Lithuania

agricultural land:

44.8%;

• arable land 34.9%;
• permanent crops 0.5%;
• permanent pasture 9.4%

forest:

34.6%

other:

20.6% (2011 est.)

noun:

Lithuanian(s)

adjective:

Lithuanian

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.79 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.51 male(s)/female

total population:

0.86 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

vectorborne diseases:

tickborne encephalitis (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of Lithuania

conventional short form:

Lithuania

local long form:

Lietuvos Respublika

local short form:

Lietuva

former:

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

etymology:

meaning of the name "Lietuva" remains unclear; it may derive from the Lietava, a stream in east central Lithuania

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

• 11 March 1990 (declared independence 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), 16 February 1918 (independence from Soviet Russia)

• 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

history:

several previous; latest adopted by referendum 25 October 1992, entered into force 2 November 1992

amendments:

• 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 1996, 2003, 2006 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Lithuania

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE (since 12 July 2009)

head of government:

Prime Minister Saulius SKVERNELIS (since 13 December 2016)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by Parliament

elections/appointments:

• 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 11 and 25 May 2014 (next to be held in May 2019);
• prime minister appointed by the president, approved by Parliament

election results:

• Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE reelected president in second reound;
• percent of vote - Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE (independent) 57.9%, Zigmantas BALCYTIS (LSDP) 40.1%, invalid 2%;
• Saulius SKVERNELIS (LVZS) approved as prime minister by Parliament vote - 90 to 4

description:

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:

last held on 9 and 23 October 2016 (next to be held in October 2020)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - LVLS 22.5%, TS-LKD 22.6%, LSDP 15%, LS 9.5%, LCP-LPP 6.3%, LLRA 5.7%, TT 5.6%, DP 4.9%, LZP 2%, Lithuanian List 1.8%, other 4.1%;
• seats by party - LVLS 54, TS-LKD 31, LSDP 17, LS 14, LLRA 8, TT 8, DP 2, LCP-LPP 1, LZP 1, Lithuanian List 1, independent 4

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of 37 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• 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 - three each by the president of the republic, by the Seimas chairperson, and by the Supreme Court president;
• judges serve 9-year, nonrenewable terms;
• one-third of membership reconstituted every 3 years

subordinate courts:

Court of Appeals; district and local courts

• Anti-Corruption Coalition or LCP-LPP [Naglis PUTEIKIS and Kristupas KRIVICKAS]
• Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles or LLRA [Valdemar TOMASEVSKI]
• Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats or TS-LKD [Gabrielius LANDSBERGIS]
• Labor Party or DP [Valentinas MAZURONIS]
• Liberal Movement or LS or LRLS (vacant)
• Lithuanian Center Party or LCP [Naglis PUTEIKIS]
• Lithuanian Green Party or LZP [Linas BALSYS]
• Lithuanian List [Darius KUOLYS]
• Lithuanian Pensioners Party or LPP [Kristupas KRIVICKAS]
• Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP [Algirdas BUTKEVICIUS]
• Order and Justice Party or TT [Remigijus ZEMAITAITIS]
• Peasant and Greens Union or LVZS [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS] (formerly LVLS)
• Way of Courage or DK [Jonas VARKALA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Rolandas KRISCIUNAS (since 17 September 2015)

chancery:

2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-5860

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-0466

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Anne HALL (since 7 October 2016)

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; written in 1898 while Lithuania was a part of Russia; banned during the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1990

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

agriculture:

9.1%

industry:

25.2%

services:

65.8% (2015 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.2%

highest 10%:

28.8% (2015)

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 145 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 (2016)

• 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 (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

2; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 52

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,363,950

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

565,642 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,768 km

broad gauge:

1,746 km 1.520-m gauge (122 km electrified)

standard gauge:

22 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 77

total:

84,166 km

paved:

72,297 km (includes 312 km of expressways)

unpaved:

11,869 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 58

total:

38

by type:

cargo 20, container 1, passenger/cargo 6, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 2

foreign-owned:

8 (Denmark 8)

registered in other countries:

22 (Antigua and Barbuda 3, Belize 1, Comoros 1, Cook Islands 1, Norway 1, Panama 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9, unknown 3) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 78

major seaport(s):

Klaipeda

oil terminal(s):

Butinge oil terminal

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Klaipeda

• Lithuanian Armed Forces (Lietuvos Ginkluotosios Pajegos):
  • Land Forces (Sausumos Pajegos),
  • Naval Forces (Karines Juru Pajegos),
  • Air Forces (Karines Oro Pajegos),
  • Special Forces (Specialiuju Operaciju Pajegos)
  ;
• Volunteer Forces (Savanoriu Pajegos) (2016)

• 18 years of age for military service;
• 9-month service obligation;
• in 2015, Lithuania reinstated conscription after having converted to a professional military in the fall of 2008 (2016)

• 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

• 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