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Economy - overview:
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Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, largely due to the SKELE government's budget stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999. Preparing for EU membership over the next few years continues as a top foreign policy goal. The high current account and internal government deficits remain major concerns.
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $20 billion (2002 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.5% (2002 est.)
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2002 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 5%
industry: 26%
services: 70% (2001)
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Population below poverty line:
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NA%
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1998) (1998)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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32 (1999)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2% (2002 est.)
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Labor force:
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1.1 million (2001 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 15%, industry 25%, services 60% (2000 est.)
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Unemployment rate:
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7.6% (2001 est.)
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Budget:
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revenues: $2.4 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
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Industries:
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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
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Industrial production growth rate:
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5.7% (2002 est.)
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Electricity - production:
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3.301 billion kWh (2000)
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 33%
hydro: 67%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
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Electricity - consumption:
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5.16 billion kWh (2000)
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Electricity - exports:
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500 million kWh (2000)
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Electricity - imports:
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2.59 billion kWh (2000)
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Agriculture - products:
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grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
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Exports:
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$2.3 billion f.o.b. (2002)
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Exports - commodities:
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wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
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Exports - partners:
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Germany 17%, UK 16%, Sweden 10%, Lithuania 8%, Russia 6% (2001 est.)
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Imports:
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$3.9 billion f.o.b. (2002)
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles
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Imports - partners:
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Germany 17%, Russia 9%, Lithuania 8%, Finland 8%, Sweden 7% (2001 est.)
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Debt - external:
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$3.4 billion (2000 est.)
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$96.2 million (1995)
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Currency:
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Latvian lat (LVL)
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Currency code:
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LVL
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Exchange rates:
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lati per US dollar - 0.6384 (January 2002), 0.628 (2001), 0.607 (2000), 0.585 (1999), 0.590 (1998), 0.581 (1997)
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year
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