Geographically, Latvia is located in the Baltic soil province of the European–West Siberian soil region within the temperate climate zone. Latvia has relatively young soils, as they began to form during the retreat of the last glacial period of the Quaternary and their absolute age is no more than 15,000 years.

The development of Latvia's soils is determined by a climate where precipitation exceeds evaporation, a prolonged period in the boreonemoral natural zone, parent materials of varying granulometric and mineral composition, poor natural drainage (in depressions between hills and on flat plains), and human economic activity. The interaction of these factors also leads to soil leaching.

Soil water erosion risks are the highest within the territory of Latvia. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia, 15.4% of Latvia's arable land is subject to water erosion, while 9.3% is subject to wind erosion; however, these figures can vary in different sources because soil mapping has not yet been fully completed.