16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia)
Religions
Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census)
Lutheran 19.6%, Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7% (2006)
Languages
Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
External Debt
$210,800,000,000 $
$38,370,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar - 11.016 (2008 est.), 10.8 (2007), 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004)
lati (LVL) per US dollar - 0.4701 (2008 est.), 0.5162 (2007), 0.5597 (2006), 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.500%
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
3
3
Location
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
