Lithuania

Lietuvos Respublika Republic of Lithuania
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Tautos jėga vienybėje! "The strength of the nation is unity!"
Anthem: Tautiška giesmė
Location of  Lithuania (orange) – on the European continent (camel  white) – in the European Union (camel)   [Legend]
Capital	28px Vilnius 54°40′N 25°19′E
Largest city	capital
Official languages	Lithuanian
Government	Parliamentary democracy
- President	Valdas Adamkus
- Prime Minister	Gediminas Kirkilas
Independence	from the Soviet Union
- Declared	March 11 1990
- Recognized	6 September 1991
Accession to EU	1 May 2004
Area
- Total	65,303 km² (123rd) 25,212 sq mi
- Water (%)	1,35%
Population
- 2006 estimate	3,483,972
- Density	55/km² 137/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$49.49 billion
- Per capita	$14,158
HDI  (2004)	0.857 (high)
Currency	Lithuanian litas (Lt) (LTL)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Internet TLD	.lt1
Calling code	+370
1 Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states.

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in northern Europe. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of the Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest. Lithuania has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May, 2004.

Geography

The largest and most populous of the Baltic states, Lithuania has 60 miles of sandy coastline, of which only 24 miles face the open Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia. Lithuania's major warm-water port of Klaipėda lies at the narrow mouth of Curonian Lagoon, a shallow lagoon extending south to Kaliningrad and separated from the Baltic sea by Curonian Spit, where Kuršių Nerija National Park was established for its remarkable sand dunes.

The Neman River and some of its tributaries are used for internal shipping (in 2000, 89 inland ships carried 900,000 tons of cargo, which is less than 1% of the total goods traffic). Between 56.27 and 53.53 latitude and 20.56 and 26.50 longitude, Lithuania is glacially flat, except for morainic hills in the western uplands and eastern highlands no higher than 300 meters. The terrain is marked by numerous small lakes and swamps, and a mixed forest zone covers 30% of the country. The growing season lasts 169 days in the east and 202 days in the west, with most farmland consisting of sandy- or clay-loam soils. Limestone, clay, sand, and gravel are Lithuania's primary natural resources, but the coastal shelf offers perhaps 1.6 million m³ (10 million barrels) of oil deposits, and the southeast could provide high yields of iron ore and granite. According to some geographers, the Geographical Center of Europe is just north of Lithuania's capital, Vilnius.

Geographic coordinates: 56°00′N 24°00′E

Physical environment

Lithuania is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania's boundaries have changed several times since 1918, but they have been stable since 1945. Currently, Lithuania covers an area of about 65,200 square kilometers. About the size of West Virginia, it is larger than Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, or Switzerland.

Lithuania's northern neighbor is Latvia. The two countries share a border that extends 453 kilometers. Lithuania's eastern border with Belarus is longer, stretching 502 kilometers. The border with Poland on the south is relatively short, only ninety-one kilometers, but is very busy because of international traffic. Lithuania also has a 227-kilometer border with Russia. Russian territory adjacent to Lithuania is Kaliningrad Oblast, which is the northern part of the former German East Prussia, including the city of Kaliningrad. Finally, Lithuania has 108 kilometers of Baltic seashore with an ice-free harbor at Klaipėda. The Baltic coast offers sandy beaches and pine forests and attracts thousands of vacationers.

Topography, drainage, and climate

Lithuania lies at the edge of the East European Plain. Its landscape was shaped by the glaciers of the last Ice Age, which retreated about 25,000-22,000 years BP (Before Present). Lithuania's terrain is an alternation of moderate lowlands and highlands. The highest elevation is 297 meters above sea level, found in the eastern part of the republic and separated from the uplands of the western region of Samogitia by the very fertile plains of the southwestern and central regions. The landscape is punctuated by 2,833 lakes larger than 10,000 m² and 1,600 smaller ponds. The majority of the lakes are found in the eastern part of the country. Lithuania also has 758 rivers longer than ten kilometers. The largest river is the Nemunas (total length 917 km), which originates in Belarus. The other larger waterways are the Neris (510 km), Venta (346 km), and Šešupė (298 km) rivers. However, only 600 kilometers of Lithuania's rivers are navigable.

Detailed relief map of Lithuania

Once a heavily forested land, Lithuania's territory today consists of only 28 percent woodlands—primarily pine, spruce, and birch forests. Ash and oak are very scarce. The forests are rich in mushrooms and berries, as well as a variety of plants.

