Latvia

Republic of Latvia

A Hanseatic crossroads where Baltic Germans, Swedes and Russians followed one another, Latvia made its language and its songs the core of its resistance.

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Heritage

Riga, founded in 1201 by a missionary bishop, became a Hanseatic capital and Europe's largest Art Nouveau ensemble. The Reformation translated the Bible into Latvian very early; the song festivals, born in 1873 on the German model, are listed as intangible heritage of humanity.

History

The Christianisation of Livonia, led from 1200 by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, inserted the region into the Latin West. Riga joined the Hanse and became one of the great Baltic ports.

Swedish in the seventeenth century, Russian from 1710, Latvia retained a Baltic German elite that administered the country into the twentieth century. The national awakening rested on the first song festivals and on Lutheran literacy.

Independent in 1918, occupied successively by the USSR, Germany and the USSR again, Latvia lost a third of its population between 1940 and 1949. The Singing Revolution and the Baltic Way led to restored independence in 1991. The country joined the Union and NATO in 2004, the euro in 2014.

Milestones

1201 Christianisation

Foundation of Riga

Bishop Albert establishes a mission city that will become the metropolis of the eastern Baltic.

1282 Middle Ages

Riga joins the Hanse

Trade in timber, flax and grain links Livonia to Lübeck, Bruges and Novgorod.

1685 Early modern period

Bible in Latvian

Ernst Glück’s translation fixes the written language and spreads reading through the parishes.

1873 Early modern period

First song festival

Dozens of choirs gather in Riga: song becomes the nation’s political expression.

1918 Early modern period

Proclamation of independence

On 18 November the Republic of Latvia is proclaimed in Riga.

1991 Contemporary period

Independence of Latvia restored

After the Singing Revolution, Latvia regains its sovereignty.

2004 European construction took part

The big bang enlargement

Ten states, eight of them formerly communist, join the Union: the continent’s division ends.

2014 European construction

Euro adoption in Latvia

The lats gives way to the euro five years after one of Europe’s severest financial crises.

Political landscape

Results of the June 2024 European election and their translation into European Parliament groups.

JV — Jaunā Vienotība 2
NA — Nacionālā apvienība 2
ZZS — Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība 1
PRO — Progresīvie 1
LPV — Latvija pirmajā vietā 1
S — Saskaņa 1
AS — Apvienotais saraksts 1

Distribution of European seats

Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) 3
European Conservatives and Reformists Group 2
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance 2
Europe of Sovereign Nations Group 1
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament 1

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The state in numbers

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Public debt, % of GDP 48.0 % 1.8 % GDP per head (EU = 100) 71.1 2.0 Government spending, % of GDP 45.6 % 2.2 % Total tax burden, % of GDP 34.2 % 0.7 % Prisoners per 100,000 people 186.6 12.9