Lithuania

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

0-14 years:

17.6% (male 323,776; female 310,087)

15-64 years:

68.4% (male 1,188,171; female 1,268,035)

65 years and over:

14% (male 169,513; female 332,979) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.51 male(s)/female

total population:

0.88 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Lithuanian(s)

adjective:

Lithuanian

conventional long form:

Republic of Lithuania

conventional short form:

Lithuania

local short form:

Lietuva

former:

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

local long form:

Lietuvos Respublika

chief of state:

President Rolandas PAKSAS (since 26 February 2003)

head of government:

Premier Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 3 July 2001)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• election last held 22 December 2002 and 5 January 2003 (next to be held in late 2007);
• premier appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament

election results:

Rolandas PAKSAS elected president; percent of vote - Rolandas PAKSAS 54.9%, Valdas ADAMKUS 45.1%

• Constitutional Court;
• Supreme Court;
• Court of Appeal;
• judges for all courts appointed by the President

• Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman];
• Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS, chairman];
• Lithuanian Center Union or LCS [Kestutis GLAVECKAS, chairman];
• Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD [Kazys BOBELIS];
• Lithuanian Farmer's Party or LUP [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS, chairman];
• Lithuanian Green Party [Rimantas BRAZIULIS];
• Lithuanian Liberal Youth [Neringa MOROZAITE];
• Lithuanian National Democratic Party [Vygintas GONTIS];
• Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP, and New Democracy;
• Moderate Conservative Union [Gediminas VAGNORIUS];
• Modern Christian Democratic Union [Vytautas BOGUSIS, chairman];
• New Democracy and Farmer's Union [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman];
• New Union-Social Liberals [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman];
• Young Lithuania [Arnoldas PLATELIS]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Vygaudas USACKAS

chancery:

2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

consulate(s) general:

Chicago and New York

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-0466

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-5860

chief of mission:

Ambassador John F. TEFFT

embassy:

Akmenu 6, 2600 Vilnius

mailing address:

American Embassy, Vilnius, PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723

telephone:

[370] (5) 266 5500

FAX:

[370] (5) 266 5510

lowest 10%:

3.1%

highest 10%:

25.6% (1996)

• grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables;
• beef, milk, eggs;
• fish

general assessment:

inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an improved international capability and better residential access

domestic:

• a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is nearing completion;
• rural exchanges are being improved and expanded;
• mobile cellular systems are being installed;
• access to the Internet is available;
• still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber applications

international:

• landline connections to Latvia and Poland;
• major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite

total:

1,998 km

broad gauge:

1,807 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

169 km 0.750-m gauge (all service suspended) (2002)

standard gauge:

22 km 1.435-m gauge

total:

75,243 km

paved:

68,697 km (including 417 km of expressways)

unpaved:

6,546 km (2000)

total:

51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 303,910 GRT/328,380 DWT

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 13 (2002 est.)

ships by type:

cargo 23, combination bulk 8, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 4

• 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

• transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe to Western Europe and Scandinavia;
• limited production of methamphetamine and ecstasy;
• susceptible to money laundering despite changes to banking legislation