Baltic countries
Baltic states
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![Location of the Baltic states (dark green)in Europe (dark grey) – [Legend]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baltic_states.svg)
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| Capitals | |
| Largest city | Riga |
| Official languages | |
| Membership | |
| Area | |
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• Total
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175,015 km2 (67,574 sq mi) (91st) |
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• Water (%)
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2.23% (3,909 km²) |
| Population | |
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• 2017 estimate
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6,121,000 (100th) |
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• Density
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35.5/km2 (91.9/sq mi) (176th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2017 estimate |
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• Total
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$185 billion (61st) |
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• Per capita
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$30,000 (44th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2017 estimate |
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• Total
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$100 billion (60th) |
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• Per capita
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$17,000 (45th) |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
in Europe (dark grey) – [Legend]
The Baltic states, also known as the Baltic countries, Baltic republics, Baltic nations, or simply, the Baltics (Estonian: Balti riigid, Baltimaad, Latvian: Baltijas valstis, Lithuanian: Baltijos valstybės), are the three countries in northern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic states cooperate on a regional level in several intergovernmental organizations.
While the native populations of Latvia and Lithuania are known as Baltic people, those of Estonia are Finnic people together with the Finns. Another Baltic identity, Baltic German, began to develop during the Middle Ages after the Livonian Crusade.
Linguistic and historical considerations intersect in defining the concept of "Baltic states": for example, while Latvian is phylogenetically related to Lithuanian (both belonging to the Baltic group of the Indo-European language family), Estonian belongs to a completely different family – the Finnic group of the Uralic languages, also spoken in Finland. The Livonians (a nearly extinct ethnic group closely related to Estonians) have also participated in the ethnogenesis of the Latvians: according to most accounts, the assimilation of (Uralic) Livonians by ancient (Indo-European) Baltic tribes was a notable influence on the development of modern Latvian language.
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Wikipedia