The country's climate, which ranges between maritime and continental, is relatively mild. Average temperatures on the coast are 1.6 °C in January and 17.8 °C in July. In Vilnius the average temperatures are 2.1 °C in January and 18.1 °C in July. The average annual precipitation is 717 millimeters on the coast and 490 millimeters in the eastern part of the country. The growing season lasts 202 days in the western part of the country and 169 days in the eastern part.

The longest measured temperature records from the Baltic area cover about 250 years. The data show that there were warm periods during the latter half of the 18th century, and that the 19th century was a relatively cool period. An early 20th century warming culminated in the 1930s, followed by a smaller cooling that lasted until the 1960s. A warming trend has persisted since then.

Lithuania experienced a drought in 2002, causing forest and peat bog fires. The country suffered along with the rest of Northwestern Europe during a heat wave in the summer of 2006.

The environment

Photo of the Curian Spit on the Baltic Sea from the air

Concerned with environmental deterioration, Lithuanian governments have created several national parks and reservations. The country's flora and fauna have suffered, however, from an almost fanatical drainage of land for agricultural use. Environmental problems of a different nature were created by the development of environmentally unsafe industries, including the Ignalina nuclear power plant, which still operates two reactors similar to those at Chornobyl' (Chernobyl' in Russian), and the chemical and other industries that pollute the air and empty wastes into rivers and lakes. According to calculations by experts, about one-third of Lithuanian territory is covered by polluted air at any given time. Problems exist mainly in the cities, such as Vilnius, Kaunas, Jonava, Mažeikiai, Elektrėnai, and Naujoji Akmenė—the sites of fertilizer and other chemical plants, an oil refinery, power station, and a cement factory.

Water quality has also been an issue. The city of Kaunas, with a population of about 400,000, had no water purification plant until 1999; sewage was sent directly into the Neman River. Tertiary wastewater treatment is scheduled to come on-line in 2007. River and lake pollution are other legacies of Soviet carelessness with the environment. The Courland Lagoon, for example, separated from the Baltic Sea by a strip of high dunes and pine forests, is about 85 percent contaminated. Beaches in the Baltic resorts, such as the well-known vacation area of Palanga, are frequently closed for swimming because of contamination. Forests affected by acid rain are found in the vicinity of Jonava, Mažeikiai, and Elektrėnai, which are the chemical, oil, and power-generation centers.

As a Soviet republic, Lithuania was among the first to introduce environmental regulations. However, because of Moscow's emphasis on increasing production and because of numerous local violations, technological backwardness, and political apathy, serious environmental problems now exist.

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases

Environment - international agreements:

• party to:

Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

• signed, but not ratified:

Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Natural resources

Lithuania's landscape is pleasing to the eye but modest in natural resources. The republic has an abundance of limestone, clay, quartz sand, gypsum sand, and dolomite, which are suitable for making high-quality cement, glass, and ceramics. There also is an ample supply of mineral water, but energy sources and industrial materials are all in short supply. Oil was discovered in Lithuania in the 1950s, but only a few wells operate, and all that do are located in the western part of the country. It is estimated that the Baltic Sea shelf and the western region of Lithuania hold commercially viable amounts of oil, but if exploited this oil would satisfy only about 20 percent of Lithuania's annual need for petroleum products for the next twenty years. Lithuania has a large amount of thermal energy along the Baltic Sea coast, however, which could be used to heat hundreds of thousands of homes, as is done in Iceland. In addition, iron ore deposits have been found in the southern region of Lithuania. But commercial exploitation of these deposits probably would require strip mining, which is environmentally unsound. Moreover, exploitation of these resources will depend on Lithuania's ability to attract capital and technology from abroad.

Natural resources:' peat, arable land

Land use:

• arable land: 35%
• permanent crops: 12%
• permanent pastures: 7%
• forests and woodland: 31%
• other: 15% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 430 km² (1993 est.)

Area and boundaries

Area:

• total: 65,200 km²
• land: 65,200 km²
• water: 0 km²

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 nautical miles (22 km)

Elevation extremes:

• lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
• highest point: Aukštojas Hill 294 m

History

Map showing changes in the territory of Lithuania from the 13th century to the present day.

Lithuania entered into European history when it was first mentioned in a medieval German manuscript, the Quedlinburg Chronicle, on 14 February, 1009. The Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas in 1236, and neighbouring countries referred to it as "the state of Lithuania." The official coronation of Mindaugas as King of Lithuania, on July 6, 1253, marked its recognition by Christendom, and the official recognition of Lithuanian statehood as the Kingdom of Lithuania.

