Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of "Latviji," which may have originated from a "Latve" river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia. A small Finno-Ugric tribe known as the Livs settled among the Latvians and modulated the name to "Latvis," meaning "forest-clearers," which is how medieval German settlers also referred to these peoples. The Latin form, "Livonia," gradually referred to the whole of modern-day Latvia as well as southern Estonia, which had fallen under German dominion. Latvians and Lithuanians are the only directly surviving members of the Baltic peoples and languages of the Indo-European family.
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1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | |
Population, total (millions) | 2.66 | 2.37 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
Population growth (annual %) | -0.1 | -1 | -2.1 | -0.7 |
Surface area (sq. km) (thousands) | 64.6 | 64.6 | 64.5 | 64.6 |
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) | 42.8 | 38.1 | 33.7 | 30.6 |
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) | .. | .. | .. | 21.6 |
Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) | .. | .. | 1.6 | 0.2 |
GNI, Atlas method (current US$) (billions) | .. | 7.86 | 26.54 | 34.01 |
GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) | .. | 3,320 | 12,650 | 17,900 |
GNI, PPP (current international $) (billions) | .. | 19.01 | 37.51 | 59.82 |
GNI per capita, PPP (current international $) | .. | 8,030 | 17,880 | 31,470 |
People | ||||
Income share held by lowest 20% | .. | .. | 6.2 | 7.1 |
Life expectancy at birth, total (years) | 69 | 70 | 73 | 75 |
Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) | 44 | 19 | 16 | 15 |
Contraceptive prevalence, any method (% of married women ages 15-49) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) | 100 | 100 | 99 | 100 |
Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) | 17 | 14 | 8 | 4 |
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) | 95 | 97 | 95 | 99 |
Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) | .. | 99 | 102 | 98 |
School enrollment, primary (% gross) | 93.9 | 101.7 | 103 | 100 |
School enrollment, secondary (% gross) | 95 | 90 | 103 | 108 |
School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Environment | ||||
Forest area (sq. km) (thousands) | 31.7 | 32.4 | 33.7 | 34.1 |
Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area) | .. | .. | .. | 17.5 |
Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal resources) | .. | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
Urban population growth (annual %) | -0.1 | -1.2 | -2 | -0.6 |
Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) | 2,949 | 1,618 | 2,149 | .. |
CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) | 7.05 | 2.93 | 4.06 | 3.96 |
Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) | 3,397 | 2,082 | 3,230 | .. |