Lithuania
Country Guide

Explore Lithuania

Lithuania with its capital Vilnius is located in Europe (Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea). It covers some 65,301 square kilometers (slightly larger than West Virginia) with 2,823,860 citizens. Lithuanian, Russian and Polish are the common languages used in Lithuania (consider regional differences). Belarus, Latvia, Poland and Russia are bordering countries.

Lithuania is a Baltic country in Northern Europe. It has a Baltic Sea coastline in the west and surrounded by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east, Poland to the southwest, and Russia (Kaliningrad) to the west. Lithuania, first formed in the middle of the 13th century, was a huge feudal country stretching from the Baltic to the Black sea in the middle ages and in 1569 entered an union with Poland to form a commonwealth. The most southern of the Baltic countries, Lithuania's historic heritage sets it quite apart from the other two. Visiting this small but colourful country today, few travelers might guess that this was once the largest nation in Europe. A few monuments remind of those golden ages, when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched out far into modern day Russia, Poland and Moldova, but even fewer are still inside the Lithuanian borders.

Popular Destinations in Lithuania

Administrative regions of Lithuania

• Alytus County
• Kaunas County
• Klaipeda County
• Marijampole County
• Panevezys
• Siauliai County
• Taurage County
• Telsiu apskritis
• Utena County
• Vilniaus apskritis

About the country

The topography is lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil. The average density of population is about 43 per km². The climate in Lithuania can be described as transitional, between maritime and continental with wet, moderate winters and summers. Potential natural disasters are occasional floods, droughts.

To reach someone Lithuania dial +370 prior to a number. The local cellular networks are operated on 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3G, 4G. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".lt". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery chaarger), keep in min the local 230 V - 50 Hz (plugs: C, F). The sign for the locally used currency Litas is LTL.

Three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red; yellow symbolizes golden fields, as well as the sun, light, and goodness; green represents the forests of the countryside, in addition to nature, freedom, and hope; red stands for courage and the blood spilled in defense of the homeland.

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. In January 2014, Lithuania assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term; in January 2015, Lithuania joined the euro zone.

Geography

Area
Total (World Rank: 124)	65,300	sq km
Land (World Rank: 122)	62,680	sq km
Water (World Rank: 83)	2,620	sq km
Forest (World Rank: 132)	9.40	%
Comparative	slightly larger than West Virginia
Coastline
90
Landborder
1549
Elevation
Highest point (World Rank: 208)	294	m
Agricultural land
Total (World Rank: 82)	44.80	%
Arable (World Rank: 23)	34.90	%
Permanent crops (World Rank: 150)	0.50	%
Permanent pastures (World Rank: 132)	9.40	%
Irrigated land (World Rank: 150)	44	sq km
Map reference
Europe
Environment
Issues	contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases
Agreement party	- Air Pollution - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides - Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants - Air Pollution-Sulphur 85 - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94 - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds - Biodiversity - Climate Change - Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol - Desertification - Endangered Species - Environmental Modification - Hazardous Wastes - Law of the Sea - Ozone Layer Protection - Ship Pollution - Wetlands
Hazzards	occasional floods, droughts
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia, west of Belarus
Climate
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
Terrain
lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil

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People

Population
Total (World Rank: 140)	2,823,860
Deathrate (World Rank: 2)	1.46	%
Birthrate (World Rank: 192)	0.99	%
Growthrate (World Rank: 223)	-1.08	%
Migration rate (World Rank: 163)	-0.61	%
Fertility rate (World Rank: 182)	1.59	%
Median age
Male (World Rank: 40)	39.70
Female (World Rank: 4)	47.10
Age structure
0 14 male (World Rank: 150)	217,438
0 14 female (World Rank: 150)	206,533
15 24 male (World Rank: 150)	161,965
15 24 female (World Rank: 149)	151,197
25 54 male (World Rank: 141)	557,504
25 54 female (World Rank: 139)	573,364
55 64 male (World Rank: 123)	177,157
55 64 female (World Rank: 118)	223,110
65 x male (World Rank: 105)	187,859
65 x female (World Rank: 91)	367,732
Health
Infant mortality rate (World Rank: 192)	0.38	%
Life expectancy total (World Rank: 111)	75	years
Life expectancy female (World Rank: 64)	81	years
Life expectancy male (World Rank: 146)	70	years
Physicians per 1000 (World Rank: 10)	4.33
Hospital bed per 1000 (World Rank: 13)	7.00
Sanitation access total (World Rank: 85)	92.40	%
Obesity adult (World Rank: 43)	26.30	%
Drinking water access (World Rank: 96)	96.60	%

