Republic of Lithuania

National name: Lietuvos Respublika

President: Valdas Adamkus (2004)

Prime Minister: Gediminas Kirkilas (2006)

Total area: 25,174 sq mi (65,200 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 3,585,906 (growth rate: –0.3%); birth rate: 8.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 6.8/1000; life expectancy: 74.2; density per sq mi: 142

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)

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.


 

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