&_160;United Kingdom
&_160;&_160; 30,000 - 200,000
[1]
&_160;United States
&_160;&_160; 87,564
[1]
&_160;Russia
&_160;&_160; 28,520
[2];
[3];
[4]
&_160;Canada
&_160;&_160; 27,870
[5]
&_160;Brazil
&_160;&_160; 25,000
[6]
&_160;Australia
&_160;&_160; 18,938
[7]
&_160;Ireland
&_160;&_160; 14,000
[8]Latvian culture has experienced historical, cultural and religious influences, over centuries during Germanic and Scandinavian colonization and settlement. Eastern Latvia (Latgale), however, retains a strong Polish and Russian cultural and linguistic influence. This highly literate society places strong emphasis upon education, which is free and compulsory until age 18. Most of the religious Latvians belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, but a small minority is Russian Orthodox, and Eastern Latvia (Latgale) is predominantly Roman Catholic. In the late 18th century, a small but vibrant Herrnhutist movement played a significant part in the development of Latvian literary culture, before it was absorbed in to the mainstream Lutheran denomination.
The national language of the Latvian people is Latvian. Latvians living in the diaspora outside the former Soviet Union speak the primary language of their host countries, e.g. English in the USA or Australia, Swedish in Sweden, etc.