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Energy

Electricity
Production (World Rank: 128)	3,433,000,000	kWh
Consumption (World Rank: 93)	9,848,000,000	kWh
Export (World Rank: 60)	730,000,000	kWh
Import (World Rank: 30)	7,938,000,000	kWh
Source fossil (World Rank: 130)	59.90	%
Source nuclear (World Rank: 131)	3.20	%
Source renew (World Rank: 33)	18.30	%
Crude oil
Production (World Rank: 88)	2,000	bbl / day
Exports (World Rank: 70)	1,238	bbl / day
Imports (World Rank: 35)	160,800	bbl / day
Proved reserves (World Rank: 90)	12,000,000	bbl
Refined products
Production (World Rank: 54)	174,800	bbl / day
Consumption (World Rank: 101)	53,000	bbl / day
Export (World Rank: 35)	145,600	bbl / day
Import (World Rank: 101)	27,520	bbl / day
Natural gas
Consumption (World Rank: 76)	2,930,000,000	m³
Import (World Rank: 18)	0	m³
Carbon footprint
11200000

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Nation

Budget
Education (World Rank: 84)	5	% of GDP
Military (World Rank: 74)	1	% of GDP
Health (World Rank: 89)	7	% of GDP
Surplus (World Rank: 38)	0	% of GDP
National symbol
white stork
National colours
yellow
Adjective
Lithuanian
Noun
Lithuanian(s)
Background
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. In January 2014, Lithuania assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term; in January 2015, Lithuania joined the euro zone.
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red; yellow symbolizes golden fields, as well as the sun, light, and goodness; green represents the forests of the countryside, in addition to nature, freedom, and hope; red stands for courage and the blood spilled in defense of the homeland

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Economy

Gdp
Purchasing power parity (World Rank: 87)	86,050,000,000	USD
Real growth rate (World Rank: 121)	2.30	%
Per capita purchasing power parity (World Rank: 61)	30,000	USD
Source agriculture (World Rank: 147)	3.30	%
Source industry (World Rank: 88)	28.70	%
Source service (World Rank: 77)	68.10	%
Labourforce
Total (World Rank: 131)	1,478,000
In poverty (World Rank: 93)	22.20	%
Products
Industries	- agricultural machinery - amber jewelry - app/software development - biotechnology - computers - electric motors - electronic components - fertilizer - food processing - freezers - furniture - information technology - lasers - metal-cutting machine tools - optical equipment - petroleum refining - refrigerators - shipbuilding - small ships - televisions - textiles - video game development
Agriculture	- beef - cheese - eggs - fish - flax - grain - milk - pork - potatoes - sugar beets - vegetables
Exports	- chemicals - equipment - foodstuffs - machinery - plastics - refined fuel - textiles
Imports	- chemicals - clothing - equipment - machinery - metals - natural gas - oil - textiles - transport equipment

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Communication

Phone
Landline total (World Rank: 92)	530,871
Landline per 100 (World Rank: 93)	19.00
Mobile per 100 (World Rank: 30)	147.00
Assessment	0
Internet
Users (World Rank: 110)	2,122,880
Population (World Rank: 64)	74.40	%

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Transport

Air
Airports paved (World Rank: 74)	22.00
Airports unpaved (World Rank: 72)	39.00
Rail
Total length (World Rank: 79)	1,768
Road
Total length (World Rank: 59)	84,166
Paved length (World Rank: 37)	72,297
Unpaved length (World Rank: 74)	11,869
Water
Total length (World Rank: 88)	441

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