Republic of Latvia Latvijas Republika

CAPITAL: Riga

FLAG: The flag consists of a single white horizontal stripe on a maroon field.

ANTHEM: Dievs, sveti Latviju! (God bless Latvia!)

MONETARY UNIT: The lat was introduced as the official currency in May 1993; $1 = Ls0.57; as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is in force.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Good Friday (movable); Midsummer Festival, 23–24 June; National Day, Proclamation of the Republic, 18 November; Christmas, 25–26 December; New Year's Eve, 31 December.

TIME: 2 PM = noon GMT.

Location, Size, and Extent

Latvia is located in northeastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia. Comparatively, Latvia is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia, with a total area of 64,589 sq km (24,938 sq mi). Latvia shares boundaries with Estonia on the N, Russia on the E, Belarus on the S, Lithuania on the SW, and the Baltic Sea on the W. Latvia's land...