Latvia is bordered to the north by Estonia, to the south by Lithuania and to the east both by Belarus and the Russian Federation. Latvia is a democratic parliamentary republic and is divided into 26 districts. The capital and largest city is Riga.
Latvia lies on the East European Plain, however in vegetation is much different than the rest of the plain and shares many similarities with the boreal biome. An inlet of the Baltic Sea, the shallow Gulf of Riga is situated in the northwest of the country. Latvia's coastline extends for 531 kilometers.
