LATVIA

Situated in north-eastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia has borders with Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. It has linguistic links with Lithuania to the south and historical and religious ties with Estonia to the north.

Not much more than a decade after it declared independence following the collapse of the USSR, Latvia was welcomed as an EU member in May 2004. The move came just weeks after it joined Nato.

For centuries Latvia was primarily an agricultural country, with seafaring, fishing and forestry as other important factors in its economy.

At a glance

• Politics: Latvia regained its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Presence of a large ethnic Russian minority is a sensitive issue
• Economy: Latvia made a rapid transformation to a market economy after independence; it joined the eurozone in 2014
• International: Latvia is a member of the European Union and Nato

Latvia was under foreign rule from the 13th until the 20th century, but managed to keep its unique language and rich cultural and especially musical traditions alive. After World War 1, it declared independence from Russia, which recognised it in 1920.

Two decades later, following a pact between Stalin and Hitler, Soviet troops invaded in 1940 and Latvia was absorbed into the Soviet Union. Nazi forces pushed the Soviets back in 1941 but the Red Army returned in 1944 and remained for half a century.

During the Soviet period Latvia underwent heavy industrialisation, and experienced a big influx of immigrants from other parts of the USSR, mainly Russia.

Many ethnic Latvians maintain that this wave of immigration was part of a deliberate Soviet policy to dilute Baltic culture and destroy local national sentiment.

More than a quarter of the population is Russian-speaking and the rights of this section of society have been a thorny issue since independence. Reforms in 2004 restricting the use of the Russian language in schools remain controversial.

Under tighter citizenship rules adopted in 2006, candidates who fail a Latvian language test three times will be denied citizenship.

People without citizenship are entitled neither to vote nor to obtain an EU passport.

Economy

Like its Baltic neighbours, in the decade after independence Latvia made a rapid transformation to embrace the free market.

Latvia’s economy grew by 50% between 2004 and 2007, but the global financial crisis of 2008-9 hit the country hard

The former Baltic tiger endured one of the worst recessions in the EU, triggering widespread social unrest and bringing down a government.

Subsequent deep public spending led to further discontent, but earned Latvia an IMF/European Union 7.5bn euro ($10bn) bailout.

This helped recovery and Latvia returned to growth in 2011, and by late 2012, its economic revival was the EU’s strongest.

The country joined the eurozone at the start of 2014. Previously wary as a result of the tough austerity needed to prepare for membership, Latvians now largely support the currency