Lithuania (2005) | French Guiana (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.1% (male 297,271/female 282,269)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 1,206,731/female 1,264,359) 65 years and over: 15.2% (male 186,979/female 359,008) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.9% (male 29,540/female 28,210)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 69,302/female 59,980) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 6,350/female 6,127) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 102 (2004 est.) | 11 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 28
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: 14 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 74
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 68 (2004 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
Area | total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | 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. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 8.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 20.46 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.542 billion
expenditures: $7.121 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $135.5 million
expenditures: $135.5 million; including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Vilnius | name: Cayenne
geographic coordinates: 4 56 N, 52 20 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 99 km | 378 km |
Constitution | adopted 25 October 1992 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Death rate | 10.92 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.01 billion (2004 est.) | $800.3 million (2003) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen D. MULL
embassy: 2600 Akmenu 6, Vilnius mailing address: American Embassy, Vilnius, PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723 telephone: [370] (5) 266 5500 FAX: [370] (5) 266 5510 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Vygaudas USACKAS
chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860 FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | in 2003, the Lithuania-Russia land and maritime boundary treaty was ratified and a transit regime established through Lithuania linking Russia and its Kaliningrad coastal exclave, leaving only improvements to the border demarcation in 2005; by 2004, a third of the Belarus-Lithuania boundary had been demarcated; the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Lithuania must implement the strict Schengen border rules | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana |
Economic aid - recipient | $228.5 million (1995) | $NA |
Economy - overview | 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 8% in 2004. 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. | The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.17 billion kWh (2002) | 432.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 6.8 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 17.93 billion kWh (2002) | 465.2 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
Environment - current issues | contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases | NA |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6% (2001 census) | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | litai per US dollar - 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003), 3.677 (2002), 4 (2001), 4 (2000) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Valdas ADAMKUS (since 12 July 2004)
head of government: Premier Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 3 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13 June 2004 and 27 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009); premier 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% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Pierre LAFLAQUIERE (since 19 July 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Pierre DESERT (since 26 March 2004); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA | 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) | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | Germany 10.2%, Latvia 10.2%, Russia 9.3%, France 6.3%, UK 5.3%, Sweden 5.1%, Estonia 5%, Poland 4.8%, Netherlands 4.8%, Denmark 4.8%, US 4.7%, Switzerland 4.6% (2004) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red | the flag of France is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.1%
industry: 33.4% services: 60.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA% 6.6%
industry: NA% 15.6% services: NA% 77.8% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.6% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 56 00 N, 24 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | total: 77,148 km
paved: 69,202 km (including 417 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,946 km (2002) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 25.6% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | mineral products 21%, machinery and equipment 17%, transport equipment 11%, chemicals 9%, textiles and clothing 9%, metals 5% (2001) | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | Russia 23.1%, Germany 16.7%, Poland 7.7%, Netherlands 4% (2004) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2004) |
Independence | 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 12% (2004 est.) | NA% |
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 | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 11.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.1% (2004 est.) | 1% (2003) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, 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, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 90 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 1.63 million (2004 est.) | 62,630 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 30%, services 50% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 18.2%
industry: 21.2% services: 60.6% (1980) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,273 km
border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km |
total: 1,240.4 km
border countries: Brazil 730.4 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land: 45.22%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 53.87% (2001) |
arable land: 0.13%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 99.83% (90% forest, 10% other) (2005) |
Languages | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census) | French |
Legal system | based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court | French legal system |
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%, Homeland Union (Conservatives) 14.6%, For Order and Justice (Liberal Democrats and Lithuanian People's Union) 11.4%, Liberal and Center Union 9.1%, Union of Farmers and New Democracy 6.6%; seats by faction - Labor 39, Homeland Union 25, Social Democrats 20, Liberal and Center Union 18, Social Liberals 11, Union of Farmers and New Democracy Parties 10, Liberal Democrats 10, Electoral Action 2, independents 6 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held in March 2000 (next to be held March 2006); Regional Council - last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - (second election results) percent of vote by party - PS 37.24%, UMP 31.58%, FDG/Walwari 31.18%; seats by party - PS 17, UMP 7, FDG/Walwari 7 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.97 years
male: 68.94 years female: 79.28 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 77.27 years
male: 73.95 years female: 80.75 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.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Europe | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 296,856 GRT/317,731 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 24, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 12) registered in other countries: 16 (2005) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, National Defense Volunteer Forces (SKAT) | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $230.8 million (FY01) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (FY01) | NA |
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 | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | NA | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | peat, arable land | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,696 km; oil 331 km; refined products 109 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS, chairman]; Labor Party [Viktor USPASKICH, chairman]; Liberal and Center Union [Arturas ZUOKAS, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party [Valentinas MAZURONIS, chairman]; 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; New Democracy and Farmer's Union or VNDPS [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman]; Social Liberals (New Union) [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]; Social Union of Christian Conservatives [Gediminas VAGNORIUS, chairman]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists | Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Alix LABBE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Georges HABRAN-MERY]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Remi Louis DUBOC]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,596,617 (July 2005 est.) | 199,509 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.3% (2005 est.) | 1.96% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Klaipeda | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Railways | total: 1,998 km
broad gauge: 1,807 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) standard gauge: 22 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 169 km 0.750-m gauge (2004) |
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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) | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 824,200 (2003) | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,169,900 (2003) | 98,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 27
note: Lithuania has approximately 27 broadcasting stations, but may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations (2001) |
3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8% (2004 est.) | 19.2% (December 2003) |
Waterways | 600 km (2004) | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2003) |