Part 471

Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 606,542 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males : 54,712 (1997 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $105 million (FY92/93)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 8.1% (FY92/93)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: boundary dispute with Thailand

Illicit drugs: world's third largest opium producer (200 metric tons from some 25,250 hectares in 1996); heroin producer; increasingly used as transshipment point for heroin produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis ______________________________________________________________________

LATVIA

@Latvia:Geography

Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania

Geographic coordinates: 57 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area: total: 64,100 sq km land: 64,100 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: total: 1,150 km border countries : Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km

Coastline: 531 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea : 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters

Terrain: low plain

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point : Gaizinkalns 312 m

Natural resources: minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite

Land use: arable land: 27% permanent crops : 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 46% other: 14% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 160 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases

Environment - international agreements: party to : Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

@Latvia:People

Population: 2,421,163 (July 1997 est.)