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Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

600 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine [time series]

46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 282,633 GRT/332,447 DWT; includes 31 cargo, 3 railcar carrier, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 11 combination bulk

Pipelines [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

coastal - Klaipeda; inland - Kaunas

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard (Skat)

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $NA, 5.5% of GDP (1993 est.)

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 933,245; fit for military service 739,400; reach military age (18) annually 27,056 (1993 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues $258.5 million; expenditures $270.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

Exports [time series]

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

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$650 million (1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

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

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate -50% (1992 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

10%-20% per month (first quarter 1993)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

GDP $NA

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$NA

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

-30% (1992 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

1% (February 1993); but large numbers of underemployed workers

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 65,200 km2 land area: 65,200 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Climate [time series]

maritime; wet, moderate winters

Coastline [time series]

108 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

430 km2 (1990)

Land boundaries [time series]

total 1,273 km, Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 49.1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 22.2% forest and woodland: 16.3% other: 12.4%

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

peat

Terrain [time series]

lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

NA districts

Capital [time series]

Vilnius

Constitution [time series]

adopted 25 October 1992

Digraph [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

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

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, cabinet

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court, Court of Appeals

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

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)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Seimas (parliament)

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 16 February

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Sajudis; Lithuanian Future Forum; Farmers Union

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

People

Birth rate [time series]

14.95 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate [time series]

10.94 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

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

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 71.12 years male: 66.39 years female: 76.08 years (1993 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Lithuanian(s) adjective: Lithuanian

Net migration rate [time series]

3.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population [time series]

3,819,638 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

0.76% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholic, Lutheran, other

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.03 children born/woman (1993 est.)