Demographics of Latvia Demographics of Latvia This article is about the demographic features of the population of the historical territory of Latvia, including population density, ethnic background, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Latvia was settled by the Baltic tribes some three millennia ago. The territories along the eastern Baltic first came under foreign domination at the beginning of the 13th century, with the formal establishment of Riga in 1201 under the German Teutonic Knights. Latvia, in whole or in parts, remained under foreign rule for the next eight centuries, finding itself at
Capital punishment in Latvia death sentence to a term of imprisonment. Latvia continued to hand down death sentences until 1998. On April 15, 1999 the death penalty in peacetime was abolished by ratifying Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2002, Latvia signed Protocol No. 13 to ECHR, concerning the abolition of the death penalty under all circumstances. The law on the ratification of Protocol 13 was adopted on 13 October 2011 and the protocol was ratified on 26 January 2012. Protocol 13 was entered into force on 1 May 2012. Latvia was the last European Union country to retain