Lithuania

Republic of LithuaniaLietuvos Respublika

republicIndependence 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Lithuania as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 78 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalVilnius

Area65,200 km2

LocationEastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia

Populationas each edition published it

3.82 million July 1993 est. · 3.79m in 1992

Population growth% a year

0.76% 1993 est. · -0.71% in 2025

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 36.6 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

71.12 years 1993 est. · 76.1 yrs in 2025

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.03 children per woman 1993 est. · 2.1 in 1992

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

16.9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 18 in 1992

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $3,240 in 1994

GDP real growth% a year

-30% 1992 est. · 2.8% in 2025

Geography

Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia

13 fields

Land useshare of 65,200 km2

arable land 49.1%permanent crops 0%meadows and pastures 22.2%forest and woodland 16.3%other 12.4%irrigated 430 km2 (1990)

Area

65,200km2

land area: 65,200 km2comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Coastline

108km

territorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

1,273km

total · Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km

Location

Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia

Map references

Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

International disputes

dispute with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) over the position of the Neman River border presently located on the Lithuanian bank and not in midriver as by international standards

Terrain

lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil

Environment

risk of accidents from the two Chernobyl-type reactors at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant;
contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases

People

14 fields

Population

3,819,638

(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 0.76% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth

14.95Death

10.94Net migration

3.62

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years71.12

66.39 · 76.08

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy100%

100% · 100%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 9-49 can read and write (1970)

Ethnic divisions

Lithuanian 80.1%Russian 8.6%Polish 7.7%Belarusian 1.5%other 2.1%

Labor force

1.836million

by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 18%, other 40% (1990)

Infant mortality rate

16.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Lithuanian(s)
adjective:: Lithuanian

Government

Republic

21 fields

Names

conventional long form:: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form:: Lithuania
local long form:: Lietuvos Respublika
local short form:: Lietuva
former:: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

Legal system

based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts

Political parties and leaders

Christian Democratic Party, Egidijus KLUMBYS, chairman;
Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania, Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman;
Lithuanian Democratic Party, Sauluis PECELIUNAS, chairman;
Lithuanian Green Party, Irena IGNATAVICIENE, chairwoman;
Lithuanian Humanism Party, Vytautas KAZLAUSKAS, chairman;
Lithuanian Independence Party, Virgilijus CEPAITIS, chairman;
Lithuanian Liberty League, Antanas TERLECKAS;
Lithuanian Liberal Union, Vytautus RADZVILAS, chairman;
Lithuanian Nationalist Union, Rimantas SMETONA, chairman;
Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, Aloizas SAKALAS, chairman;
Union of the Motherland, Vytavtas LANDSBERGIS, chairman

Other political or pressure groups

Sajudis;
Lithuanian Future Forum;
Farmers Union

Elections

President:: last held 14 February 1993 (next to be held NA); results - Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS was elected
Seimas (parliament):: last held 26 October and 25 November 1992 (next to be held NA);
results - Democratic Labor Party 51%;
seats - (141 total) Democratic Labor Party 73

Leaders

Chief of State:: Seimas Chairman and Acting President Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 15 November 1992);
Deputy Seimas Chairmen Aloyzas SAKALAS (since NA December 1992) and Egidius BICKAUSKAS (since NA December 1992)
Head of Government:: Premier Adolfas SLEZEVICIUS (since NA)

Member of

CBSS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Stasys LOZORAITIS, Jr.
chancery:: 2622 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:: (202) 234-5860, 2639
FAX:: (202) 328-0466
consulate general:: New York

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Ambassador Darryl N. JOHNSON
embassy:: Akmenu 6, Vilnius 232600
mailing address:: APO AE 09723
telephone:: 011 [7] (012-2) 222-031
FAX:: 011 [7] (012-2) 222-779

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red

Economy

Lithuania is striving to become an independent privatized economy.

19 fields

Real growth rate

-30%

(1992 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate -50% (1992 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

10%

-20% per month (first quarter 1993)

Unemployment rate

(February 1993); but large numbers of underemployed workers

External debt

$650million

(1991 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$258.5 millionExpenditures

$270.2 million

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

Lithuania is striving to become an independent privatized economy. Although it was substantially above average in living standards and technology in the old USSR, Lithuania historically lagged behind Latvia and Estonia in economic development. The country has no important natural resources aside from its arable land and strategic location.

