Lithuania

mean elevation:

110 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Baltic Sea; 294 highest point: Aukstojas

• water pollution;
• air pollution;
• deforestation;
• threatened animal and plant species;
• chemicals and waste materials released into the environment contaminate soil and groundwater;
• soil degradation and erosion

noun:

Lithuanian(s)

adjective:

Lithuanian

0-14 years:

15.11% (male 216,519 /female 205,624)

15-24 years:

10.7% (male 154,708 /female 144,244)

25-54 years:

39.72% (male 548,586 /female 561,007)

55-64 years:

14.55% (male 180,294 /female 226,250)

65 years and over:

19.91% (male 188,269 /female 367,783) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

49.9 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

21.9 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

28 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

3.6 (2015 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.07 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.79 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.51 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

0.86 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate (2016)

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 (2016)

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

highest courts:

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

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 round;
• 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 - TS-LKD 22.6%, LVLS 22.5%, 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;
• composition - men 111, women 30, percent of women 21.3%

• Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles or LLRA [Valdemar TOMASEVSKI]
• Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats or TS-LKD [Gabrielius LANDSBERGIS]
• Labor Party or DP [Viktor USPASKICH]
• Liberal Movement or LS or LRLS (Eugenijus GENTVILAS)
• Lithuanian Center Party or LCP [Naglis PUTEIKIS]
• Lithuanian Green Party or LZP [Linas BALSYS]
• Lithuanian People's Party or LPP [Rolandas PAULAUSKAS]
• Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP [Gintautas PALUCKAS]
• Lithuanian Social Democratic Labor Party [Gediminas KIRKILAS]
• Order and Justice Party or TT [Remigijus ZEMAITAITIS]
• Farmers and Greens Union or LVZS [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS]
• 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%:

28.8% (2015)

highest 10%:

28.8% (2015)

general assessment:

• adequate;
• being modernized to provide improved international capability and better residential access;
• SIM card penetration is high for the region;
• prepaid sector accounts for most subscribers;
• postpaid subscribers is increasing;
• LTE networks available to more than 99% of the population;
• Lithuanian FttP (fiber to the home cable connections for Internet) penetration ranked third highest in Europe (2017)

domestic:

• 17 per 100 for fixed-line subscriptions;
• 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 154 per 100 persons (2017)

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 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 52 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,363,950 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

565,642 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,768 km (2014)

standard gauge:

22 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

broad gauge:

1,746 km 1.520-m gauge (122 km electrified) (2014)

total:

84,166 km (2012)

paved:

72,297 km (includes 312 km of expressways) (2012)

unpaved:

11,869 km (2012)

total:

60 (2017)

by type:

container ship 2, general cargo 27, oil tanker 2, other 29 (2017)

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 1999Lithuania 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 rulesboundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuaniaas 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