Category: Travel & Places

Area: 64,589 km² or 24,937 km². Regions: Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme, Latgale. Total length of the national border: 1,862 km. Length of the Latvian Baltic Sea coast: 494 km. Population: 2,272,300 Borders with: Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. Brief history of Latvia The Republic of Latvia was established on November 18, 1918 (November 18 is a national holiday and the day of the proclamation of Latvia's independence). After the end of the struggle for freedom in 1920, several countries recognized the independence of Latvia de jure, and 16 foreign missions were set up in Riga. Latvia lost its independence in 1940 after the start of World War II. It was first occupied by the Soviet Union (from 1940 to 1941). Then came the occupation by Nazi Germany (from 1941 to 1945). However, the Soviet Union regained power and reoccupied Latvia (from 1945 to 1991). As a result of Gorbachev's reforms, Latvia declared de facto the restoration of its independence on August 21, 1991. It restored international diplomatic relations and joined the United Nations (UN). The name Latvia comes from the ancient Latgalians, one of the four Indo-European tribes who, along with Semigallians, Couronians and Selonians, were involved in the ethnogenesis of the Latvians. https://www.baltic-legal.com/latvia-facts-eng.htm