Industry depends entirely on imported materials that have come from the republics of the former USSR. Lithuania benefits from its ice-free port at Klaipeda on the Baltic Sea and its rail and highway hub at Vilnius, which provides land communication between Eastern Europe and Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Belarus.

Industry produces a small assortment of high-quality products, ranging from complex machine tools to sophisticated consumer electronics. Because of nuclear power, Lithuania is presently self-sufficient in electricity, exporting its surplus to Latvia and Belarus; the nuclear facilities inherited from the USSR, however, have come under world scrutiny as seriously deficient in safety standards.

Agriculture is efficient compared with most of the former Soviet Union. Lithuania held first place in per capita consumption of meat, second place for eggs and potatoes, and fourth place for milk and dairy products. Grain must be imported to support the meat and dairy industries.

Lithuania is pressing ahead with plans to privatize at least 60% of state-owned property (industry, agriculture, and housing), having already sold almost all housing and many small enterprises using a voucher system. Other government priorities include encouraging foreign investment by protecting the property rights of foreign firms and redirecting foreign trade away from Eastern markets to the more competitive Western markets.

For the moment, Lithuania will remain highly dependent on Russia for energy, raw materials, grains, and markets for its products. In 1992, output plummeted by 30% because of cumulative problems with inputs and with markets, problems that were accentuated by the phasing out of the Russian ruble as the medium of exchange.

National product

GDP $NA

National product per capita

$NA

Exports

$NA

commodities:: electronics 18%, petroleum products 5%, food 10%, chemicals 6% (1989)
partners:: Russia 40%, Ukraine 16%, other former Soviet republics 32%, West 12%

Imports

$NA

commodities:: oil 24%, machinery 14%, chemicals 8%, grain NA% (1989)
partners:: Russia 62%, Belarus 18%, former Soviet republics 10%, West 10%

Electricity

5,925,000 kW capacity; 25,000 million kWh produced, 6,600 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries

employs 25% of the labor force; shares in the total production of the former

USSR are:: metal-cutting machine tools 6.6%;
electric motors 4.6%;
television sets 6.2%;
refrigerators and freezers 5.4%;
other branches: petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, and amber

Agriculture

employs around 20% of labor force;
sugar, grain, potatoes, sugarbeets, vegetables, meat, milk, dairy products, eggs, fish;
most developed are the livestock and dairy branches, which depend on imported grain;
net exporter of meat, milk, and eggs

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe;
limited producer of illicit opium;
mostly for domestic consumption

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $NA million;
Communist countries (1971-86), $NA million

Currency

using talonas as temporary currency (March 1993), but planning introduction of convertible litas (late 1993)

Exchange rates

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 46 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 31railcar carrier 3roll-on/roll-off 1combination bulk 1146 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 282,633 GRT/332,447 DWT

Networkskm

Railroads

2,100 (1990)Inland waterways

600

Railroads: ; does not include industrial lines

Railroads

2,100 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)

Highways

44,200 km total 35,500 km hard surfaced, 8,700 km earth (1990)

Pipelines

crude oil 105 km, natural gas 760 km (1992)

Ports

coastal - Klaipeda; inland - Kaunas

Airports

total:: 96
useable:: 19
with permanent-surface runways:: 12
with runways over 3,659 m:: 0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:: 5
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:: 11

Telecommunications

better developed than in most other former USSR republics;
operational NMT-450 analog cellular network in Vilnius;
fiber optic cable installed beween Vilnius and Kaunas;
224 telephones per 1000 persons;
broadcast stations - 13 AM, 26 FM, 1 SW, 1 LW, 3 TV;
landlines or microwave to former USSR republics;
leased connection to the Moscow international switch for traffic with other countries;
satellite earth stations - (8 channels to Norway);
new international digital telephone exchange in Kaunas for direct access to 13 countries via satellite link out of Copenhagen, Denmark