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Lithuania
Republic of Lithuania National
name: Lietuvos Respublika President: Valdas Adamkus (2004) Prime Minister: Gediminas Kirkilas
(2006)
Current government officials
Total area: 25,174 sq mi (65,200 sq
km) Population (2008 est.): 3,565,205
(growth rate: –0.2%); birth rate: 9/1000; infant mortality rate:
6.5/1000; life expectancy: 74.6; density per sq km: 54
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Vilnius, 543,500 Other large cities: Kaunas, 379,800;
Klaipéda, 193,400 Monetary
unit: Litas
Languages:
Lithuanian 82% (official), Russian 8%, Polish 6%
(2001)
Ethnicity/race:
Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%,
other or unspecified 3.6% (2001)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4%,
Protestant (including Lutheran, evangelical Christian Baptist) 2%,
none 10% (2001)
National Holiday:
Independence Day, February 16 Literacy: 100% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$59.64 billion; per capita $17,700. Real growth rate: 8.8%.
Inflation: 5.8%. Unemployment: 3.5%. Arable land:
45%. Agriculture: grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax,
vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish. Labor force: 1.61 million;
industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (1997 est.).
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. Natural
resources: peat, arable land, amber. Exports: $10.95
billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): mineral products 23%, textiles and
clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood
products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001). Imports: $13.33 billion
f.o.b. (2005 est.): mineral products, machinery and equipment,
transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals.
Major trading partners: Germany, Latvia, Russia, France, UK,
Sweden, Estonia, Poland, Netherlands, Denmark, U.S., Switzerland
(2004). Communications: Telephones:
main lines in use: 1.142 million (2001); mobile cellular: 500,000
(2001). Radio broadcast stations: AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1
(2001). Radios: 1.9 million (1997). Television broadcast
stations: 27; note: Lithuania has approximately 27 broadcasting
stations, but may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater
stations (2001). Televisions: 1.7 million (1997). Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): 32 (2001). Internet users:
341,000 (2001). Transportation:
Railways: total: 1,998 km (2002). Highways: total: 75,243
km; paved: 68,697 km; unpaved: 6,546 km (2000). Waterways: 600
km perennially navigable. Ports and harbors: Butinge, Kaunas,
Klaipeda. Airports: 87 (2002). International disputes: in May 2003, the
Russian Parliament ratified a 1997 land and maritime boundary treaty
with Lithuania, which had ratified the treaty in 1999, legalizing
limits of former Soviet republic borders; the Latvian Parliament has
not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania,
primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights; discussions are
still ongoing among Russia, Lithuania, and the EU concerning a
simplified transit document for residents of the Kaliningrad coastal
exclave to transit through Lithuania to Russia.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Lithuania is situated on the eastern shore of
the Baltic Sea and borders Latvia on the north, Belarus on the east and
south, and Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia on the southwest.
It is a country of gently rolling hills, many forests, rivers and streams,
and lakes. Its principal natural resource is agricultural land.
Government
Parliamentary democracy.
History
The Liths, or Lithuanians, united in the 12th
century under the rule of Mindaugas, who became king in 1251. Through
marriage, one of the later Lithuanian rulers became the king of Poland
(Ladislaus II) in 1386, uniting the countries. In 1410, the Poles and
Lithuanians defeated the powerful Teutonic Knights at Tannenberg. From the
14th to the 16th century, Poland and Lithuania made up one of medieval
Europe's largest empires, stretching from the Black Sea almost to Moscow.
The two countries formed a confederation for almost 200 years, and in 1569
they formally united. Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland in
1772, 1792, and 1795. As a consequence, Lithuania came under Russian rule
after the last partition. Russia attempted to immerse Lithuania in Russian
culture and language, but anti-Russian sentiment continued to grow.
Following World War I and the collapse of Russia, Lithuania declared
independence (1918), under German protection.
The republic was then annexed by the Soviet
Union in 1940. From June 1941 to 1944, it was occupied by German troops,
with whom Lithuania served in World War II. Some 240,000 Jews were
massacred in Lithuania during the Nazi years. In 1944, the Soviets again
annexed Lithuania.
The Lithuanian independence movement reemerged
in 1988. In 1990, Vytautas Landsbergis, the non-Communist head of the
largest Lithuanian popular movement (Sajudis), was elected president. On
the same day, the Supreme Council rejected Soviet rule and declared the
restoration of Lithuania's independence, the first Baltic republic to take
this action. Confrontation with the Soviet Union ensued along with
economic sanctions, but they were lifted after both sides agreed to a
face-saving compromise.
Lithuania's independence was quickly recognized
by major European and other nations, including the United States. The
Soviet Union finally recognized the independence of the Baltic states on
Sept. 6, 1991. UN admittance followed on Sept. 17, 1991. Successful
implementation of structural and legislative reforms in Lithuania
attracted greater direct foreign investments by the mid-1990s.
In late 2002, Lithuania was accepted for
membership in the EU and NATO, and it joined both in 2004. In Jan. 2003
Rolandas Paksas defeated the incumbent, Valdas Adamkus, in the
presidential election. It was a surprising upset, given that Adamkus had
helped bring about his country's entry into NATO and the European Union.
In April 2004, President Paksas was removed from office after his
conviction for dealings with Russian mobsters. It was Lithuania's worst
political crisis since independence from the Soviet Union. In July 2004,
Valdas Adamkus was again elected president.
On Oct. 12, 2008, in parliamentary elections
turnout was 48.5%. The Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats won
19.7% of the vote (18 of 70 seats). The National Revival Party came in
second with 15.1% (13) of the vote, and the Order and Justice was third
with 12.7% (11) of the vote.
See also Encyclopedia: Lithuania. U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Lithuania Statistics Lithuania http://www.std.lt/web/main.php .
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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