Latvians
| latvieši | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| c. 1.5–1.6 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|
|
|
 United States
|
96,070–102,000 (2009) |
 United Kingdom
|
102,000 (2014) |
 Canada
|
27,870 (2006) |
 Germany
|
27,752 (2014) |
 Brazil
|
25,000 (2002) |
 Ireland
|
20,593 (2011) |
 Australia
|
20,124 (2011) |
 Russia
|
20,068 (2010) |
 New Zealand
|
20,000 (2004) |
 Norway
|
8,077 (2013) |
 Ukraine
|
5,079 (2001) |
 Sweden
|
4,116 (2009) |
 Denmark
|
3,799 (2012) |
 Spain
|
3,711 (2011) |
 Italy
|
2,689 (2014) |
 Lithuania
|
2,300 (2012) |
 Estonia
|
2,198 (2016) |
 France
|
1,702 (2007) |
 Belarus
|
1,549 (2009) |
 Netherlands
|
1,400 (2002) |
 Finland
|
1,164 (2013) |
 Kazakhstan
|
1,123 (2009) |
 Switzerland
|
736 (2006) |
 Belgium
|
679 (2008) |
 Iceland
|
654 (2013) |
 Turkmenistan
|
500 (2010) |
 Moldova
|
400 (2010) |
 Portugal
|
383 (2010) |
 Venezuela
|
300 |
 Poland
|
293 (2011) |
 Georgia
|
200 |
 Argentina
|
200 |
 Czech Republic
|
193 (2011) |
 Austria
|
152 (2002) |
 Uzbekistan
|
140 (2000) |
 Chile
|
100 |
 Greece
|
69 (2006) |
 Kyrgyzstan
|
82 (2009) |
 Croatia
|
11 (2001) |
| Religion | |
|
Predominantly Christianity: Lutheranism, with Roman Catholic, Latvian Orthodox and Dievturi minorities. Historically Baltic Paganism. |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lithuanians, Kursenieki, Latgalians, Semigallians, Livonians | |
Latvia 1 229 067 (2014)
Predominantly Christianity: Lutheranism, with Roman Catholic, Latvian Orthodox and Dievturi minorities.
Latvians (Latvian: latvieši; Livonian: leţlizt) are a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, although this term is obsolescent. The Latvian people share a common Latvian language.
A Finnic-speaking tribe known as the Livs settled among the Latvians and modulated the name to "Latvis," meaning "forest-clearers," which is how medieval German, Teutonic settlers also referred to these peoples. The Germanic settlers referred to the natives as "Letts" and the nation to "Lettland", naming their colony Livonia or Livland.
The Latin form, Livonia, gradually referred to the whole territory of the modern-day Latvia as well as southern Estonia, which had fallen under minimal Germanic influence. Latvians and Lithuanians are the only surviving members of the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family.
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Wikipedia