republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia)
Religions
Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%
Lutheran 19.6%, Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7% (2006)
Languages
French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north)
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
Exports
wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
External Debt
$38,370,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
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
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
3
Location
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
