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)
Literacy: 100%
(2003 est.)
Economic summary:GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $50.12 billion; per capita $13,900.
Real growth rate: 6.7%. Inflation: 2.6%.
Unemployment: 5.3%. 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.
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.
