Latvia vs. Belarus
Geography
| Latvia | Belarus | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Geographic coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 64,589 sq km land: 62,249 sq km water: 2,340 sq km | total: 207,600 sq km land: 202,900 sq km water: 4,700 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,370 km border countries (4): Belarus 161 km, Estonia 333 km, Lithuania 544 km, Russia 332 km | total: 3,599 km border countries (5): Latvia 161 km, Lithuania 640 km, Poland 375 km, Russia 1312 km, Ukraine 1111 km |
| Coastline | 498 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: limits as agreed to by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Russia continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | maritime; wet, moderate winters | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Terrain | low plain | generally flat with much marshland |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Gaizina Kalns 312 m lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m mean elevation: 87 m | highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m mean elevation: 160 m |
| Natural resources | peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, timber, arable land | timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Land use | agricultural land: 29.2% (2018 est.) arable land: 18.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 10.5% (2018 est.) forest: 54.1% (2018 est.) other: 16.7% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 15.9% (2018 est.) forest: 42.7% (2018 est.) other: 13.6% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 12 sq km (2012) note: land in Latvia is often too wet and in need of drainage not irrigation; approximately 16,000 sq km or 85% of agricultural land has been improved by drainage | 1,140 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | large percentage of agricultural fields can become waterlogged and require drainage | large tracts of marshy land |
| Environment - current issues | while land, water, and air pollution are evident, Latvia's environment has benefited from a shift to service industries after the country regained independence; improvements have occurred in drinking water quality, sewage treatment, household and hazardous waste management, as well as reduction of air pollution; concerns include nature protection and the management of water resources and the protection of the Baltic Sea | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine |
| Environment - international 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 | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the east | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
| Total renewable water resources | 34.94 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 57.9 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | largest concentration of people is found in and around the port and capital city of Riga; small agglomerations are scattered throughout the country | a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations |
Source: CIA Factbook
