"text":"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 2015, Lithuania joined the euro zone, and it joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2018."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia, west of Belarus"
"text":"fairly even population distribution throughout the country, but somewhat greater concentrations in the southern cities of Vilnius and Kaunas, and the western port of Klaipeda"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"occasional floods, droughts"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits"
"text":"<br>Pasaulio enciklopedija – naudingas bendrosios informacijos šaltinis. (Lithuanian)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"fairly even population distribution throughout the country, but somewhat greater concentrations in the southern cities of Vilnius and Kaunas, and the western port of Klaipeda"
"text":"water pollution; air pollution; deforestation; threatened animal and plant species; chemicals and waste materials released into the environment contaminate soil and groundwater; soil degradation and erosion"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, 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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Air pollutants":{
"particulate matter emissions":{
"text":"11.49 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)"
},
"carbon dioxide emissions":{
"text":"12.96 megatons (2016 est.)"
},
"methane emissions":{
"text":"3.15 megatons (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers"
"text":"meaning of the name \"Lietuva\" remains unclear and is debated by scholars; it may derive from the Lietava, a stream in east central Lithuania"
"text":"named after the Vilnia River, which flows into the Neris River at Vilnius; the river name derives from the Lithuanian word \"vilnis\" meaning \"a surge\""
"text":"16 February 1918 (from Soviet Russia and Germany); 11 March 1990 (declared from the Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 6 July 1253 (coronation of MINDAUGAS, traditional founding date); 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day (or National Day), 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania established its statehood and its concomitant independence from Soviet Russia and Germany; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared the restoration of Lithuanian statehood and its concomitant independence from the Soviet Union"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"several previous; latest adopted by referendum 25 October 1992, entered into force 2 November 1992"
"text":"proposed by at least one fourth of all Parliament members or by petition of at least 300,000 voters; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament in each of two readings three months apart and a presidential signature; amendments to constitutional articles on national sovereignty and constitutional amendment procedure also require three-fourths voter approval in a referendum; amended many times, last in 2019"
"text":"Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by Parliament"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 and 26 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by Parliament"
"text":"Gitanas NAUSEDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Gitanas NAUSEDA (independent) 66.7%, Ingrida SIMONYTE (independent) 33.3%; Saulius SKVERNELIS (LVZS) approved as prime minister by Parliament vote - 62 to 10"
"text":"unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote and 70 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 11 and 25 October 2020 (next to be held in October 2024)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TS-LKD 50, LVZS 32, LSDP 13, LRLS 13, Freedom 11, DP 10, AWPL 3, LSDDP 3, LT 1, Greens 1, independent 4; composition - men 102, women 39, percent of women 27.7%"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of 37 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Seimas; judges serve 5-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the Seimas from nominations - 3 each by the president of the republic, the Seimas chairperson, and the Supreme Court president; judges serve 9-year, nonrenewable terms; one-third of membership reconstituted every 3 years"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Court of Appeals; district and local courts"
"text":"Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles or LLRA [Valdemar TOMASEVSKI]<br>Farmers and Greens Union or LVZS [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS]<br>Freedom Party or LP [Ausrine ARMONAITE]<br>Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats or TS-LKD [Gabrielius LANDSBERGIS]<br>Labor Party or DP [Viktor USPASKICH]<br>Lithuanian Center Party or LCP [Naglis PUTEIKIS]<br>Lithuanian Green Party or LZP [Remigijus LAPINSKAS]]<br>Lithuanian Liberal Movement or LS or LRLS [Viktorija CMILYTE]<br>Lithuanian List or LL [Darius KUOLYS]<br>Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP [Gintautas PALUCKAS]<br>Lithuanian Social Democratic Labor Party or LSDDP [Gediminas KIRKILAS]<br>Freedom and Justice Party or LT [Remigijus ZEMAITAITIS]"
"text":"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"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"mounted knight known as Vytis (the Chaser), white stork; national colors: yellow, green, red"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1918, restored 1990; written in 1898 while Lithuania was a part of Russia; banned during the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1990"
