# Latvia and Russia compared

Latvia and Russia side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 10 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/lva-vs-rus
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Latvia: 18 November 1918 — Latvia declares independence
- Russia: 882 — Oleg takes Kiev and Kievan Rus' becomes a single state

## Economy

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $44 B | 2024 | $2.17 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $23,409 | 2024 | $14,889 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | -0.0% | 2024 | 4.3% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 1.3% | 2024 | 8.4% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 132.3% | 2024 | 39.5% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1.9 m | 2024 | 144 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 76.4 yrs | 2024 | 73.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 68.5% | 2024 | 75.1% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.2 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 76.6 | 2024 | 32.0 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 76.5 | 2024 | 50.5 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 65.8 | 2024 | 45.1 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 72.2 | 2024 | 38.0 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 75.7 | 2024 | 37.1 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 64.6 | 2024 | 29.8 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 7.3% | 2023 | 7.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 3.40 | 2022 | 5.11 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 2.5 | 2024 | 5.2 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 98.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 97.0% | 2024 | 76.3% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 99.9% | 2011 | 99.9% | 2021 |
| Education spending | 4.3% | 2022 | 4.2% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 97.6% | 2024 | 97.7% | 2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 101.3% | 2024 | 92.5% | 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 82.9% | 2024 | 60.4% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.8% | 2023 | 0.9% | 2024 |
| Researchers (per million) | 2,191 | 2023 | 2,639 | 2024 |
| Internet users | 92.7% | 2024 | 94.4% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 121 | 2024 | 186 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 17.5% | 2024 | 9.7% | 2021 |

## Geography

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 62,230 km² | 2023 | 16,376,870 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 55.0% | 2023 | 49.8% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 31.7% | 2023 | 13.2% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 3.6 | 2024 | 14.0 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 44.0% | 2021 | 3.5% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 1.2% | 2021 | 18.5% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 9.7% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 2.1% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 1.1% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | — | — | 1.3 Mt | 2025 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 86 Mt | 2025 |
| Gold (mined) | — | — | 310 t | 2025 |
| Cobalt (mined) | — | — | 7,700 t | 2025 |
| Nickel (mined) | — | — | 200 kt | 2025 |
| Rare earths | — | — | 2,600 t | 2025 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 5.7 Mt | 2025 |
| Zinc (mined) | — | — | 430 kt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 14 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Latvia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 3.3% | 2024 | 7.1% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $1.4 B | 2024 | $149 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 9,000 | 2020 | 1.5 m | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/LVA.md and https://terralore.co/country/RUS.md.

## Entangled histories (10 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1282: **Riga joins the Hanseatic League** — Riga entered the Hanseatic League, the powerful association of northern European merchant towns, cementing its prosperity as the chief trading city between Russia and western Europe. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: Historic Centre of Riga; History of Latvia)
- 1710: **Russia takes Riga** — During the Great Northern War the forces of Peter the Great captured Riga from Sweden; the cession of Swedish Livonia was confirmed at the Peace of Nystad in 1721, bringing the region into the Russian Empire. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: Latvia: History; History of Latvia)
- 1795: **Courland annexed by Russia** — In the third partition of Poland-Lithuania the Duchy of Courland was incorporated into the Russian Empire, completing Russian rule over all the Latvian lands. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: Latvia: History; History of Latvia)
- 11 Aug 1920: **Latvian-Soviet Treaty of Riga** — Concluding the War of Independence, Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Riga, in which it voluntarily and irrevocably renounced all sovereign rights over the Latvian people and territory, recognising Latvia's independence. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: The centenary of signing the Latvia-Russia Peace Treaty to be marked in Riga; Latvia: History)
- 23 Aug 1939: **The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact** — The Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact and its secret protocol assigned Latvia and the other Baltic states to the Soviet sphere of influence, sealing the country's fate in the coming war. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact; About the Museum)
- Jun–Aug 1940: **Soviet occupation and annexation** — The Red Army occupied Latvia in June 1940; after a staged election a puppet parliament requested incorporation, and the Soviet Union annexed the country in August 1940. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: About the Museum; History of Latvia; United States Non-Recognition Policy)
- 13–14 Jun 1941: **The June 1941 deportations** — The Soviet regime deported some fifteen thousand people from Latvia to Siberia in a single operation, targeting the country's political, economic and intellectual elite; many never returned. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: About the Museum; History of Latvia)
- Mar 1949: **The March 1949 deportations** — In Operation Priboi the Soviet authorities deported tens of thousands of Latvians to Siberia, many of them farmers resisting collectivisation, in the largest single act of repression of the postwar years. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: About the Museum; History of Latvia)
- 4 May 1990: **Declaration on the Restoration of Independence** — The Supreme Council of Latvia adopted the declaration restoring independence, reaffirming the 1918 constitution and declaring the 1940 Soviet occupation illegal. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: May 4th: Latvia's Path to Independence; About the Museum)
- 2007: **Latvia-Russia border treaty** — The border treaty with Russia entered into force, fixing the frontier and renouncing Latvia's claim to the Abrene district transferred to the Russian SFSR in 1944, while the Constitutional Court reaffirmed state continuity. (from the Latvia chronicle; sources: So long, Abrene; Judgment on the Latvia-Russia border treaty (case 2007-10-0102))

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/LVA/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/RUS/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Latvia and Russia compared", terralore.co/compare/lva-vs-rus, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.