Lithuanian lands were united
under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, through alliances and
conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day
Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the
largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two
countries into a union through the person of a common ruler. In 1569,
Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795, when its
remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries. Lithuania regained its
independence following World War I but was annexed by the USSR in 1940 -
an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. On 11 March
1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its
independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until
September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last
Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its
economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both
NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
Geography
Lithuania
Location:
Eastern Europe, bordering the
Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic coordinates:
56 00 N, 24 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than West
Virginia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,613 km
border countries: Belarus 653.5 km, Latvia 588 km, Poland 103.7
km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 267.8 km
Coastline:
99 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate:
transitional, between maritime
and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
Terrain:
lowland, many scattered small
lakes, fertile soil
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea
0 m highest point: Juozapines Kalnas 293.6 m
total: 3.33 cu km/yr
(78%/15%/7%) per capita: 971 cu m/yr (2003)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues:
contamination of soil and
groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution,
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
fertile central plains are
separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits
total: 39 years
male: 36.4 years female: 41.6 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.284% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
9 births/1,000 population (2008
est.)
Death rate:
11.12 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.72 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.53
male(s)/female total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.57 deaths/1,000
live births male: 7.86 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.67
years male: 69.72 years female: 79.89 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.22 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1,300 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
and hepatitis A vectorborne diseases: tickborne encephalitis
(2008)
Nationality:
noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian
Ethnic groups:
Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%,
Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6% (2001 census)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 79%, Russian
Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian
Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census)
Languages:
Lithuanian (official) 82%,
Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write total population: 99.6%
male: 99.6% female: 99.6% (2001 census)
Government
Lithuania
Country name:
conventional long form:
Republic of Lithuania conventional short form: Lithuania
local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short
form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Vilnius
geographic coordinates: 54 41 N, 25 19 E time
difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March;
ends last Sunday in October
11 March 1990 (declared); 6
September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 February
(1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania declared its
independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March
1990 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union
Constitution:
adopted 25 October 1992
Legal system:
based on civil law system;
legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Valdas ADAMKUS (since 12 July 2004) head of
government: Prime Minister Gediminas KIRKILAS (since 4 July 2006)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the
nomination of the prime minister elections: president elected
by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
election last held 13 and 27 June 2004 (next to be held in June 2009);
prime minister appointed by the president on the approval of the
Parliament election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president;
percent of vote - Valdas ADAMKUS 52.2%, Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE 47.8%;
Gediminas KIRKILAS approved by Parliament 85-13 with five abstentions
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Seimas
(141 seats; 71 members are elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by
proportional representation; serve four-year terms) elections:
last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - Labor 28.6%,
Working for Lithuania (Social Democrats and Social Liberals) 20.7%, TS
14.6%, For Order and Justice (Liberal Democrats and Lithuanian People's
Union) 11.4%, Liberal and Center Union 9.1%, Farmers and New Democracy
Union 6.6%, other 9%; seats by faction - Social Democrats 38, TS 25, Labor
23, Farmers National Union 13 (combined with Civil Democracy), Liberal
Democrats/Order and Justice 11, New Union Social Liberals 10, Liberal and
Center Union 10, Liberal Movement 9, independent 2 (as of April 2008)
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Supreme
Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders:
Civil Democracy Party or PDP
[Viktor MUNTIANAS]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar
TOMASZEVSKI]; National Farmer's Union or VLS [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE];
Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS]; Labor Party or
DP [Viktor USPASKICH]; Liberal and Center Union [Arturas ZUOKAS]; Liberal
Democrats/Order and Justice Party or TT [Rolandas PAKSAS]; Liberal
Movement or LLS [Petras AUSTREVICIUS]; Social Democratic Party or LSDP
[Gediminas KIRKILAS]; Social Liberal/New Union [Arturas PAULAUSKAS]; Young
Lithuania and New Nationalists [Stanislovas BUSKEVICIUS]
chief of mission:
Ambassador Audrius BRUZGA chancery: 4590 MacArthur Blvd. NW,
Suite 200, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860
FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general:
Chicago, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador John A. CLOUD embassy: Akmenu Gatve 6, Vilnius,
LT-03106 mailing address: American Embassy, Akmenu Gatve 6,
Vilnius LT-03106 telephone: [370] (5) 266 5500 FAX:
[370] (5) 266 5510
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of
yellow (top), green, and red
Economy
Lithuania
Economy - overview:
Lithuania, the Baltic state
that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has grown rapidly since
rebounding from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Unemployment fell to
3.2% in 2007 while wages continued to grow at double digit rates,
contributing to rising inflation. Exports and imports also grew strongly,
and the current account deficit rose to nearly 15% of GDP in 2007. Trade
has been increasingly oriented toward the West. Lithuania has gained
membership in the World Trade Organization and joined the EU in May 2004.
Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities is nearly complete.
Foreign government and business support have helped in the transition from
the old command economy to a market economy.
mineral products 23%, textiles
and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood
products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
Exports - partners:
Russia 12.8%, Latvia 11.1%,
Germany 8.6%, Estonia 6.5%, Poland 6.1%, Netherlands 4.8%, Sweden 4.5%, UK
4.4%, US 4.3%, Denmark 4.2%, France 4.2% (2006)
Imports:
$22.64 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.)
Imports - commodities:
mineral products, machinery and
equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals
Imports - partners:
Russia 24.3%, Germany 14.9%,
Poland 9.5%, Latvia 4.8% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$249.7 million (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$6.302 billion (31 December
2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$22.7 billion (30 June 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$10.94 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$1.183 billion (2006 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$10.19 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
litas (LTL)
Currency code:
LTL
Exchange rates:
litai per US dollar - 2.5362
(2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Lithuania
Telephones - main lines in use:
792,400 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
4.718 million (2006)
Telephone system:
general assessment:
adequate; being modernized to provide improved international capability
and better residential access domestic: rapid expansion of
mobile-cellular services has resulted in a steady decline in the number of
main line subscriptions; mobile-cellular teledensity has increased to
about 135 per 100 persons while fixed-line teledensity has dropped to 22
per 100 persons international: country code - 370; major
international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine
cable for further transmission by satellite; landline connections to
Latvia and Poland
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1
(2001)
Radios:
1.9 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
27 (may have as many as 100
transmitters, including repeater stations) (2001)
Televisions:
1.7 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.lt
Internet hosts:
1.301 million (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
32 (2001)
Internet users:
1.083 million (2006)
Transportation
Lithuania
Airports:
87 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 30 over
3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m:
7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 17 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 57 over
3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 53
(2007)
Pipelines:
gas 1,695 km; oil 228 km;
refined products 121 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 1,771 km
broad gauge: 1,749 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified)
standard gauge: 22 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
total: 79,497 km
paved: 70,549 km (includes 417 km of expressways)
unpaved: 8,948 km (2005)
Waterways:
425 km (2005)
Merchant marine:
total: 50 ships (1000
GRT or over) 363,795 GRT/366,624 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4,
cargo 22, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum
tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 16 foreign-owned: 9 (Denmark 9)
registered in other countries: 20 (Antigua and Barbuda 6, North
Korea 1, Norway 1, Panama 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, unknown 3)
(2007)
Ports and terminals:
Klaipeda
Military
Lithuania
Military branches:
Ground Forces, Naval Force,
Lithuanian Military Air Forces, National Defense Volunteer Forces (2005)
Military service age and obligation:
19-45 years of age for
compulsory military service; 18 years of age for volunteers; 12-month
conscript service obligation (2006)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 915,187
females age 16-49: 906,097 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 678,434
females age 16-49: 749,483 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 16-49: 25,907
females age 16-49: 24,735 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.2% (2006; 1.23% 2007 est.)
Transnational Issues
Lithuania
Disputes - international:
Lithuania and Russia committed
to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and
maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999;
Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals
traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still
conforming, as a EU member state having an external border with a non-EU
member, to strict Schengen border rules; the Latvian parliament has not
ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due
to concerns over potential hydrocarbons; as of January 2007, ground
demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was complete and mapped with
final ratification documents in preparation
Illicit drugs:
transshipment and destination
point for cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, and opiates from Southwest Asia,
Latin America, Western Europe, and neighboring Baltic countries; growing
production of high-quality amphetamines, but limited production of
cannabis, methamphetamines; susceptible to money laundering despite
changes to banking legislation
