Overview of Latvia
Latvia is a country located in the Baltic region of Northern Europe; it is one of the three Baltic States. It is bordered by Lithuania to the south, Estonia to the north, Russia to the east, and Belarus to the southeast, as well it has a maritime border to the west alongside Sweden. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2. The country has a temperate seasonal climate.
General information
- Population: 1957200
- Official language: Latvian
- Area: 64,589 km2
- Ethnic groups: Latvians 62.1%, Russians 26.9%, Belarusians 3.3%
- Capital: Riga
- Political system: Parliamentary republic
- GDP (PPP): $53.268 billion
- Currency: EUR
- ISO code: LV
- Time zone: UTC +2 Summer time: UTC+3
Climate and culture
Latvia usually has sunny weather in the summer and it gets pretty humid and snowy in the winter. The country experiences quite mild winters, beginning in mid-December and ending in March, as it is located ashore Baltic Sea.
Latvia is a democratic parliamentary republic established in 1918. The capital city is Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014. Latvia is a unitary state and it has one official language – Latvian. Latvian territory is divided into 119 administrative divisions: 9 are cities and 110 are municipalities. Latvians and Livs are the indigenous people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages.
Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population has also brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Immigration and tourism in Latvia
Latvia is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign citizens – both, from other European Union countries or countries outside of EU – either for tourism or business purposes. Growing part of young immigrants choose Latvia as their destination for studying. 6,797 thousand non-resident travellers visited Latvia in 2016 and the number has been growing, except for 2015, when the number of travellers was the largest: 6,841.7 thousands.
Business immigration is also becoming increasing popular due to favourable business, legal and infrastructure environment. 683.6 thousands of travellers with business-related purposes travelled to Latvia in 2016. Another part of foreign businessmen live in Latvia by obtaining residence permits. It is possible to acquire a residence permit through a company registration or a real estate purchase.
The minimal cash investment to the company’s capital needs to be at least 36 thousand euros and the company needs to pay at least 40 thousand euros in state tax on a yearly basis. It is also possible to buy an existing business or real estate as well as make a bank deposit of at least 300 thousand euros for a period of at least 5 years.
If you want to relocate to Latvia: check available immigration programs:
Major features
Latvia offers numerous advantages for its citizens as well as people interested in business immigration. Aimed to attract foreign investments for start-ups and service transit between Europe and CIS, Latvia provides flexible business legislation and predictable business environment.
In addition, Latvia can be proud of European-level finance services as well as developed and sound banking system. The process of registering a company and receiving a residence permit for investors in Latvia is a relatively simple process. Latvia also has a healthy reputation for running business – it is listed neither in any blacklist nor as an offshore zone.
If you want to know more about Latvia: read here.