Latvia is a rather sparsely populated country in the middle of the Baltic States with about two million inhabitants. Agriculture and forestry are therefore of the greatest bioeconomic importance: 54% of the land area is forested, another 30% are used for agriculture. Forests and fertile soils offer far greater potential than has been economically developed to date. In terms of bio-economic value creation, the traditional and small-scale structures predestine the country to specialisation rather than mass production. The bioeconomy is already Latvia's largest and most important economic sector, followed by mechanical engineering and electronics. The Bioeconomy Strategy adopted in 2017 is intended to point the way to an even stronger bioeconomy. As a "data-driven nation", Latvia is also a pioneer in digitisation.