Economy - overview:
Latvia is a small, open economy with exports contributing significantly to its GDP. Due to its geographical location, transit services are highly-developed, along with timber and wood-processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronic devices. The bulk of the country's economic activity, however, is in the services sector. Corruption continues to be an impediment to attracting FDI flows and Latvia's low birth rate and decreasing population are major challenges to its long-term economic vitality. Latvia's economy experienced GDP growth of more than 10% per year during 2006-07, but entered a severe recession in 2008 as a result of an unsustainable current account deficit and large debt exposure amid the softening world economy. Triggered by the collapse of the second largest bank, GDP plunged 18% in 2009. A rebound in the export sector contributed to the economy's first real quarterly GDP growth in over two years (2.9%) in the third quarter of 2010. The IMF, EU, and other international donors provided substantial financial assistance to Latvia as part of an agreement to defend the currency's peg to the euro in exchange for the government's commitment to stringent austerity measures. The government of Prime Minister Valdis DOMBROVSKIS reduced the fiscal deficit to 8.5% of GDP in 2010, and to 5.4% of GDP in 2011. Riga plans to reduce the budget deficit to less than 3% of GDP in 2012 in order to meet its goal of joining the euro zone in 2014. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized, although the state still holds sizable stakes in a few large enterprises. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February, 1999. EU membership, a top foreign policy goal, came in May 2004.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Investment (gross fixed): Budget: Taxes and other revenues: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): Public debt: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Market value of publicly traded shares: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: Exchange rates:
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Latvia on this page is re-published from the 2012 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Latvia Economy 2012 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Latvia Economy 2012 should be addressed to the CIA.
$34.58 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP country ranks ]
$27.4 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
4% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$15,400 (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 4.1%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 21%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services: 74.9% (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
1.169 million (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 138
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 12.1%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 25.8%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 61.8% (2005 est.)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]
13% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 135
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
NA%
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 2.7%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 27.6% (2008)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
35.7 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 89
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
19.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
[see also: Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
revenues: $9.669 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $11.15 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: Budget expenditures country ranks ]
35.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]
-5.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]
44.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
note: data cover general Government Debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities, including sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government, and social security funds.
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]
4.3% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
4% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 65
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
8% (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$8.578 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$13.51 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$27.15 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
$1.252 billion (31 December 2010)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]
grain, rapeseed, potatoes, vegetables; pork, poultry, milk, eggs; fish
processed foods, processed wood products, textiles, processed metals, pharmaceuticals, railroad cars, synthetic fibers, electronics
4% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
5.114 billion kWh (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 114
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
6.836 billion kWh (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
2.605 billion kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
1.654 billion kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 188
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
41,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
3,457 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
37,520 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 205
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
1.56 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 131
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
1.56 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
-$244.4 million (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$10.3 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 95
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
food products, wood and wood products, metals, machinery and equipment, textiles
Russia 15.2%, Lithuania 15.2%, Estonia 12.6%, Germany 8.2%, Sweden 5.9%, Poland 4.7% (2010)
$12.6 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
machinery and equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, fuels, vehicles
Lithuania 16.3%, Germany 11.4%, Russia 10%, Poland 7.5%, Estonia 7%, Finland 4.8% (2010)
$7.37 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$41.08 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
$13.07 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]
$1.121 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 73
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]
lati (LVL) per US dollar -
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 07-Mar-12