Demographics & land:

• City – 304 km2
• Areas of  SEZ / Free Port – 6348 ha
• Inhabitants in the city – 638 784
• Inhabitants in the region – 368 159

Distance to major international cities:

• Estonian border – 120 km
• Lithuanian border – 75 km
• Belarusian border – 300 km
• Russian border – 300 km
• Moscow – 918 km
• Stockholm – 547 km
• Rotterdam – 1726 km

Road and railway infrastructure:

Motorway:

• Ventspils – Riga – Jekabpils – Rezekne – Moscow (Russia) (E22)
• "Via Baltica“ Kaunas (Lithuania) – Riga – Tallin (Estonia) (E67)
• Kaliningrad (Russia) – Siauliai (Lithuania) – Jelgava – Riga – Pskov (Russia) (E77)

Railway:

• Riga – Valga (Estonia) – Pskov (Russia)
• Riga – Rezekne – Moscow (Russia)
• Riga – Daugavpils – Vitebsk (Belorussia) – Smolensk (Russia)
• Riga – Jelgava – Siauliai (Lithuania) – Vilnius (Lithuania)

Largest Latvian enterprises operating in Riga:

• JSC Latvenergo - an energy power supply enterprise engaged in the generation of electricity and thermal energy, electricity trade, as well as the provision of IT and telecommunication services.
• JSC Latvijas Valsts Meži - state owned forest management company.
• JSC Elko Group - one of the largest IT product wholesalers and IT solutions and services distributors in Eastern Europe, also actively expanding to Central Asian market. The company operates in 10 countries.
• JSC Air Baltic Corporation - the largest airline in the Baltic States with over 60 direct destinations.

Largest foreign enterprises operating in Riga:

• JSC Uralchem Trading (Cyprus) - largest ammonium nitrate producer.
• JSC Rimi Latvija (Sweden) - one of the leading retailers providing more than 4600 workplaces.
• JSC Maxima (Lithuania) – retail chain company with more than 6400 employees.
• Circle K Latvia Ltd. (Canada) - the largest oil and gas retailer in the Baltic Sea Region and one of the largest investors in Latvia.

Labour skills and education:

Leading sector in terms of the number of employed is trade, engaging approximately 15%, followed by transport and logistics - 11%. 11% of all employed are engaged in manufacturing. Riga is an educational centre of Latvia - 83% of all Latvian students study here. The educational opportunities in Riga, from pre-school up to the highest level of education and life-long learning, are provided by the municipality and state, as well as foreign and private institutions. There are 11 state and 15 private (including two foreign branches) higher educational institutions in Riga, as well as 10 state and 9 private colleges. Riga is also home to several research institutions, majority of which are associated with the University of Latvia and Riga Technical University.

Incentives and developments:

Riga Free Port offers Corporate Income Tax and Real Estate Tax allowances. Several industrial parks are available in Riga and Riga region that can be used for rapid business development. City’s infrastructure is continuously developing with such important project underway as highway connecting Riga Free Port to Via Baltica. Riga International Airport is also further developing its infrastructure in order to achieve the target of 20 million passengers by 2025. “Rail Baltica” line project is being designed in order to connect all three Baltic States with European railway network.

Municipality can offer:

• Benefits of living and working in Latvia’s political, administrative, economic and cultural centre
• Market oriented geographical location- access to Russian and European markets
• Special Economic Zone: Riga Freeport with additional tax benefits
• Open market economy without barriers
• Industrial and logistics parks
• Skilled, educated, flexible and multi-lingual workforce
• Knowledge and traditions of doing business both with EU member states and former Soviet Union countries
• Low operational costs and business taxes
• Transparent legal and judicial system
• Excellent quality science and research
• Highly developed transport infrastructure
• State support programs for investors (Residential permits)
   

Contact information:
Jānis Prūsis
Acting Head of Investment Promotion Division
City Development Department
Riga City Council
E-mail: janis.prusis@riga.lv  
Phone: + (371) 67105802
www.riga.lv

For more information on Riga see Riga Facts and Figures 2017 and Economic Profile of Riga 2017.

If you have selected Riga as best potential location for your investment project, please fill out our Investment Project Assessment Form, and our Investment Promotion Team will be glad to help you with your business development.