During the early period of the Gediminas (1316-1430), the state occupied the territories of present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia. By the end of the fourteenth century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched across a substantial part of Europe, from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Lithuanian nobility, city dwellers and peasants accepted Christianity in 1385, following Poland's offer of its crown to Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Grand Duke Jogaila was crowned King of Poland on February 2, 1386. Lithuania and Poland were joined into a personal union, as both countries were ruled by the same Jagiellon dynasty.

In 1401, the formal union was dissolved as a result of disputes over legal terminology, and Vytautas, the cousin of Jogaila, became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Thanks to close cooperation, the armies of Poland and Lithuania achieved a great victory over Teutonic Knights in 1410 at the Battle of Grunwald, the biggest battle in medieval Europe.

A royal crown had been bestowed upon Vytautas in 1429 by Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor, but Polish magnates prevented the coronation of Vytautas by seizing the crown as it was being brought to him. A new crown was ordered in Germany and a new date set for the coronation, but a month later Vytautas died in an accident.

As a result of the growing centralised power of the Grand Principality of Moscow, in 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a member of the Commonwealth, Lithuania retained its sovereignty and its institutions, including a separate army, currency, statutory law which was digested in three Statutes of Lithuania. In 1795, the joint state was dissolved by the third Partition of the Commonwealth, which forfeited its lands to Russia, Prussia and Austria, under duress. Over ninety percent of Lithuania was incorporated into the Russian Empire and the remainder into Prussia.

On February 16, 1918, Lithuania re-established its independence. From July, 1918, until November of that year, Monaco-born King Mindaugas II was pronounced the titular monarch of Lithuania, until the country's parliament opted for a republican form of government. From the outset, territorial disputes with Poland (over the Vilnius region and the Suvalkai region) and with Germany (over the Klaipėda region, German: Memelland) preoccupied the foreign policy of the new nation. During the interwar period, the constitutional capital was Vilnius, although the city itself was in Poland from 1920 to 1939 and Poles and Jews made up a majority of the population of the city, with a small Lithuanian minority of only 0.8%. (see History of Vilnius for more details). The Lithuanian government at the time was relocated to Kaunas, which officially held the status of temporary capital.

In 1940, at the beginning 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 around 190,000 or 91% of the Lithuanian Jews were killed, resulting in one of the worst death rates of the Holocaust. After the retreat of the Wehrmacht, Lithuania was re-occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944.

During the Soviet and Nazi occupations between 1940 and 1954, Lithuania lost over 780,000 residents. An estimated 120,000 to 300,000 of that number were killed or exiled to Siberia by the Soviets, while others chose to emigrate to western countries.

Fifty years of communist rule ended with the advent of perestroika and glasnost in the late 1980s. Lithuania, led by Sąjūdis, an anti-communist and anti-Soviet independence movement, proclaimed its renewed independence on March 11, 1990. Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to do so, though Soviet forces unsuccessfully tried to suppress this secession. The Red Army attacked the Vilnius TV Tower on the night of January 13, 1991, an act that resulted in the death of 13 Lithuanian civilians. The last Red Army troops left Lithuania on August 31, 1993 — even earlier than they departed East Germany

On February 4, 1991, Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuanian independence. Sweden was the first to open an embassy in the country. The United States of America never recognized the Soviet claim to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Lithuania joined the United Nations on September 17, 1991. On May 31, 2001, Lithuania became the 141st member of the World Trade Organization. Since 1988, Lithuania has sought closer ties with the West, and so on January 4, 1994, it became the first of the Baltic states to apply for NATO membership. On March 29, 2004, it became a full and equal NATO member and on May 1, 2004, Lithuania joined the European Union.

Government and politics

Political map of Lithuania

File:Lithuanian President Valdus Adamkus and Vice President Dick Cheney at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania.jpg

Current President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus (right) meeting with Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney in Vilnius in May 2006.

Since Lithuania declared independence on March 11, 1990, it has kept strong democratic traditions. In the first general elections after the independence on October 25, 1992, 56.75% of the total number of voters supported the new constitution. Drafting the constitution was a long and complicated process. The role of the President fuelled the most heated debates. Drawing from the interwar experiences, politicians made many different proposals ranging from strong parliamentarism to the United States' model. Eventually a compromise semi-presidential system was agreed upon.

