Lithuania country profile

27 August 2006
by eub2 -- last modified 04 January 2008

Lithuania is the southernmost of the three Baltic states – and the largest and most populous of them. Lithuania became a member state of the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Lietuva

Lithuania is the southernmost of the three Baltic states – and the largest and most populous of them. Lithuania was the first occupied Soviet republic to break free from the Soviet Union and restore its sovereignty via the declaration of independence on 11 March 1990.

Lithuania’s landscape is flat, except for low hills in the western uplands and eastern highlands. The highest point is Aukštasis at 294 metres. Lithuania has 722 rivers, more than 2 800 lakes and 99 km of the Baltic Sea coastline, which are mostly devoted to recreation and nature preservation. Forests cover 28% of the country.

84% of the population are ethnic Lithuanians. The two largest minorities are Poles with some 7% and Russians with about 6%. The Lithuanian language belongs to the family of Indo-European languages.

The Lithuanian capital Vilnius is a picturesque city on the banks of the rivers Neris and Vilnia, and it has one of the most impressive and biggest old towns in Eastern Europe. Vilnius University, founded in 1579, is a Renaissance-style complex with countless inner courtyards, forming a city within a city.

The Lithuanian President is elected directly for a five-year term and has the greatest powers in the field of foreign and security policies. The unicameral Lithuanian Parliament, the Seimas, has 141 members.

Lithuanian cuisine is famous for cold beet soup, Lithuanian sausage and potato meals, the most popular of which are potato pancakes and Cepelinai – potato dumplings stuffed with meat, curd cheese or mushrooms.

In 2009, Lithuania will celebrate its Millennium - the name Lithuania was mentioned for the first time in 1009 in the Annales Quedlinburgenses books.

Area: 65 301 km²
Population: 3.4 million
Capital city: Vilnius
Currency: 1 litas = 100 centas, 1 euro = 3.45 litas (LTL) (Dec. 2006)
National day: 16 February, 6 July
EU-membership: 1 May 2004

Head of State: President Valdas Adamkus
Head of Government: Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas
Foreign Minister: Petras Vaitiekunas
Government: Since 18 July 2006 newly formed minority government (centre-left) made up of Social Democrats, Farmers' Party, and Liberal and Centre Union with the approval of the Conservatives
Parliament: Unicameral "Seimas", 141 members of which 71 elected by majority vote and 70 by proportional representation

GDP: € 20.56 million (2005)
GDP per capita in PPS: €5.983 (2005)
Economic growth in real terms: + 7.5% (2005)

Links:
Head of State: http://www.president.lt
Head of Government: http://www.ministraspirmininkas.lt
Government: http://www.lrvk.lt
Foreign Minister: http://www.urm.lt
Parliament: http://www.lrs.lt

Map of Lithuania


Source: European Commission, Slovenia EU Presidency