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Latvia

Latvia Economy Stats

Overview:

Latvia is a small, open economy with exports contributing significantly to its GDP. Due to its geographical location, transit services are highly-developed, along with timber and wood-processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronic devices. The bulk of the country's economic activity, however, is in the services sector. Corruption continues to be an impediment to attracting FDI flows and Latvia's low birth rate and decreasing population are major challenges to its long-term economic vitality. Latvia's economy experienced GDP growth of more than 10% per year during 2006-07, but entered a severe recession in 2008 as a result of an unsustainable current account deficit and large debt exposure amid the softening world economy. GDP plunged 18% in 2009 - the three Baltic states had the world's worst declines that year. Thanks to strong export growth in 2009 and 2010, the economy experienced its first real quarterly GDP growth in over two years (2.9%) in the third quarter of 2010 . The IMF, EU, and other international donors provided substantial financial assistance to Latvia as part of an agreement to defend the currency's peg to the euro. This agreement calls for reduction of Latvia's fiscal deficit to below 3% of GDP by 2012, in order to meet the Maastricht Treaty criteria for euro adoption. DOMBROVSKIS' government enacted major spending cuts to reduce the fiscal deficit to a maximum of 8.5% of GDP in 2010, and Latvia has approved a 2011 budget with a projected deficit of 5.4% 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. Latvia's current major financial policy goal, entrance into the euro zone, is targeted for 2014.

Definitions

  • Budget > Revenues: Revenues calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms
  • Budget surplus > + or deficit > -: This entry records the difference between national government revenues and expenditures, expressed as a percent of GDP. A positive (+) number indicates that revenues exceeded expenditures (a budget surplus), while a negative (-) number indicates the reverse (a budget deficit). Normalizing the data, by dividing the budget balance by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries and indicates whether a national government saves or borrows money. Countries with high budget deficits (relative to their GDPs) generally have more difficulty raising funds to finance expenditures, than those with lower deficits.
  • Debt > Government debt > Public debt, share of GDP: Public debt as % of GDP (CIA).

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Exports: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  • Exports per capita: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. Figures expressed per capita for the same year.
  • GDP: GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Dollar figures for GDP are converted from domestic currencies using single year official exchange rates. For a few countries where the official exchange rate does not reflect the rate effectively applied to actual foreign exchange transactions, an alternative conversion factor is used.
  • GDP > Composition, by sector of origin > Services: This entry is derived from Economy > GDP > Composition, by sector of origin, which shows where production takes place in an economy. The distribution gives the percentage contribution of agriculture, industry, and services to total GDP, and will total 100 percent of GDP if the data are complete. Agriculture includes farming, fishing, and forestry. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, energy production, and construction. Services cover government activities, communications, transportation, finance, and all other private economic activities that do not produce material goods.
  • GDP > Per capita: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the weathly industrialized countries are generally much smaller. Per capita figures expressed per 1 population.
  • GDP > Per capita > PPP: This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.
  • GDP > Purchasing power parity per capita: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the weathly industrialized countries are generally much smaller. Figures expressed per capita for the same year.
  • GDP per capita: GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Dollar figures for GDP are converted from domestic currencies using single year official exchange rates. For a few countries where the official exchange rate does not reflect the rate effectively applied to actual foreign exchange transactions, an alternative conversion factor is used. Figures expressed per capita for the same year.
  • Gross National Income: GNI, Atlas method (current US$). GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and prop).
  • Inflation rate > Consumer prices: This entry furnishes the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous year's consumer prices.
  • Public debt: This entry records the cumulatiive total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings.
  • Unemployment rate: This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
STAT AMOUNT DATE RANK HISTORY
Budget > Revenues $10.00 billion 2013 80th out of 223
Budget surplus > + or deficit > - 0.1% of GDP 2012 37th out of 182
Debt > Government debt > Public debt, share of GDP 44 CIA 2014 78th out of 153
Exports $12.23 billion 2012 84th out of 189
Exports per capita $6,038.10 2012 45th out of 189
GDP $28.32 billion 2012 87th out of 177
GDP > Composition, by sector of origin > Services 69.3% 2012 51st out of 189
GDP > Per capita $17,722.73 per capita 2007 50th out of 183
GDP > Per capita > PPP $18,100.00 2012 52nd out of 188
GDP > Purchasing power parity per capita $14,381.37 2010 59th out of 181
GDP per capita $13,983.96 2012 45th out of 177
Gross National Income $7.63 billion 2001 81st out of 158
Inflation rate > Consumer prices 2.3% 2012 152nd out of 199
Public debt 40.7% of GDP 2012 85th out of 149
Unemployment rate 11.4% 2012 34th out of 112

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; Wikipedia: List of countries by public debt (List) (Public debt , The World Factbook , United States Central Intelligence Agency , accessed on March 21, 2013.); CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.; CIA World Factbook 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.

Citation

NationMaster

Latvia Economy Profiles (Subcategories)

Adjusted savings 3 International tourism 14
Aid 5 Labor force 3
Balance of payments 28 Long-term debt 4
Bank and trade-related lending 4 Market capitalization of listed companies 4
Budget 10 Merchandise 4
Changes in net 4 Merchandise imports 4
Commercial service 4 Micro 4
Commercial service imports 4 National accounts 97
Companies 39 Natural gas 6
Consumption 22 Net capital account 4
Currency 13 Net current transfers 4
Current account balance 5 Net current transfers from abroad 5
Current transfers 4 Net errors and omissions 4
Debt 57 Net financial flows 16
Economic aid 3 Net income 4
Electricity 8 Net income from abroad 5
Entrepreneurship 12 Net incurrence of liabilities 3
Exports 3 Net trade in goods 4
External balance on goods and services 7 Net trade in goods and services 4
External debt 7 Official development assistance and official aid 4
Final 11 Oil 10
Financial sector 35 Portfolio investment 12
Foreign aid 36 Poverty 16
Foreign direct investment 10 Poverty and inequality 15
GDP 42 Private nonguaranteed debt 4
GDP per capita 4 Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 6
GNI 12 Public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) debt 3
Goods 4 Purchasing power parity 11
Goods imports 4 Reserves 6
Government 13 Royalty and license fees 8
Government debt 8 Savings 42
Government spending 5 Service 4
Gross capital formation 10 Service imports 4
Gross domestic savings 5 Services 10
Gross fixed capital formation 10 Spending 73
Gross national expenditure 9 Stock of direct foreign investment 6
Gross savings 6 Stocks traded 5
Gross value added at factor cost 9 Tax 67
High-technology 4 Total 9
Household final 23 Total debt service 6
IBRD loans and IDA credits 4 Tourism 21
Income 24 Tourism expenditures 5
Income distribution 4 Tourism receipts 5
Income payments 4 Tourist arrivals by region of origin 8
Income receipts 4 Trade 1486
Inequality 8 Trademark applications 4
Inflation 10 Use of IMF credit 4
Innovation 37 Welfare 5
Interest payments 3

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