Latvia is a unitary parliamentary republic and a member of the EU and NATO. It has restored conscription and moved public schooling to Latvian-language instruction, while keeping an open market economy.
In the 12 Axes register, Latvia leans hardest on Democratic – Autocratic: Democratic 68%; the register median is balanced 50%.
Take the test and this line shows how close your twelve scores are to Latvia, and the axis where you differ most.
Where Latvia sits on each of the twelve axes, in four categories. The label is our estimate; the line under it says why.
Unitary
Unitary state with 43 local governments
Representative Democracy
Parliament elects the president
Liberal
Free press and civil liberties
Cooperation
EU and NATO member
Military-Focused
Conscription restored in 2023, defence spending up
Assimilationist
Latvian-only schooling phased in by 2025
Economic Liberal
Open market economy, low taxes
Markets
Open market economy
Free Trade
Euro area member since 2014
Moderate
Secular state, Lutheran and Catholic majority
Conservative
Constitution limits marriage to man and woman; partnerships since 2024
Neutral
No distinct state stance
Set against the median of all 195 countries in the register.
Democratic – Autocratic
On Democratic – Autocratic, Latvia is at Democratic 68%. The register median is balanced 50%.
Federal – Unitary
On Federal – Unitary, Latvia is at Unitary 68%, almost the register median of Unitary 68%.
Closeness is 100 minus the root-mean-square distance on all twelve axes.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · freedomhouse.org
Map: TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.
Last updated: 2026-10-15
The tiers on this page are our estimates from public positions and policies. They are not an official statement by the person or the government concerned. Two independent passes scored every axis and a third settled the differences. How the register works. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].
