Czech
AREA and LOCATION
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika) is a Baltic country (culturally related to neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania) and is situated in Northern Europe. Latvia’s territory extends over 64,589 square km. A former Soviet country, Latvia has been independent since September 6, 1991. Latvia is devided into 109 counties and 9 cities.
Latvia is a member of EU since 2004.
BORDERING COUNTRIES
Belarus (141 km), Lithuania (588 km), Russian Federation (276 km), Estonia (343 km)
THE CAPITAL CITY and MAJOR CITIES
Riga is the country’s capital as well as the largest city with approximately 702,145 inhabitants (2015) and is thus the largest city of the Baltic states. Riga is an important industrial, commercial, financial and cultural hub as well as a seaport. Other large cities include Daugavpils (343,646 inhabitants), Liepaja (301,621 inhabitants), Jelgava (281,928 inhabitants) and Valmiera (235,576 inhabitants).
CLIMATE
Latvia has a temperate seasonal climate with warm summers and mild springs and autumns. Winter temperatures can get extreme due to location in the North. Coldest month is January with -5 C (even though it can reach -20 C), summers are warm with 25-30 C (sometimes 30 C or more).
AREA CODE
+371
CURRENCY
Since 2014 EURo
DISTANCES
Riga is situated 221 km from Kaunas, 259 km from Vilnius,
280 km from Tallinn and 369 km from Helsinki.
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
General emergency line 112
Police 02
Ambulance 03
Fire Service 01
Toll-free telephone numbers in Latvia begin with 800
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Riga International Airport
http://www.riga-airport.com/
Ventspils International Airport
http://www.airport.ventspils.lv/
LANGUAGE
The official language is Latvian (sometimes referred Lettish) – there are about 1.4 million Native Latvian speakers in Lithuania and 150,000 abroad. Latvian is a Baltic language (related to Lithuanian, albeit not mutually intelligible).
MOBILE OPERATORS
Bite http://www.bite.lv
LMT http://www.lmt.lv
Tele2 http://www.tele2.lv
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS (2010)
1 Jan New Year’s Day, 2 Apr Good Friday, 5 Apr Easter Monday, 1 May Labour Day, 4 May Declaration of Independence Day, 23 Jun Ligo (Midsummer’s Eve), 24 Jun Jani (Midsummer’s Day/St John’s Day), 18 Nov Latvian National Day, 25 Dec Christmas Day, 26 Dec Boxing Day, 31 Dec New Year’s Eve.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
Parliamentary republic, since May 1, 2004 – part of the European Union.
POPULATION
1,978,503 (2015)
POWER NETWORK
220 V/50 Hz, Two round pins plug
PRESIDENT
Egils Levits
RAIL TRANSPORT
Latvian Railways
http://www.ldz.lv/
ROAD TRANSPORT
BUS:
Eurolines
RENT A CAR:
Sixt
http://www.sixt.com/car-rental/latvia/
SMOKING
Smoking ban is in place since January 2006 (enforced since July). The law prohibits smoking in front of office buildings and in most public places. As of 2010, smoking is prohibited in all indoor public catering places as well as in public transport.
TAXIS
It is cheaper to order a taxi by phone than hailing one in the street (especially at bus and railway stations and airports).
red coloured taxis – tel: 83 83
http://www.rtp.lv/
Riga Taxi – tel: 29 55 33 01
http://www.rigataxi.net/
TIME
Standard time zone: Easter European Time (EET), UTC/GMT + 2 hours, Summer (DST) – EEST (UTC + 3)
