Economy - overview:
Latvia's economy experienced GDP growth of more than 10% per year during 2006-07; but entered a recession as a result of unsustainable current account deficit and large debt exposure amid the softening world economy. The IMF, EU, and other donors provided assistance to Latvia as part of a package to defend the currency's peg to the euro and reduce public spending by about 5% of GDP. 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. The current account deficit and inflation remain major concerns.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$38.98 billion (2008 est.)
$40.86 billion (2007)
$37.04 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$33.9 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-5% (2008 est.)
10.3% (2007 est.)
12.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$17,800 (2008 est.)
$18,100 (2007 est.)
$16,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 22.3%
services: 74.4% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
1.169 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 12.1%
industry: 25.8%
services: 61.8% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:
5.5% (2008 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 29.1% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36 (2005)
Investment (gross fixed):
30.2% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $12.33 billion
expenditures: $12.84 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
17% of GDP (year-end 2008)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10.5% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
6% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
16.8% (31 December 2008)
Stock of money:
$6.148 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of quasi money:
$4.815 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$30.49 billion (31 December 2008)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$2.144 billion (31 December 2008)
Agriculture - products:
grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
Industries:
buses, vans, street and railroad cars; synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note - dependent on imports for energy and raw materials
Industrial production growth rate:
-3.2% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:
4.734 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
6.424 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
1.676 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
4.671 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
35,180 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
10,070 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
45,340 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
2.04 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
2.04 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Current account balance:
-$2.1 billion (2008 est.)
Exports:
$8.364 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:
wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners:
Lithuania 15.1%, Estonia 13.8%, Russia 13%, Germany 8.3%, Sweden 7.4%, UK 6.5% (2007)
Imports:
$14.19 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles
Imports - partners:
Germany 15.1%, Lithuania 13.8%, Russia 8.7%, Estonia 8%, Poland 6.9%, Finland 5.1%, Sweden 4.9% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$5.09 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$43.9 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$11.21 billion (2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$879 million (2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
lati (LVL) per US dollar - 0.4701 (2008 est.), 0.5162 (2007), 0.5597 (2006), 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004)
