LATVIA - FACTS & FIGURES.... |
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| For the statto's amongst us, of which we are many, here are a few hard and fast facts about Estonia: |
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| Population: |
2.3 million in Latvia.
Capital city is Riga with 740,000 people (800,000 in some books!) |
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| Size: |
64,600 sq.m, so similar size to Holland.. |
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| Where: |
Riga is on the same latitude as Aberdeen, so some way north of Edinburgh..
It shares its borders with Russia, Belorussia, Estonia and Lithuania. Map... |
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| Distances: |
Riga is 1,681km from London. 1,011 km from Moscow and 1,226km from Berliin. |
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| Time Difference: |
2 hours ahead of UK, CET + 1hr |
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| Ethnic Groups: |
Latvian 60%, Russians
30%.
Riga is heavily russified, as Russians represent the majority of the population
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| Language: |
Latvian is part of the Indo-European language group. Its only other linguistic relative is Lithuanian.
Strange but true: it is also very similar to Sanskrit.
Russian is widely spoken. English to a lesser extent.
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| Currency: |
Lats. £1 = 1 Lat. Dead simple! |
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| Other useless facts: |
Latvia is the only Baltic State to have a hosted a US Presidential visit, when George Bush popped by in May 2005, in the process closing most of the Old Town and taking over the three biggest hotels in the City for his 700-strong entourage and subsequently causing mass chaos for both locals and tourists alike. |
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| National Holidays: |
| 1st January: |
New Year's Day |
| March/ April: |
Easter |
| 1st May: |
Labour Day |
| 4th May: |
independence Day - commemorating Latvia's in independence in 1991 |
| 23rd-24th June: |
Ligo & Jani Festivals - Midsummer Day |
| 18th November: |
Independence Day - for first period of independnce in 1918 |
| 21st August: |
Restoration of Independence - when Latvia split from the USSR in 1991 |
| 25th December: |
Christmas Day |
| 31st December: |
New Year's Eve |
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