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite
Land use:
 arable land:
  27%
 permanent crops:
  0%
 meadows and pastures:
  13%
 forest and woodland:
  39%
 other:
  21%
Irrigated land:
  160 km2 (1990)
Environment:
  heightened levels of air and water pollution because of a lack of waste
  conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted;
  contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products
  at military bases



@end display

@node People (Latvia)
@section People (Latvia)

@display

Population:
  2,735,573 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  0.5% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  13.99 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  12.73 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:   3.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  22 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  69.23 years
 male:
  64.15 years
 female:
  74.55 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Latvian(s)
 adjective:
  Latvian
Ethnic divisions:
  Latvian 51.8%, Russian 33.8%, Belarusian 4.5%, Ukrainian 3.4%, Polish 2.3%,
  other 4.2%
Religions:
  Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox
Languages:
  Latvian (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other
Literacy:
  age 9-49 can read and write (1970)
 total population:
  100%
 male:
  100%
 female:
  100%
Labor force:
  1.407 million
 by occupation:
  industry and construction 41%, agriculture and forestry 16%, other 43%
  (1990)



@end display

@node Government (Latvia)
@section Government (Latvia)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Latvia
 conventional short form:
  Latvia
 local long form:
  Latvijas Republika
 local short form:
  Latvija
 former:
  Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph:
  LG
Type:   republic
Capital:
  Riga
Administrative divisions:
  none (all districts are under direct republic jurisdiction)
Independence:
  6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Constitution:
  adopted NA May 1922, considering rewriting constitution
Legal system:
  based on civil law system
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 18 November (1918)
Political parties and leaders:
  Democratic Labor Party of Latvia, Juris BOJARS, chairman; Inter-Front of the
  Working People of Latvia, Igor LOPATIN, chairman (Inter-Front was banned
  after the coup); Latvian National Movement for Independence, Eduards
  BERKLAVS, chairman; Latvian Democratic Party, Janis DINEVICS, chairman;
  Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, Uldis BERZINS, chairman; Latvian
  People's Front, Uldis AUGST-KALNS, chairman; Latvian Liberal Party, Georg
  LANSMANIS, chairman
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
 President:
  last held October 1988 (next to be held NA); note - Anatolijs V. GORBUNOVS
  elected by Supreme Soviet; elected to restyled post of Chairman of the
  Supreme Council on 3 May 1990; new elections have not been scheduled
 Supreme Council:
  last held 18 March 1990 for the Supreme Soviet (next to be held 5-6 June
  1993 for the Saeima); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (234
  total) Latvian Communist Party 59, Latvian Democratic Workers Party 31,
  Social Democratic Party of Latvia 4, Green Party of Latvia 7, Latvian
  Farmers Union 7, Latvian Popular Front 126; note - the Supreme Council is an
  interim 201-seats legislative body; a new parliament or Saiema to be elected
  in June 1993
 Congress of Latvia:
  last held April 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (231 total) number of seats by party NA; note - the
  Congress of Latvia is a quasi-governmental structure
Executive branch:
  Chairman of Supreme Council (president), prime minister, cabinet
Legislative branch:
  unicameral Supreme Council



@end display

@node Government (Latvia 2. usage)
@section Government (Latvia 2. usage)

@display

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  Chairman Supreme Council Anatolijs V. GORBUNOVS (since NA October 1988)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Ivars GODMANIS (since NA May 1990)
Member of:
  CBSS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, IOM (observer), ITU,
  NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Ojars KALNINS
 chancery:
  4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
 telephone:
  [phone] and 8214
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Ints M, SILINS;
 embassy:
  Raina Boulevard 7, Riga 226050
 mailing address:
  APO AE 09862
 telephone:
  0-11 [358] (49) 311-348 (cellular)
 FAX:
  [358] (49) 314-665 (cellular), (7) (01-32) 220-502
 note:
  dialing to the Baltics still requires use of an international operator,
  unless you use the cellular phone lines
Flag:
  two horizontal bands of maroon (top and bottom), white (middle, narrower
  than other two bands)