"text":"<p>After the country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, Lithuania faced an initial dislocation that is typical during transitions from a planned economy to a free-market economy. Macroeconomic stabilization policies, including privatization of most state-owned enterprises, and a strong commitment to a currency board arrangement led to an open and rapidly growing economy and rising consumer demand. Foreign investment and EU funding aided in the transition. Lithuania joined the WTO in May 2001, the EU in May 2004, and the euro zone in January 2015, and is now working to complete the OECD accession roadmap it received in July 2015. In 2017, joined the OECD Working Group on Bribery, an important step in the OECD accession process.</p><p></p><p>The Lithuanian economy was severely hit by the 2008-09 global financial crisis, but it has rebounded and become one of the fastest growing in the EU. Increases in exports, investment, and wage growth that supported consumption helped the economy grow by 3.6% in 2017. In 2015, Russia was Lithuania’s largest trading partner, followed by Poland, Germany, and Latvia; goods and services trade between the US and Lithuania totaled $2.2 billion. Lithuania opened a self-financed liquefied natural gas terminal in January 2015, providing the first non-Russian supply of natural gas to the Baltic States and reducing Lithuania’s dependence on Russian gas from 100% to approximately 30% in 2016.</p><p></p><p>Lithuania’s ongoing recovery hinges on improving the business environment, especially by liberalizing labor laws, and improving competitiveness and export growth, the latter hampered by economic slowdowns in the EU and Russia. In addition, a steady outflow of young and highly educated people is causing a shortage of skilled labor, which, combined with a rapidly aging population, could stress public finances and constrain long-term growth.</p>"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> official data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions"
"text":"Lithuania’s small telecom market is among the most advanced in Europe, with universal access to LTE, extensive fiber footprint, and tests of 5G; operators focus on data speeds; improved international capability and better residential access; high SIM card penetration; increased demand for high-speed Internet for education, entertainment, and shopping during pandemic supporting growth in revenue through fiber lines; importer of broadcast equipment and video displays from neighboring EU countries (2020)"
"text":"nearly 12 per 100 for fixed-line subscriptions; rapid expansion of mobile-cellular services has resulted in a steady decline in the number of fixed-line connections; mobile-cellular teledensity stands at about 174 per 100 persons (2020)"
"text":"country code - 370; landing points for the BCS East, BCS East-West Interlink and NordBalt connecting Lithuania to Sweden, and Latvia ; further transmission by satellite; landline connections to Latvia and Poland (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"public broadcaster operates 3 channels with the third channel - a satellite channel - introduced in 2007; various privately owned commercial TV broadcasters operate national and multiple regional channels; many privately owned local TV stations; multi-channel cable and satellite TV services available; publicly owned broadcaster operates 3 radio networks; many privately owned commercial broadcasters, with repeater stations in various regions throughout the country"
"text":"Lithuanian Armed Forces (Lietuvos Ginkluotosios Pajegos): Land Forces (Sausumos Pajegos), Naval Forces (Karines Juru Pajegos), Air Forces (Karines Oro Pajegos), Special Operations Forces (Specialiuju Operaciju Pajegos); National Defense Volunteer Forces (Savanoriu Pajegos); National Riflemen's Union (paramilitary force that acts as an additional reserve force) (2021)"
"text":"the Lithuanian Armed Forces have approximately 16,000 active duty personnel (12,500 Army, including about 5,000 National Defense Voluntary Forces; 600 Navy; 1,000 Air Force; 2,000 other, including special operations forces, logistics support, training, etc); est. 11,000 Riflemen Union (2021)"
"text":"the Lithuanian Armed Forces' inventory is mostly a mix of Western weapons systems and Soviet-era equipment (primarily aircraft and helicopters); as of 2021, European and the US are the leading suppliers of armaments to Lithuania (2021)"
"text":"19-26 years of age for conscripted military service (males); 9-month service obligation; in 2015, Lithuania reinstated conscription after having converted to a professional military in 2008; 18-38 for voluntary service (male and female) (2021)",
"note":"note(s) - Lithuania conscripts up to 4,000 males each year; conscripts are selected using an automated lottery system; as of 2019, women comprised about 12% of the military's full-time personnel"
"text":"contributes about 350-550 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units (2021)"
"text":"Lithuania officially became a member of NATO in 2004<br> <p>since 2017, Lithuania has hosted a German-led multi-national NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative</p> <p>NATO also has provided air protection for Lithuania since 2004 through its Air Policing mission; NATO member countries that possess air combat capabilities voluntarily contribute to the mission on 4-month rotations; NATO fighter aircraft are hosted at Lithuania’s Šiauliai Air Base</p>"
"text":"<p>Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still conforming, as a EU member state having an external border with a non-EU member, to strict Schengen border rules; boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification documents in preparation</p>"
