Latvia is one of the three Baltic States, situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania. The country is also bordered by Russia and Belarus, and it shares maritime border with Sweden.
Latvia became an independent state in 1918, after gaining its sovereignty from Russia in the aftermath of World War I. Since 21st August 1991, Latvia is a parliamentary republic. Ceremonial Chief of State is the president; he is elected by the parliament. The head of government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the prime minister, he is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament. The country is a member of the European Union (EU) since May 2004.
Its capital Riga served as the European capital of culture in 2014. Latvian is the official language. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages. It’s mostly flat landscape offers a mix of beaches, rivers, lakes, marshes and forests. Since 1st January 2014, it replaced the Latvian lats with the Euro as its currency.
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