The Lithuanian head of state is the President, elected directly for a five-year term; he or she may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. The post of President is largely ceremonial with functions of overseeing foreign affairs and national security policy. The President is also the commander-in-chief. The President, with the approval of the parliamentary body, the Seimas, also appoints the prime minister and on the latter's nomination, appoints the rest of the cabinet, as well as a number of other top civil servants and the judges for all courts. The judges of the Constitutional Court (Konstitucinis Teismas), who serve for nine year terms, are appointed by the President (three judges), the Chairman of the Seimas (three judges) and the chairman of the Supreme Court (three judges). The unicameral Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has 141 members who are elected to four-year terms. 71 of the members of this legislative body are elected in single constituencies, and the other 70 are elected in a nationwide vote by proportional representation. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be represented in the Seimas.

Administration

Lithuania is subdivided into ten counties and sixty municipalities.

The current administrative division was established in 1994 and modified in 2000 to meet the requirements of the European Union. Lithuania has a three-tier administrative division: the country is divided into 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular — apskritis, plural — apskritys) that are further subdivided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: singular — savivaldybė, plural — savivaldybės) which consist of over 500 elderates (Lithuanian: singular — seniūnija, plural — seniūnijos).

The counties are ruled by county governors (Lithuanian: apskrities viršininkas) who are appointed by the central government. These officials ensure that the municipalities adhere to the laws of Lithuania and the constitution. County government oversees local governments and their implementation of the national laws, programs, and policies.

Municipalities are the most important unit. Some municipalities are historically called "district municipalities," and thus are often shortened to "district"; others are called "city municipalities," sometimes shortened to "city." Each municipality has its own elected government. In the past, the election of municipality councils occurred once every three years, but it now takes place every four years. The council elects the mayor of the municipality and other required personnel. The municipality councils also appoint elders to govern the elderates. There is currently a proposal for direct election of mayors and elders, however that would require an amendment to the constitution.

Elderates are the smallest units and they do not play a role in national politics. They were created so that people could receive necessary services close to their homes; for example, in rural areas the elderates register births and deaths. They are most active in the social sector: they identify needy individuals or families and distribute welfare or organize other forms of relief.

The current system of administrative division receives frequent criticism for being too bureaucratic and ineffective. Significant complaints are made about the number of counties, since they do not have much power vested in them. One proposal is to create four lands, a new administrative unit, the boundaries of which would be determined by the ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The benefit would be that the lands would follow natural boundaries, rather than being defined by bureaucrats or politicians. Another of the proposed solutions involves reducing the number of counties so that there would be five in total, each based in one of the five largest cities with populations of over 100,000. Others complain that elderates have no real power and receive too little attention; they could potentially become local initiative communities which could tackle many rural problems.

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

Economy

Vilnius Financial Centre is a symbol of rapid economic growth of Lithuania.

In 2003, prior to joining the European Union, Lithuania had the highest economic growth rate amongst all candidate and member countries, reaching 8.8% in the third quarter. In 2004 -7.3%; 2005 - 7.6%; 2006 - 7.4% growth in GDP reflected impressive economic development. Most of the trade Lithuania conducts is within the European Union.

It is a member of the World Trade Organization, and the European Union. By UN classification, Lithuania is a country with a high average income. The country boasts a well developed modern infrastructure of railways, airports and four lane highways. It has almost full employment, with an unemployment rate of only 2.9%. According to officially published figures, EU membership fuelled a booming economy, increased outsourcing into the country, and boosted the tourism sector. The litas, the national currency, has been pegged to the Euro since February 2, 2002 at the rate of EUR 1.00 = LTL 3.4528, and Lithuania is expected to switch to the Euro on 1 January 2009.

Klaipėda port is the only port in Lithuania and is vital to its economy.

Like other countries in the region (Estonia, Latvia) Lithuania also has a flat tax rate rather than a progressive scheme. Lithuanian income levels still lag behind the rest of the older EU members, with per capita GDP in 2007 at 60% of the EU average. Lower wages may have been a factor that in 2004 influenced the trend of emigration to wealthiest EU countries, something that has been made legally possible as a result of accession to the European Union. In 2006 income tax was reduced to 27% and a further reduction to 24% is expected in October of 2007. Income tax reduction and 19,1 % annual wage growth http://www.delfi.lt/news/economy/business/article.php?id=12277193 is starting to make an impact with some emigrants gradually beginning to come back. The latest official data show emigration in early 2006 to be 30% lower than the previous year, with 3,483 people leaving in four months.

Demographics

The great yard of Vilnius University, one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe. About 70% of Lithuanian high school graduates continue their studies in universities and colleges.

The oldest wooden church is located in Palūšė. Lithuania has strong Catholic traditions.

Ethnic diversity

83.6% of the Lithuanian population are ethnic Lithuanians who speak the Lithuanian language (one of the two surviving members of the Baltic language group), which is the official language of the state. Several sizable minorities exist, such as Poles (6.7%), Russians (6.3%), and Belarusians (1.2%).

