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Lithuania Facts
| Below follow a presentation of important facts about Lithuania. You can scroll or click your level of interest. |
| INTRODUCTION - LITHUANIA |
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.
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| 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
Area - comparative:
Slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,273 km
border countries:
Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 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 292 m
Natural resources:
peat, arable land, amber
Land use:
arable land: 44.81%
permanent crops: 0.9%
other: 54.29% (2005)
Irrigated land:
70 sq km (2003)
Environment - current issues:
contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, 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: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note:
fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits
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| PEOPLE - LITHUANIA |
Population:
3,565,205 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.5% (male 264,668/female 250,997)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 1,214,236/female 1,263,198)
65 years and over: 16% (male 197,498/female 374,608) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 39 years
male: 36.4 years
female: 41.6 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.284% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
11.12 deaths/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.)
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: 99.7%
female: 99.6% (2003 est.)
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| 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: 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; election last held 13 and 27 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
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are 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 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 - Labor 29, Homeland Union 26, Social Democrats 23, Civil Democracy (split from Labor) 11, Liberal Movement (formerly Liberal Political Group) 11, National Farmer's Union (formerly Farmers and New Democracy Union) 11, Social Liberal 10, Liberal Democrats 9, Liberal and Center Union 8, independents 3 (as of late-July 2006)
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President
Political parties and leaders:
Civil Democracy Party [Viktor MUNTIANAS]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI]; National Farmer's Union [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS]; Labor Party [Kestutis DAUKSYS]; Liberal and Center Union [Arturas ZUOKAS]; Liberal Democratic Party [Rolandas PAKSAS]; Liberal Movement [Petras AUSTREVICIUS]; Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD [Valentinas STUNDYS]; Lithuanian People's Union for a Fair Lithuania [Julius VESELKA]; Lithuanian Social Democratic Party [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS]; Social Liberal/New Union [Arturas PAULAUSKAS]; Social Union of Christian Conservatives [Gediminas VAGNORIUS]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists [Stanislovas BUSKEVICIUS]
International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BA, 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, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red
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| 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 3.7% in 2006, while wages grew 17.6%, contributing to rising inflation. Exports and imports continue to grow strongly, and the current account deficit rose to nearly 10% of GDP in 2006. 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, but foreign direct investment declined in 2006.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$59.98 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$38.35 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.8% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$16,800 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 33.3%
services: 61.4% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
1.603 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 15.8%
industry: 28.2%
services: 56% (2004)
Unemployment rate:
5.7% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line:
3.7%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 27.7% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36 (2005)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.8% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
26.6% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $9.415 billion
expenditures: $9.761 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Public debt:
17.3% of GDP (2007 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 jewelry
Industrial production growth rate:
7.4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
13.48 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:
9.296 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
8.607 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:
5.641 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production:
13,160 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
57,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:
145,100 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:
93,000 bbl/day (2004)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004)
Natural gas - consumption:
2.916 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
22.916 billion cu m (2005)
Current account balance:
$5.26 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$17.18 billion f.o.b. (2007 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:
Russia 15%, Latvia 12.8%, Germany 10.5%, Poland 6.3%, Estonia 5.8%, UK 4.6%, Denmark 4.1%, Belarus 4% (2007)
Imports:
22.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
mineral products, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals
Imports - partners:
Russia 18.1%, Germany 14.9%, Poland 10.6%, Latvia 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2007) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$5.22 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external:
$7.721 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Currency (code):
litas (LTL)
Exchange rates:
litass (LTL) per US dollar - 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
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| COMMUNICATIONS - LITHUANIA |
Telephones - main lines in use:
799,400 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
4.912 million (2007)
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 (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
27 (may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations) (2001)
Internet country code:
.lt
Internet hosts:
812,083 (2008)
Internet users:
1.333 million (2007)
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| 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)
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: 79,984 km
paved: 70,997 km (includes 309 km of expressways)
unpaved: 8,987 km (2006)
Waterways:
441 km (2006)
Merchant marine:
total: 45
by type: cargo 23, container 2, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 13
foreign-owned: 6 (Denmark 5, Ukraine 1)
registered in other countries: 28 (Antigua and Barbuda 5, Cook Islands 1, North Korea 1, Malta 1, Norway 1, Panama 7, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9, unknown 3) (2008)
Ports and terminals: Klaipeda
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| MILITARY - LITHUANIA |
Military branches:
Ground Forces, Navy, Lithuanian Military Air Forces, National Defense Volunteer Forces (SKAT) (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:
male: 25,907
female: 24,735 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures
1.2% of GDP (2006; 1.23% 2007 est.)
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Source: CIA Factbook
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