Riga Region ( lv, Rīgas reģions), officially Riga Planning Region ( lv, Rīgas plānošanas reģions) and shortened as RPR is one of five

planning regions of Latvia There are five planning regions of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas plānošanas reģioni); Kurzeme, Latgale, Riga, Vidzeme and Zemgale. The boundaries of the regions aligns to the boundaries of the municipalities of Latvia following the municipality refor ...

, situated in the central part of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, in and around the metropolis of

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and along the shores of the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main con ...

. The state institution was founded on 12 October 2006, based on the creation of the region territory as prescribed by Regulations No. 133 of the

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...

as of 25 March 2003, the "Regulations on Territories of Planning Regions".

Organisation

According to the "Law on Regional Development Riga Planning Region", Riga Region is supervised by the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government, the decision-making authority is Riga Planning Region Development Council (RPRDC), which consists of 18 deputies appointed by the heads of the local municipalities comprising the region.

Geography

The Riga Region was created in 2006, covering the territory and using the administrative boundaries of the now defunct

districts of Latvia Until 2009 the districts of Latvia, introduced in 1949 by the Soviet occupation authorities to supersede counties, were divided into 77 cities ( lv, pilsēta), 10 amalgamated municipalities ( lv, novads), 24 rural territories ( lv, lauku terit ...

Limbaži Limbaži (, et, Lemsalu, german: Lemsal, liv, Limbaž) is a town in the Vidzeme region of northern Latvia. Limbaži is located 90 km northeast of the capital Riga. The population is 6888 people. During the Middle Ages, as part of Livonia, ...

Ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...

and

Tukums Tukums (; german: Tuckum; liv, Tukāmō) is a town in the Zemgale region of Latvia. History The historical center of Tukums developed between trade routes leading from the mouth of the Daugava River to Prussia. The oldest part is today's Ta ...

as well as the

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

Jūrmala Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach, and a population of 49,325 in 2019 ...

. the region consists of 28 municipalities and 2 republican cities with an area of 10,430.1 km².

Demography

A little over 52% of the Latvian population lives in Riga Region, which makes it the largest region in the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

with 989,525 inhabitants in 2021 and a population density of 95 per km².

Economy

In 2020 Riga Region had GDP of €20.9 billion of which €16.0 billion was in Riga city.

References

External links