About the Baltic States and Latvia

Geographical location
The state is located in northeastern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. It has borders with Estonia in the north, in the east - with Russia, in the south - with Belarus and Lithuania.

The country's total area is ​​64.5 thousand sq. km. The length of the coastline is 531 km.

Most of the country is occupied by plains and lowlands, low hills of Vidzeme Upland give a variety of relief (the highest point - Gaiziņkalns, 311 m.). About 44% of the country is covered by forests. On the territory of Latvia was stretched quite an extensive network of water - more than 3 thousand lakes and 12 thousand rivers, which provides good opportunities for active tourism.

Administrative and territorial division
Geographically Latvia is divided into 26 districts (483 parish) and 7 municipalities that make up the four regions: Vidzeme, Zemgale, Kurzeme and Latgale. Biggest cities: Riga, Daugavpils, Liepaja, Jelgava, Jurmala, Ventspils.
The population of Latvia of January 2016 is 1 954 600 persons.

Latvian language
The official language of Latvia is Latvian, which belongs to the Eastern Baltic group of the Indo-European language family. In the eastern part of Latvia is widespread Latgalian language. A significant part of the population speaks Russian and English.

Climate of Latvia
The climate of Latvia is mild, which goes from the sea (in the west) to continental (in the east). The country has pronounced all four seasons, which allows to experience all the differences and the beauty of each season. The weather features of mild climate zone are significantly affected by coastal location on the Baltic Sea.

Winter with the frosty and sunny days with little snow cover lasts from mid-December to mid-March.

Spring is beautiful and romantic, in the full sense of this season, and the absence of large cities and urban agglomerations open opportunities for a comfortable travel and travel in the middle of nature.

In the summer period temperature is moderately high (an average of + 19C), but in July can reach 35 degrees. In general, the summer is comfortable and perfect for a seaside holiday: you can sunbathe and swim on the sandy beaches, the length of which reaches hundreds of kilometers in the resort area.
Autumn in Latvia is traditional and colorful: with a gradual decrease in temperature and the change of tones and colors of natural framing.

Currency
On January 1, 2014 Latvia joined the euro zone, and all payments are carried out on the territory of the country in the common European currency.