Country information - Lithuania
First mentioned in a medieval German manuscript, the Quedlinburg Chronicle, on February 14, 1009, Lithuania became a significant state in the Middle Ages. The official crowning of Mindaugas as King of Lithuania on July 6, 1253 marked Lithuania's birth. By the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched across Eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
In 1569, Poland and Lithuania formally merged into a single state called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This union remained in place until the adoption of the May Constitution of 1791, which abolished all subdivisions of the states and merged them into the Kingdom of Poland. In 1795, this new state was soon dissolved by the third Partition of Poland, which ceded its lands to Russia, Prussia and Austria. Lithuania was incorporated into the Russian Empire.
On February 16, 1918, Lithuania re-established its independence in severely limited territories that included those inhabited by ethnic Lithuanians, while non-Lithuanian areas of the Grand Duchy that had fallen to the Soviet Union remaining under Soviet control.
In 1940, at the height of World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Lithuania in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It later came under German occupation, during which time 90% of Lithuanian Jews were killed, one of the worst death rates of the Holocaust. Ultimately Lithuania fell again to the Soviet Union in 1945. 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.
The last Russian troops left Lithhuania on august 31, 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions. Since 1988, Lithuania has sought closer ties with the West, joined the United Nations on September 17, 1991. On May 31, 2001, Lithuania became the 141st member of the World Trade Organization. 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
Area total: 65,200 sq km
Water NA sq km
Land boundaries total: 1,273 km
Border countries Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km
Coastline 99 km
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 292 m
Natural resources peat, arable land
Natural hazards NA
People Lithuania
Population 3,596,617.
Nationality noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective Lithuanian
Ethnic groups Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6%
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%
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 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: President Valdas Adamkus (since 12 July 2004)
head of government Premier Algirdas Mykolas Brauzaukas (since 3 July 2001)
Cabinet Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier
Elections president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; Election last held 13 June 2004 and 27 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009); premier appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament
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 last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2008)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red
Economy Lithuania
Lithuania was the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia and has slowly rebounded from the 1998 Russian financial crisis by orienting toward the West. Unemployment dropped from 11% in 2003 to 5.3% in 2005. Growing domestic consumption and increased investment have furthered recovery. Lithuania has gained membership in the World Trade Organization and joined the EU in May 2004. Lithuania is expected to switch to the Euro on 1 January 2007, thus becoming one of the first of the new EU members to do so, together with Estonia and Slovenia. 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.
Labor force 1.61 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 20%, industry 30%, services 50% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.3%
Population below poverty line NA
Household income by percentage share lowest 10%: 3.1%, highest 10%: 25.6%
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
Currency (code) litas (LTL)
Transportation Lithuania
Airports 102
Airports - with paved runways total: 33
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 62
Pipelines gas 1,696 km; oil 331 km; refined products 109 km
Railways total: 1,998 km
broad gauge 1,807 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified)
standard gauge 22 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge 169 km 0.750-m gauge
Roadways total: 78,893 km
paved 21,617 km (including 417 km of expressways)
unpaved 57,276 km
Waterways 600 km
Ports and terminals Klaipeda
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