Piedzīvo

Experience/Enjoy

Experience/Enjoy Welcome to Latvia!

Latvia is a beautiful country, with white sandy beaches, green forests, blue lakes and rivers, and vast fields of grain. Here you can experience the magic of all four seasons, enjoy healthy food and a rich culture and traditions. We can live in a country free from the ravages of natural disasters and earthquakes. Although our “diamond” is amber – millions of years of pine resin tears – our greatest treasure is our people: talented and hard-working, initially reserved in a Nordic way, but warm and welcoming as they get to know each other. We all live together in our Latvia with respect for its rich history and appreciation of its independence, honouring its traditions and language, which is one of the oldest in the world: this is how we pay tribute to the Latvian state and its people. 

Facts to know about Latvia:

• Latvia is one of the three Baltic States, bordering Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania;.
• Latvia covers an area of 64,573 km2. It is so big that it could fit five European countries: Luxembourg, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus and Belgium. 
• Latvia regained its independence as a parliamentary republic on 4 May 1990, and celebrates this day every year. 
• Latvia has been a member of the European Union and NATO since 2004. This is one of the most important foreign policy achievements of the renewed Latvian state, which provides security guarantees. 
• From the very beginning of the country, on 18 November 1918, when Latvia was founded, it was decided that: Latvia is a republic separated from the Church and governed by a parliament. Every four years, Latvian citizens elect 100one hundred members to Parliament, or the Saeima, by direct secret ballot. The Saeima passes laws and elects the President, while the Cabinet of Ministers, headed by a presidential nominee, acts as the country’s supreme executive. Public institutions are subordinate to the government. The judiciary is elected by the Saeima, and judges are independent and subject only to the law. 
• The Constitution is the country’s fundamental law.
• The national flag is red-white-red and was first mentioned in historical sources in the 13th century.
• The national language is Latvian – one of the oldest languages in the world, and state policy is designed to preserve Latvian culture and way of life. 
• Since 2014, we have been using the euro as our official currency.
• Latvia has historically been divided into regions. Vidzeme is the central and largest region, where the capital Riga is also located. Zemgale, rich in agricultural traditions, lies in the south of the country. In the east of the country lies Latgale, rich in natural diversity and culture, whose inhabitants speak their own dialect of the Latgalian language. In the south-east is the historic region of Sēlija, while in the west, surrounded by the Baltic Sea, is Kurzeme. With the country’s longest sea border, it also has its own dialect and is home to the Livs, one of the seven Finnic peoples of the Baltic Sea, the smallest ethnos in Latvia.
• Latvia exceeds the threshold for small countries on various indicators and is ranked in the middle group of countries. Latvia is currently home to 1.9 million people.