ABSTRACT
The territory of Latvia, which presently covers some 64,589 km2, has been inhabited since 9000 BC. The population of the country was recorded as being 2,458,403 in 1998, and although the state language is Latvian, the composition of the population reflects different nationalities: Latvians 57.1 per cent, Russians 29.9 per cent, Belarussians 4.2 per cent, Ukrainians 2.7 per cent and Poles 2.5 per cent. The religious community may be similarly broken down: Catholic 38 per cent, Lutherans 30 per cent, Orthodox 14 per cent. The mix of cultures derived from such a multinational society is reflected in the heritage of Latvia.
