Guide to Lithuania Introduction Background: Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. 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 Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 24 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 99 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
Terrain: lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: peat, arable land
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 90 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits
People Population: 3,596,617 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: -0.3% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 8.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 10.92 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.19 children born/woman (2005 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.)
Nationality: noun
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
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Vilnius
Administrative divisions: 10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus
Independence: 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 is 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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President
Political parties and leaders: Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS, chairman]; Labor Party [Viktor USPASKICH, chairman]; Liberal and Center Union [Arturas ZUOKAS, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party [Valentinas MAZURONIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD [Valentinas STUNDYS, chairman]; Lithuanian People's Union for a Fair Lithuania; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP and the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP; New Democracy and Farmer's Union or VNDPS [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman]; Social Liberals (New Union) [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]; Social Union of Christian Conservatives [Gediminas VAGNORIUS, chairman]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red
Economy Economy - overview: Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has slowly rebounded from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Unemployment dropped from 11% in 2003 to 8% in 2004. Growing domestic consumption and increased investment have furthered recovery. 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, particularly in the energy sector, is nearing completion. Overall, more than 80% of enterprises have been privatized. Foreign government and business support have helped in the transition from the old command economy to a market economy.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $45.23 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 1.63 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20%, industry 30%, services 50% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 34 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 21.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 25.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber
Industrial production growth rate: 12% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 17.93 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 10.17 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 6.8 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 300 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 4,594 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 72,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 2.76 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 2.76 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Current account balance: $-1.6 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $8.88 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
Exports - partners: Germany 10.2%, Latvia 10.2%, Russia 9.3%, France 6.3%, UK 5.3%, Sweden 5.1%, Estonia 5%, Poland 4.8%, Netherlands 4.8%, Denmark 4.8%, US 4.7%, Switzerland 4.6% (2004)
Imports: $11.02 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: mineral products 21%, machinery and equipment 17%, transport equipment 11%, chemicals 9%, textiles and clothing 9%, metals 5% (2001)
Imports - partners: Russia 23.1%, Germany 16.7%, Poland 7.7%, Netherlands 4% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $4.61 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $10.01 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $228.5 million (1995)
Currency (code): litas (LTL)
Currency code: LTL
Exchange rates: litai per US dollar - 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003), 3.677 (2002), 4 (2001), 4 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 824,200 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,169,900 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001)
Radios: 1.9 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 27 note
Televisions: 1.7 million (1997)
Internet country code: .lt
Internet hosts: 67,769 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 32 (2001)
Internet users: 695,700 (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 600 km (2004)
Pipelines: gas 1,696 km; oil 331 km; refined products 109 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Klaipeda
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 102 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, National Defense Volunteer Forces (SKAT)
Military service age and obligation: 19-45 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service obligation - 12 months; 18 years of age for volunteers (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 19-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 19-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $230.8 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.9% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: in 2003, the Lithuania-Russia land and maritime boundary treaty was ratified and a transit regime established through Lithuania linking Russia and its Kaliningrad coastal exclave, leaving only improvements to the border demarcation in 2005; by 2004, a third of the Belarus-Lithuania boundary had been demarcated; the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Lithuania must implement the strict Schengen border rules
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe to Western Europe and Scandinavia; limited production of methamphetamine and ecstasy; susceptible to money laundering despite changes to banking legislation
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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