Editing Latvia (section)

=== Education and science ===
{{Main|Education in Latvia}}
{{See also|List of universities in Latvia}}
[[File:Latvijas Universitāte - ogre11 - Panoramio.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|University of Latvia]]
The [[University of Latvia]] and [[Riga Technical University]] are two major universities in the country, both successors to Riga Polytechnical Institute, and located in [[Riga]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtu.lv |title=Riga Polytechnical Institute Home Page |publisher=Rtu.lv |access-date=16 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020174805/http://www.rtu.lv/ |archive-date=20 October 2010 }}</ref> Other important universities, which were established on the base of State University of Latvia, include the [[Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies]] (established in 1939 on the basis of the Faculty of Agriculture) and [[Riga Stradiņš University]] (established in 1950 on the basis of the Faculty of Medicine). Both nowadays cover a variety of different fields. The [[University of Daugavpils]] is another significant centre of education.

Latvia closed 131 schools between 2006 and 2010, which is a 12.9% decline, and in the same period enrolment in educational institutions has fallen by over 54,000 people, a 10.3% decline.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csb.gov.lv/csp/content/?lng=lv&cat=2300 |title=Latvijas Statistika |publisher=Csb.gov.lv |date=17 May 2010 |access-date=6 June 2010 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Latvian policy in science and technology has set out the long-term goal of transitioning from labor-consuming economy to knowledge-based economy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.izm.gov.lv/en/science|title=Science|website=Izglītības un zinātnes ministrija|access-date=3 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129004953/http://www.izm.gov.lv/en/science|archive-date=29 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2020 the government aims to spend 1.5% of GDP on research and development, with half of the investments coming from the private sector. Latvia plans to base the development of its scientific potential on existing scientific traditions, particularly in organic chemistry, medical chemistry, genetic engineering, physics, materials science and information technologies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lza.lv/index.php?mylang=english|title=Latvijas Zinātņu Akadēmija|website=www.lza.lv|access-date=3 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813021724/http://www.lza.lv/index.php?mylang=english|archive-date=13 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The greatest number of patents, both nationwide and abroad, are in medical chemistry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://inventions.lza.lv/izgu_en.php|title=latvian|website=inventions.lza.lv|access-date=29 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014092151/http://inventions.lza.lv/izgu_en.php|archive-date=14 October 2017}}</ref> Latvia was ranked 42nd in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2024 : Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.wipo.int |language=en}}</ref>