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Those
who dub Latvia the 'Switzerland of the Baltics' need a thorough
talking-to. For a start, a tenth of the country is below sea
level, sometimes up to 50m, and Latvia toes a most-un-Alpine
line in being the small, flat and largely boggy meat in the
sandwich between its Baltic neighbours - Estonia and Lithuania.
Lat packs a lot in though: Riga, its vibrant coastal capital,
is a chief visitor magnet. From Riga, it's an easy daytrip
to the coastal resort of Jurmala, the Sigulda castles overlooking
the scenic Gauja river valley and the Rastrelli palace at
Rundale.
Although
Latvians are as keen on reinvigoration and nation-building
as any newly independent nation, about 30% of 'Latvians' are
actually Russians; even in Riga ethnic Latvians are outnumbered
by Russians. Although this identity crisis hasn't prevented
the rapid transformation of one of history's doormats, it
has given the situation a certain frisson. This is one of
those 'check it out before it's chocka' places.
Full
country name: Republic of Latvia
Area: 64,589 sq km (25,190 sq mi)
Population: 2.42 million
Capital city: Riga (pop 874,100)
People: Latvian 57%, Russian 30%, Belarusian 4%, Ukrainian
3%, Polish 3%, other 3%
Language: Latvian, Russian, ethnic languages
Religion: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox
Government: parliamentary democracy
President: Vaira Vike-Freiberga
GDP:
US$9.7 billion
GDP per head: US$4100
Annual growth: 3.6%
Inflation: 3%
Major industries: motor vehicles, machinery, household appliances,
pharmaceutical, food, textiles, agriculture
Major trading partners: Russia, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Finland
Member of EU: no
Latvia
Flight from UK
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