Poles are the largest minority, concentrated in southeast Lithuania (the Vilnius region). Russians are the second largest minority, concentrated mostly in two cities; they constitute sizeable minorities in Vilnius (14%) and Klaipėda (28%) and a majority in the town of Visaginas (65%). About 3,000 Roma live in Lithuania, mostly in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Panevėžys; their organizations are supported by the National Minority and Emigration Department.

Because of Soviet occupation, most Lithuanians can communicate in Russian. According to the Eurostat poll around 80% of the Lithuanians can hold a conversation in Russian and almost all are familiar with the most general phrases and expressions. Nowadays, most Lithuanian schools teach English as a first foreign language, but students may also study German, or, in some schools, French. Schools where Russian and Polish are the primary languages of education exist in the areas populated by these minorities.

Religion

The historically predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Church has been the majority confession since the Christianization of Lithuania in the end of fourteenth century and beginning of fifteenth century (in 1387 Lithuania, the Highland and in 1413 Samogitia, the Lowland). Today, 79% of Lithuanians are Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church used to be an influential factor in the country, and some priests actively led the resistance against the Communist regime and, after independence was regained, against socialism and liberalism, especially in ethical questions.

The nationally renowned anti-communist resistance shrine, the Hill of Crosses, upon which thousands of Latin rite crosses of all sizes have been placed, is located near the city of Šiauliai. Erecting Latin crosses on the hill was forbidden by the Czarist Russian Orthodox authorities in 1800s. In the twentieth century, the Soviet authorities also forbade such explicit religious symbols. The crosses were removed in 1961 with tractors and bulldozers, but despite Soviet prohibitions, Lithuanian Roman Catholics continued to put small crucifixes and larger crosses on the Hill of Crosses. Pope John Paul II visited the hill during his visit to Lithuania, primarily because it was a sign of anti-Communist Catholic resistance, as well as a Roman Catholic religious site. Lithuania was the only majority-Catholic Soviet republic.

The diverse Protestant community (1.9% of the total population) is much smaller than the Roman Catholic Church. Small Protestant communities are dispersed throughout the northern and western parts of the country. Lithuania was historically positioned between the two German-controlled states of Livonia to the north and the Protestant formerly monastic, Teutonic State of Prussia to its south. In the 16th century, from those two regions Lutheran Protestantism started to spread into the country. Since 1945 Lutheranism in the country has declined.

Various Protestant churches have established missions in Lithuania since 1990, including the United Methodists, the Baptist Union, the Mennonites, and World Venture.

The country also has minority communities of Eastern Orthodoxy (mainly among the Russian minority), to which about 4.9% of the total population belongs, as well as of Judaism, Islam, and Karaism (an ancient offshoot of Judaism represented by a long-standing community in Trakai), which together make up another 1.6% of the population.

Health and welfare

As of 2004 Lithuanian life expectancy at birth was 66 years for males and 78 for females. The infant mortality rate was 8.0 per 1,000 births. The annual population growth rate in 2004 declined by -.5% in 2004. Less than 2% of the population live beneath the poverty line, and the adult literacy rate is 99.6%.

Lithuanians have a high suicide rate: 91.7 per 100,000 persons, the highest in the world in 2000, followed by the Russian Federation (82.5), Belarus (73.1), Latvia (68.5), and Ukraine (62.1). This problem has been studied by a number of health organizations.

Culture

A sculpture of angel — a symbol of tongue-in-cheek Republic at Užupis, Vilnius.

• List of famous Lithuanians
• Lithuanian literature
• Lithuanian mythology
• Music of Lithuania
• Symbols of Lithuania

Sources and Futher Reading

• Lerner Publications Company. 1992. Lithuania. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co. ISBN 0822528045 and ISBN 9780822528043
• Smith, Hedrick. 1990. The new Russians. New York: Random House. ISBN 0394581903 and ISBN 9780394581903
• Iwaskiw, Walter R. 1996. Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania: country studies. Area handbook series, 550-113. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. ISBN 0844408514 and ISBN 9780844408514
• Docalavich, Heather. 2006. Lithuania. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers. ISBN 142220054X

External links

• Plenary Sittings. Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved April 28, 2007.
• Lithuania Map. Lithuania...The Pearl of the Baltics. Retrieved April 28, 2007.
• Johnson, N. About Lithuania. Poland Lithuania Tours. Retrieved April 28, 2007.

Maps and GIS

• Lithuania Map. Mapquest. Retrieved April 28, 2007.

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