British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) | Lithuania (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 15.5% (male 284,888/female 270,458)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 1,210,557/female 1,265,542) 65 years and over: 15.5% (male 190,496/female 363,965) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 91 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 34
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 57
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 53 (2006) |
Area | total: 54,400 sq km
land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands |
total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
Area - comparative | land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
Birth rate | - | 8.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $8.429 billion
expenditures: $9.103 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | 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 |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers |
Coastline | 698 km | 90 km |
Constitution | - | adopted 25 October 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Death rate | - | 10.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $11.7 billion (2 February 2006) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador John A. CLOUD
embassy: Akmenu Gatve 6, Vilnius, LT-03106 mailing address: American Embassy, Almeny gatve 6, Vilnius LT-03106 telephone: [370] (5) 266 5500 FAX: [370] (5) 266 5510 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Kornelija JURGAITIENE
chancery: 4590 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860 FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001 the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1965 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; the UK resists the Chagossians' demand for an immediate return to the islands; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest island in the chain; | 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 member state that forms part of the EU's external border, 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $1.6 billion in committed EU structural and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The country makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps. | Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has slowly rebounded from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Unemployment dropped from 11% in 2003 to about 8% in 2005. Growing domestic consumption and increased investment have furthered recovery. Trade has been increasingly oriented toward the West. Lithuania has gained membership in the World Trade Organization and joined the EU in May 2004. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, is nearing completion. Overall, more than 80% of enterprises have been privatized. Foreign government and business support have helped in the transition from the old command economy to a market economy. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 12.079 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | - | 11.7 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 4.144 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 19 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines Kalnas 293.6 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | - | Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | - | litai per US dollar - 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003), 3.677 (2002), 4 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Valdas ADAMKUS (since 12 July 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Gediminas KIRKILAS (since 4 July 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 13 and 27 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009); prime minister appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president; percent of vote - Valdas ADAMKUS 52.2%, Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE 47.8%; Gediminas KIRKILAS approved by Parliament 85-13, with 5 abstentions |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001) |
Exports - partners | - | Russia 10.4%, Latvia 10.2%, Germany 9.4%, France 7%, Estonia 5.9%, Poland 5.5%, Sweden 5%, US 4.7%, UK 4.7%, Denmark 4.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 32.5% services: 62% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E | 56 00 N, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.9% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 |
Imports | - | 93,000 bbl/day bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | - | mineral products, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals |
Imports - partners | - | Russia 27.9%, Germany 15.2%, Poland 8.3% (2005) |
Independence | - | 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 7.3% (2005 est.) |
Industries | - | metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber jewelry |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 6.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.7% (2005) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | 70 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President |
Labor force | - | 1.61 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 15.8%
industry: 28.2% services: 56% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,613 km
border countries: Belarus 653.5 km, Latvia 588 km, Poland 103.7 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 267.8 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 44.81%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 54.29% (2005) |
Languages | - | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census) |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor 28.6%, Working for Lithuania (Social Democrats and Social Liberals) 20.7%, TS 14.6%, For Order and Justice (Liberal Democrats and Lithuanian People's Union) 11.4%, Liberal and Center Union 9.1%, Farmers and New Democracy Union 6.6%, other 9%; seats by faction - Labor 29, Homeland Union 26, Social Democrats 23, Civil Democracy (split from Labor) 11, Liberal Movement (formerly Liberal Political Group) 11, National Farmer's Union (formerly Farmers and New Democracy Union) 11, Social Liberal 10, Liberal Democrats 9, Liberal and Center Political Group 8, independents 3 (as of late-July 2006) |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 74.2 years
male: 69.2 years female: 79.49 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 49 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,094 GRT/352,883 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 14, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Denmark 10) registered in other countries: 17 (Antigua and Barbuda 3, Belize 1, North Korea 1, Norway 1, Panama 5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, unknown 3) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces, Naval Force, Lithuanian Military Air Forces, National Defense Volunteer Forces (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $230.8 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.9% (FY01) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | - | noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | peat, arable land, amber |
Net migration rate | - | -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,696 km; oil 228 km; refined products 121 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Civil Democracy Party [Viktor MUNTIANAS, chairman]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; National Farmer's Union [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS, chairman]; Labor Party; Liberal and Center Political Group [Arturas ZUOKAS, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party [Valentinas MAZURONIS, chairman]; Liberal Movement; Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD [Valentinas STUNDYS, chairman]; Lithuanian People's Union for a Fair Lithuania; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP and the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP; Social Liberal/New Union [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]; Social Union of Christian Conservatives [Gediminas VAGNORIUS, chairman]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2006 est.) |
3,585,906 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | Less than $2.15 per day (PPP): 4% |
Population growth rate | - | -0.3% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 1,771 km
broad gauge: 1,749 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) standard gauge: 22 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
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: country code - 370; landline connections to Latvia and Poland; major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 801,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 4.353 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 27
note: Lithuania has approximately 27 broadcasting stations, but may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations (2001) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 8.2% (2005) |
Waterways | - | 425 km (2005) |