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LATVIA ::: Economic Data
Area (in qkm) 64,598
Population 2,245,423
Population density 35
Private households 838,00
Gross domestic product (GDP) 2008 in bn € 22.7
GDP per capita 2008 in € 12,458
GDP structure
   private consumption 57%
   public expenditure 22%
   investment 29%
Age structure
less than 15 years 14%
15 - 24 years 16%
25 - 34years 14%
35 - 44 years 14%
45 - 54 years 14%
55 - 64 years 11%
65 years + 17%
Unemployment
rate 2008		 5.5%
Inflation rate 2008 15.3%
Exchange rate 1 USD = 0.6734 EUR
TV households 821,000
   - with Cable 53.0%
   - with Satellite 10.9%
Internet households 46%

Source: Eurostat, World Press Trends 2008,
Central & Eastern Europe Market & MediaFact 2008
CIA Factbook 2009, UNECE (UN Economic Commission for Europe) Statisticsfor Europe and North America 2008, IP Television Key Facts 2008

Print
Number of dailies (2007) 20
- of which national 10
Number of magazines 131
Number of 

outdoor sites

 6,685
 

Television/ Audio-visual
Domestic Public Channels 2
Domestic Private Channels/
Forgein Channels with Local Ad Window 9
Number of commercial radio stations 40

Taxes and legal
VAT rate (2007)
18%

Main advertising restrictions

Alcohol:

 Restricted.

Tobacco:

 Restricted.

Pharmaceutical:

 Must be submitted to the Latvian Pharmaceutical Register. OTC only in mass media

Source: World Press Trends 2008Western Europe Market & MediaFact 2008FIPP World Magazine Trends 2008/09IP Television Key Facts 2008

Advertising expenditure 2007
€ 135 mill

Media market shares in %

Source: Central and Eastern Europe Market & MediaFact 2006, CIA Factbook 2007
Top 10 advertising categories
media expenditure in € (mill)
Communication/office equipment 47.0
Cosmetics/personal hygiene 40.9
Business/finance/property 30.7
Food 25.4
Entertainment/culture 24.6
Household goods 24.2
Soft drinks 18.2
Media/publishing 17.1
Medicine. 17.0
Transport 13.4