Vidzeme
Vidzeme
Vidzeme | |
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Location of Vidzeme in Latvia | |
| Coordinates: 57°15′N 25°30′E / 57.250°N 25.500°E | |
| Country | Latvia |
| Largest city | Riga |
| Population | |
• Total | 1.3 million |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| HDI (2019) | 0.854 very high · 4th |
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Vidzeme (pronounced [ˈvid̪͡z̪eme]; Old Latvian orthography: Widda-semme, Livonian: Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-central Latvia north of the Daugava River. Sometimes in German, it was also known as Livland, the German form from Latin Livonia, though it comprises only a small part of Medieval Livonia and about half (the Latvian part) of Swedish Livonia. Most of the region's inhabitants are Latvians (85%), thus Vidzeme is the most ethnically Latvian region in the country.
The historic Governorate of Livonia is also larger than Vidzeme, since it corresponds roughly to Swedish Livonia.