Greenland (2001) | Lithuania (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.69% (male 7,649; female 7,392) 15-64 years: 67.87% (male 20,868; female 17,376) 65 years and over: 5.44% (male 1,385; female 1,682) (2001 est.) |
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 | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 13 (2000 est.) | 91 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
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:
5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 57
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 53 (2006) |
Area | total:
2,175,600 sq km land: 2,175,600 sq km (341,700 sq km ice-free, 1,833,900 sq km ice-covered) (est.) |
total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Texas | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | The world's largest island, about 84% ice-capped, Greenland was granted self-government in 1978 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs. | 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 | 16.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$646 million expenditures: $629 million, including capital expenditures of $85 million (1999) |
revenues: $8.429 billion
expenditures: $9.103 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Nuuk (Godthab) | 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 | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers |
Coastline | 44,087 km | 90 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | adopted 25 October 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Danish krone (DKK) | - |
Death rate | 7.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $25 million (1999) | $11.7 billion (2 February 2006) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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 (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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 | none | 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 | $380 million subsidy from Denmark (1999) | $1.6 billion in committed EU structural and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. | 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 | 232.5 million kWh (1999) | 12.079 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 11.7 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 4.144 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 250 million kWh (1999) | 19 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
41% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0% note: Greenland is shifting its electricity production from fossil fuel to hydroelectric power production (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines Kalnas 293.6 m |
Environment - current issues | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting | 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 | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (January 2000) | Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996) | litai per US dollar - 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003), 3.677 (2002), 4 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Gunnar MARTENS (since NA 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Jonathan MOTZFELDT (since 19 September 1997) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the Parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 16 February 1999 (next to be held NA February 2003) election results: Jonathan MOTZFELDT reelected prime minister following the 16 February 1999 elections; percent of parliamentary vote - 57.3% note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) |
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 | $276 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94% | mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001) |
Exports - partners | EU (mainly Denmark) 85%, Japan 8%, US 2% (1999) | 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 | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 32.5% services: 62% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 72 00 N, 40 00 W | 56 00 N, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits |
Highways | total:
150 km paved: 60 km unpaved: 90 km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | $400 million (c.i.f., 1999) | 93,000 bbl/day bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products | mineral products, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals |
Imports - partners | EU (mostly Denmark), Norway, US, Canada | Russia 27.9%, Germany 15.2%, Poland 8.3% (2005) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979)
note: foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland |
11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.3% (2005 est.) |
Industries | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts, furs, small shipyards | 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 | 17.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | 2.7% (2005) |
International organization participation | ICC, NC, NIB | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 70 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President |
Labor force | 24,500 (1999 est.) | 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% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 0% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 44.81%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 54.29% (2005) |
Languages | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census) |
Legal system | Danish | based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 16 February 1999 (next to be held by NA February 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 35.2%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 22.1%, Atassut Party 25.2%, Candidate's League 12.3%, independent 5.2%; seats by party - Siumut 11, Atassut 8, Inuit Ataqatigiit 7, Candidate List 4, independent 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 11 March 1998 (next to be held by not later than March 2002); percent of vote by party - Siumut 35.6%, Atassut 35.2%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Atassut 1; Greenlandic representatives are affiliated with Danish political parties (Siamut with Social Democratic Party and Atassut with Liberal Party) |
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:
68.37 years male: 64.82 years female: 72.01 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.2 years
male: 69.2 years female: 79.49 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% note: similar to Denmark proper |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Arctic Region | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,289 GRT/1,500 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
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 Denmark | - |
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 | June 21 (longest day) | 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:
Greenlander(s) adjective: Greenlandic |
noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island | NA |
Natural resources | zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas | peat, arable land, amber |
Net migration rate | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -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 | Akulliit Party [Bjarne KREUTZMANN]; Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Daniel SKIFTE]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Jonathan MOTZFELDT] | 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 | NA |
Population | 56,352 (July 2001 est.) | 3,585,906 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | Less than $2.15 per day (PPP): 4% |
Population growth rate | 0.06% (2001 est.) | -0.3% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aasiaat (Egedesminde), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq, Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Tasiilaq (March 2001) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 30,000 (1998 est.) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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 | Evangelical Lutheran | 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:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995 domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 25,617 (end 1999) | 801,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12,676 (end 1999) | 4.353 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997) | 27
note: Lithuania has approximately 27 broadcasting stations, but may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations (2001) |
Terrain | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil |
Total fertility rate | 2.44 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (1999 est.) | 8.2% (2005) |
Waterways | none | 425 km (2005) |