while land, water, and air pollution are evident, Latvia's environment has benefited from a shift to service industries after the country regained independence; improvements have occurred in drinking water quality, sewage treatment, household and hazardous waste management, as well as reduction of air pollution; concerns include nature protection and the management of water resources and the protection of the Baltic Sea
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
particulate matter emissions: 12.72 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 7 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 1.85 megatons (2020 est.)
maritime; wet, moderate winters
agricultural land: 29.2% (2018 est.)
arable land: 18.6% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 10.5% (2018 est.)
forest: 54.1% (2018 est.)
other: 16.7% (2018 est.)
urban population: 68.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: -0.68% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
forest revenues: 0.85% of GDP (2018 est.)
coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
vectorborne diseases: tickborne encephalitis
municipal solid waste generated annually: 857,000 tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 181,941 tons (2015 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 21.2% (2015 est.)
municipal: 94.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
industrial: 25.2 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
agricultural: 61.5 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
34.94 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Latvia on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Latvia 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Latvia 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.