| Location: |
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania |
| Geographic coordinates: |
57 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Map references: |
Europe |
| Area: |
total: 64,589 sq km
land: 63,589 sq km
water: 1,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than West Virginia |
| Land boundaries: |
total: 1,368 km
border countries: Belarus 167 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 282 km |
| Coastline: |
531 km |
| Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate: |
maritime; wet, moderate winters |
| Terrain: |
low plain |
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Galzina Kalns 312 m |
| Natural resources: |
peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land |
| Land use: |
arable land: 28.19%
permanent crops: 0.45%
other: 71.36% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: |
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) |
| Natural hazards: |
NA |
| Environment - current issues: |
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: |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: |
most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east |
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