Lithuania

total:

3.33 cu km/yr (78%/15%/7%)

per capita:

971 cu m/yr (2003)

at birth:

1.057 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.53 male(s)/female

total population:

0.89 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

tickborne encephalitis (2009)

noun:

Lithuanian(s)

adjective:

Lithuanian

conventional long form:

Republic of Lithuania

conventional short form:

Lithuania

local long form:

Lietuvos Respublika

local short form:

Lietuva

former:

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Vilnius

geographic coordinates:

54 41 N, 25 19 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• Independence Day, 16 February (1918);
• note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood;
• 11 March 1990 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union

• based on civil law system;
• legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

President Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE (since 12 July 2009)

head of government:

Prime Minister Andrius KUBILIUS (since 27 November 2008)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 17 May 2009 (next to be held in May 2014);
• prime minister appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament

election results:

• Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE elected president;
• percent of vote - Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE 69.1%, Algirdas BUTKEVICIUS 11.8%, Valentinas MAZURONIS 6.2%, others 12.9%;
• Andrius KUBILIUS' government approved by Parliament 83-40 with 5 abstentions

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

• Christian party [Gediminas VAGNORIUS];
• Civil Democracy Party or PDP [Algimantas MATULEVICIUS];
• Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles or LLRA [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI];
• Homeland Union - Lithuanian Christian Democrats or TS-LKD [Andrius KUBILIUS];
• Labor Party or DP [Viktor USPASKICH];
• Liberal and Center Union or LCS [Gintautas BABRAVICIUS];
• Liberal Movement or LS or LRLS [Eligijus MASIULIS];
• Lithuanian Farmers' Union or LVLS or VLS [ Ramunas KARBAUSKIS];
• Lithuanian People's Party (not yet officially established) [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE];
• National Revival or TPP [Arunas VALINSKAS];
• New Union (Social Liberal) or NS [Arturas PAULAUSKAS];
• Order and Justice Party or TT [Rolandas PAKSAS];
• Social Democratic Party or LSDP [Algirdas BUTKEVICIUS]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Zygimantas PAVILIONIS

chancery:

2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-5860

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-0466

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Anne E. DERSE

embassy:

Akmenu gatve 6, Vilnius, LT-03106

mailing address:

American Embassy, Akmenu Gatve 6, Vilnius LT-03106

telephone:

[370] (5) 266 5500

FAX:

[370] (5) 266 5510

• 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

name:

"Tautiska giesme" (The National Song)

lyrics/music:

Vincas KUDIRKA

note: adopted 1918, restored 1990; the anthem was written in 1898 while Lithuania was a part of Russia; it was banned during the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1990

agriculture:

14%

industry:

29.1%

services:

56.9% (2005)

lowest 10%:

2.7%

highest 10%:

27.4% (2004)

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

general assessment:

adequate; being modernized to provide improved international capability and better residential access

domestic:

• 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 140 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 370;
• major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite;
• landline connections to Latvia and Poland (2008)

• 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;
• large number of privately-owned local TV stations;
• multi-channel cable and satellite TV services are available;
• publicly-owned broadcaster operates 3 radio networks;
• large number of privately-owned commercial broadcasters, many with repeater stations in various regions throughout the country (2007)

total:

1,768 km

country comparison to the world: 78

broad gauge:

1,746 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified)

standard gauge:

22 km 1.435-m gauge (2009)

total:

81,030 km

country comparison to the world: 58

paved:

71,563 km (includes 309 km of expressways)

unpaved:

9,467 km (2008)

total:

42

country comparison to the world: 75

by type:

cargo 22, container 1, passenger/cargo 6, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 2

foreign-owned:

8 (Denmark 8)

registered in other countries:

29 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Belize 2, Comoros 3, Cook Islands 2, Norway 1, Panama 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 10, unknown 3) (2010)

• 19-26 years of age for compulsory military service;
• 18 years of age for volunteers;
• 12-month conscript service obligation;
• male registration required at age 16 (2009)

males age 16-49:

900,746

females age 16-49:

887,843 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

674,265

females age 16-49:

734,806 (2010 est.)

male:

21,606

female:

20,536 (2010 est.)

• 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;
• the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over potential hydrocarbons;
• as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification documents in preparation

• transshipment and destination point for cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, and opiates from Southwest Asia, Latin America, Western Europe, and neighboring Baltic countries;
• growing production of high-quality amphetamines, but limited production of cannabis, methamphetamines;
• susceptible to money laundering despite changes to banking legislation