Few questions about the country Latvia. 10 pts ?

Question

What is the population of Latvia?

What is the territory of Latvia?

Is Latvia a sovereign country?

What kind of government is Latvia run by? Oligarchy?

Thank you very much for answering, 10 points for most complete answer.

Answer 1

Population: around 2.3 million (2007)

Latvia has a size of about 64,600 sq km , which makes it a bit bigger than the US state of West Virginia.

Yes, Latvia is a sovereign country and has also been a member of the EU since May 1 2004.

The Latvian government can be characterised as a parliamentary democracy. There is only one chamber of parliament, the Senate, which has 100 seats. Representatives are elected to the Senate by general election.  The Senate then elects a president, who is the head and serves a three year term. The president appoints a prime minister, who is the head of the government (separation of the administrative and executive functions).

The country has a lot of different political parties (over 20), so coalition governments are the norm.  Currently, Valdis Zatlers is the president and Ivars Godmanis is the prime minister and their government is a centre right one made up of four coalition parties.

Answer 2

Latvia population: 2,270,700 (59% Latvians, 28% Russians)

Area: 24,937 sq miles.

Yes, Latvia is a sovereign country with a UN seat.  It is part of NATO and the EU.

Latvia is a parliamentary republic, the President is Valdis Zatlers.

See:

http://www.csb.lv/avidus.cfm?lng=en

http://www.saeima.lv/index_eng.html

http://www.li.lv/