Environment
Latvia
Climate
oceanic; damp, temperate winters
Land use
other
12.8% (2023 est.)
forest
55.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
31.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 21.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 9.7% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
68.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
-0.68% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually
839,700 tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled
31.3% (2022 est.)
Environmental issues
various forms of soil, water, and air contamination
Total water withdrawal
municipal
91.945 million cubic meters (2022)
industrial
30.291 million cubic meters (2022)
agricultural
50.098 million cubic meters (2022)
Carbon dioxide emissions
total emissions
6.427 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from consumed natural gas
1.526 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke
41,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids
4.861 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
15.6 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
34.94 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
International environmental agreements
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