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.

Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
56 00 N, 24 00 E
Europe
total: 65,200 sq km ; land: NA sq km ; water: NA sq km
slightly larger than West Virginia
total: 1,613 km ; border countries: Belarus 653.5 km, Latvia 588 km, Poland 103.7 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 267.8 km
90 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m ; highest point: Juozapines Kalnas 293.6 m
peat, arable land, amber
arable land: 44.81% ; permanent crops: 0.9% ; other: 54.29% (2005)
70 sq km (2003)
24.5 cu km (2005)
Total: 3.33 cu km/yr (78%/15%/7%) ; Per capita: 971 cu m/yr (2003)
NA
contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases
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
fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits
3,575,439 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 14.9% (male 273,573/female 259,570) ; 15-64 years: 69.3% (male 1,213,011/female 1,264,996) ; 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 194,500/female 369,789) (2007 est.)
total: 38.6 years ; male: 36.1 years ; female: 41.2 years (2007 est.)
-0.289% (2007 est.)
8.87 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
11.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
-0.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.959 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.526 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.887 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 6.68 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 7.99 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 5.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 74.44 years ; male: 69.46 years ; female: 79.69 years (2007 est.)
1.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)
0.1% (2001 est.)
1,300 (2003 est.)
less than 200 (2003 est.)
noun: Lithuanian(s) ; adjective: Lithuanian
Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6% (2001 census)
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)
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write ; total population: 99.6% ; male: 99.6% ; female: 99.6% (2001 census)


conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania ; conventional short form: Lithuania ; local long form: Lietuvos Respublika ; local short form: Lietuva ; former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
parliamentary democracy
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
10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus

11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
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
adopted 25 October 1992
based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
18 years of age; universal
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 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
unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members are elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; to 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 32, TS 25, Labor 23, Farmers National Union 20 (combined with Civil Democracy), Liberal Democrats/Order and Justice 11, New Union Social Liberals 10, Liberal and Center Union 9, Liberal Movement 9 (as of December 2007)
Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President
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]
NA
ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red
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
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





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.
$59.59 billion (2007 est.)
$28.57 billion (2007 est.)
8% (2007 est.)
$16,700 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 5.2% ; industry: 34.2% ; services: 60.6% (2007 est.)
1.587 million (2007 est.)
agriculture: 15.8% ; industry: 28.2% ; services: 56% (2004)
3.2% ; note: based on survey data, official registered unemployment of 5.7% (2007 est.)
4% (2003)
lowest 10%: 2.7% ; highest 10%: 27.7% (2003)
36 (2005)
5.4% (2007 est.)
24% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $12.36 billion ; expenditures: $12.54 billion (2007 est.)
15.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish
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 jewelry
5.5% (2007 est.)
13.48 billion kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 16.5% ; hydro: 5.7% ; nuclear: 77.7% ; other: 0% (2001)
9.296 billion kWh (2005)
8.607 billion kWh (2005)
5.641 billion kWh (2005)
13,160 bbl/day (2005 est.)
57,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
145,100 bbl/day (2004)
187,800 bbl/day (2004)
12 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
2.916 billion cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
2.916 billion cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$5.32 billion (2007 est.)
$17.09 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
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)
$22.64 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Russia 24.3%, Germany 14.9%, Poland 9.5%, Latvia 4.8% (2006)

$6.302 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
$22.7 billion (30 June 2007)
$10.94 billion (2006 est.)
$1.183 billion (2006 est.)
$10.19 billion (2006)
litas (LTL)
LTL
litai per US dollar - 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003)
calendar year
$249.7 million (2004)
792,400 (2006)
4.718 million (2006)
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
AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001)
1.9 million (1997)
27 (may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations) (2001)
1.7 million (1997)
.lt
1.301 million (2007)
32 (2001)
1.083 million (2006)

87 (2007)
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)
total: 57 ; over 3,047 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 3 ; under 914 m: 53 (2007)

gas 1,696 km; oil 228 km; refined products 121 km (2006)
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)
total: 79,497 km ; paved: 70,549 km (includes 417 km of expressways) ; unpaved: 8,948 km (2005)
425 km (2005)
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)
Klaipeda

Ground Forces, Naval Force, Lithuanian Military Air Forces, National Defense Volunteer Forces (2005)
19-45 years of age for compulsory military service; 18 years of age for volunteers; 12-month conscript service obligation (2006)
males age 19-49: 830,368 ; females age 19-49: 830,524 (2005 est.)
males age 19-49: 590,606 ; females age 19-49: 676,102 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 29,689 ; females age 19-49: 28,543 (2005 est.)
1.2% (2006; 1.23% 2007 est.)

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

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