@end display

@node Economy (Latvia)
@section Economy (Latvia)

@display

Overview:
  Latvia is in the process of reforming the centrally planned economy
  inherited from the former USSR into a market economy. Prices have been
  freed, and privatization of shops and farms has begun. Latvia lacks natural
  resources, aside from its arable land and small forests. Its most valuable
  economic asset is its work force, which is better educated and disciplined
  than in most of the former Soviet republics. Industrial production is highly
  diversified, with products ranging from agricultural machinery to consumer
  electronics. One conspicuous vulnerability: Latvia produces only 10% of its
  electric power needs. Latvia in the near term must retain key commercial
  ties to Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine while moving in the long run toward
  joint ventures with technological support from, and trade ties to the West.
  Because of the efficiency of its mostly individual farms, Latvians enjoy a
  diet that is higher in meat, vegetables, and dairy products and lower in
  grain and potatoes than diets in the 12 non-Baltic republics of the former
  USSR. Good relations with Russia are threatened by animosity between ethnic
  Russians (34% of the population) and native Latvians. The cumulative
  difficulties in replacing old sources of supply and old markets, together
  with the phasing out of the Russian ruble as the medium of exchange, help
  account for the sharp 30% drop in GDP in 1992.
National product:
  GDP $NA
National product real growth rate:
  -30% (1992)
National product per capita:
  $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  2% per month (first quarter 1993)
Unemployment rate:
  3.6% (March 1993); but large numbers of underemployed workers
Budget:
  revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
  $NA
 commodities:
  NA
 partners:
  NA
Imports:
  $NA
 commodities:
  NA
 partners:
  NA
External debt:
  $650 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -35% (1992 est.)
Electricity:
  2,140,000 kW capacity; 5,800 million kWh produced, 2,125 kWh per capita
  (1992)
Industries:
  employs 33% of labor force; highly diversified; dependent on imports for
  energy, raw materials, and intermediate products; produces buses, vans,
  street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery,
  fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals,
  processed foods, textiles



@end display

@node Economy (Latvia 2. usage)
@section Economy (Latvia 2. usage)

@display

Agriculture:
  employs 16% of labor force; principally dairy farming and livestock feeding;
  products - meat, milk, eggs, grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables;
  fishing and fish packing
Illicit drugs:
  transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia to
  Western Europe; limited producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic
  consumption; also produces illicit amphetamines for export
Economic aid:
  NA
Currency:
  1 lat = 100 NA; introduced NA March 1993
Exchange rates:
  lats per US$1 - 1.32 (March 1993)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year



@end display

@node Communications (Latvia)
@section Communications (Latvia)

@display

Railroads:
  2,400 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
  59,500 km total; 33,000 km hard surfaced 26,500 km earth (1990)
Inland waterways:
  300 km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
  crude oil 750 km, refined products 780 km, natural gas 560 km (1992)
Ports:
  coastal - Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja; inland - Daugavpils
Merchant marine:
  96 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 905,006 GRT/1,178,844 DWT; includes 14
  cargo, 27 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 9 roll-on/roll-off, 44 oil tanker
Airports:
 total:
  50
 useable:
  15
 with permanent-surface runways:
  11
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  7
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  7
Telecommunications:
  NMT-450 analog cellular network is operational covering Riga, Ventspils,
  Daugavpils, Rezekne, and Valmiera; broadcast stations - NA; international
  traffic carried by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway
  switch and through new independent international automatic telephone
  exchange in Riga and the Finnish cellular net



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Latvia)
@section Defense Forces (Latvia)

@display

Branches:
  Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Security Forces (internal and border
  troops), Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 648,273; fit for military service 511,297; reach military
  age (18) annually 18,767 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  176 million rubles, 3-5% of GDP; note - conversion of the military budget
  into US$ using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results



@end display