Northern Europe.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

64,589 sq km (24,938 sq miles).

2.3 million (2008).

35.2 per sq km.

Riga. Population: 717,371 (2008).

Latvia is situated on the Baltic coast and borders Estonia in the north, Lithuania in the south, the Russian Federation in the east and Belarus in the southeast. The country is divided into five broad regions: Riga in the north, Kurzeme and Zemgale in the west and Vidzeme and Latgale in the east. 

The country is reasonably flat. A long sandy coastline is backed in places by undulating sand dunes and low sea cliffs. In Latgale, in the east, the landscape is noticeably different with rolling hills and myriad lakes. Wherever you are in Latvia you don't have to travel far to find dense forest. In addition the country boasts about 12,000 rivers. Latvia's longest river, the Daugava runs through Riga. Meanwhile, the Gauja River is at the heart of the country's best-known nature reserve, the Gauja National Park.

Member since 2004.

Republic. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

President Valdis Zatlers since 2007.

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis since 2009.

Latvia secured its independence from Russia in 1991. Since then it has joined the UN (1991), NATO (2004) and the EU (2004). Ivars Godmanis has led a new four-party centre-right government since December 2007. This is Latvia's 14th government in 16 years. An election was called when former Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis resigned amid a series of scandals. Godmanis is not entirely new to the job: he was prime minister when Latvia secured independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Latvian is the official language. Russian, English and German are widely spoken. Latvian belongs to the Baltic language group, part of the Indo-European language family. The language has three main dialects, with the Latgallian dialect, spoken in the eastern part of Latvia, especially distinctive.

Majority Lutheran and Catholic, with a sizeable Russian Orthodox minority.

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin plugs are in use.

Handshaking is customary when meeting someone for the first time. Latvians can be reserved and formal, but nevertheless very hospitable. They can also be quite direct, but do not generally mean to cause offence. Latvians are proud of their culture, and visitors should respect this strong sense of national identity.