We note two troubling
trends: (1) normally, it
is difficult for
countries to scale
urban services
efficiently as
populations grow,
especially if the capital
city is growing faster
than the rest of the
country. Latvia has
had challenges in that
area even while losing
population.
To be sure,
some emigrants are
returning to Russia,
Belarus and Poland for
cultural reasons, but it
is rarely a good sign
when people are
leaving (2) no chess
players rated over
2600.
Measure
|
2010
|
2009
|
Population
|
2,204,708
|
2,231,503
|
Riga population
|
713,265
|
711,097
|
Infant mortality
|
0.842%
|
0.877%
|
Life expectancy
|
72.68
|
72.15
|
HIV+ adults
|
11,100 (0.5%)
|
10,900
|
Literacy
|
99.8%
|
99.8%
|
GDP per capita
|
14,700
|
17,600
|
Unemployment
|
14.3%
|
16.6%
|
Government revenues
|
$8.028 billion
|
$9.501 billion
|
Government expenses
|
$9.863 billion
|
$12.150 billion
|
Inflation
|
-1.2%
|
3.3%
|
Electricity net imports
|
2.516 trillion watt hours
|
2.520TwH
|
Natural gas imports
|
1.743 billion cubic meters
|
2.050
|
Oil imports
|
37,527 barrels per day
|
39,000
|
Imports
|
$9.153 billion
|
$8.849 billion
|
Exports
|
$7.894 billion
|
$6.721 billion
|
Foreign reserves
|
$7.170 billion
|
$5.030 billion
|
External debt
|
$37.280 billion
|
$38.010 billion
|
Currency (lati / US $)
|
.5422
|
.5157
|
|
As of 7/23/2013 the exchange rate was . 49375.
Latvia has used the euro since 1/1/2014