Lithuania (2007) | Svalbard (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.9% (male 273,573/female 259,570)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 1,213,011/female 1,264,996) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 194,500/female 369,789) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish | - |
Airports | 87 (2007) | 4 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 17 (2007) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 57
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 53 (2007) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Lithuanian lands were united under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, through alliances and conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two countries into a union through the person of a common ruler. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795, when its remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries. Lithuania regained its independence following World War I, but was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. 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 discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | 8.87 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $10.05 billion
expenditures: $10.12 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) (1998 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 |
Longyearbyen |
Climate | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
Coastline | 90 km | 3,587 km |
Constitution | adopted 25 October 1992 | - |
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: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Currency | - | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
Death rate | 11.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $16.2 billion (2006 est.) | - |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John A. CLOUD
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 |
- |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Audrius BRUZGA
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 | 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 EU member state having an external border with a non-EU member, 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; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification documents in preparation | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - recipient | $249.7 million (2004) | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
Economy - overview | Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has grown rapidly since rebounding from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Unemployment fell to 3.7% in 2006, while wages grew 17.6%, contributing to rising inflation. Exports and imports continue to grow strongly, and the current account deficit rose to nearly 10% of GDP in 2006. 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 is nearly complete. Foreign government and business support have helped in the transition from the old command economy to a market economy, but foreign direct investment declined in 2006. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear, fox, and walrus. |
Electricity - consumption | 9.296 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 8.607 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 5.641 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 13.48 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines Kalnas 293.6 m |
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 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, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6% (2001 census) | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
Exchange rates | litai per US dollar - 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003), 3.677 (2002) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.9684 (January 2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997) |
Executive branch | 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 five abstentions |
chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Morten RUUD (since NA November 1998) and Assistant Governor Odd Redar HUMLEGAARD (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
Exports | 145,100 bbl/day (2004) | $NA |
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 12.8%, Latvia 11.1%, Germany 8.6%, Estonia 6.5%, Poland 6.1%, Netherlands 4.8%, Sweden 4.5%, UK 4.4%, US 4.3%, Denmark 4.2%, France 4.2% (2006) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red | the flag of Norway is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 35% services: 59.6% (2006 est.) |
- |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 56 00 N, 24 00 E | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 27.7% (2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | 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 | - |
Imports | 187,800 bbl/day (2004) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals | - |
Imports - partners | Russia 24.3%, Germany 14.9%, Poland 9.5%, Latvia 4.8% (2006) | - |
Independence | 11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union) | none (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2006 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 jewelry | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2006 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President | - |
Labor force | 1.588 million (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 15.8%
industry: 28.2% services: 56% (2004) |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 1,613 km
border countries: Belarus 653.5 km, Latvia 588 km, Poland 103.7 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 267.8 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 44.81%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 54.29% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (1998 est.) |
Languages | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census) | Russian, Norwegian |
Legal system | based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members are elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held in 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 Union 8, independents 3 (as of late-July 2006) |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.44 years
male: 69.46 years female: 79.69 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.6% female: 99.6% (2001 census) |
NA |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Europe | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
territorial sea: 4 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 50 ships (1000 GRT or over) 363,795 GRT/366,624 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 22, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 16 foreign-owned: 9 (Denmark 9) registered in other countries: 20 (Antigua and Barbuda 6, North Korea 1, Norway 1, Panama 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, unknown 3) (2007) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Force, Lithuanian Military Air Forces, National Defense Volunteer Forces (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2006; 1.23% 2007 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union | NA |
Nationality | noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian |
- |
Natural hazards | NA | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
Natural resources | peat, arable land, amber | coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | gas 1,696 km; oil 228 km; refined products 121 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Civil Democracy Party [Viktor MUNTIANAS]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI]; National Farmer's Union [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS]; Labor Party [Kestutis DAUKSYS]; Liberal and Center Union [Arturas ZUOKAS]; Liberal Democratic Party [Rolandas PAKSAS]; Liberal Movement [Petras AUSTREVICIUS]; Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD [Valentinas STUNDYS]; Lithuanian People's Union for a Fair Lithuania [Julius VESELKA]; Lithuanian Social Democratic Party [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS]; Social Liberal/New Union [Arturas PAULAUSKAS]; Social Union of Christian Conservatives [Gediminas VAGNORIUS]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists [Stanislovas BUSKEVICIUS] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 3,575,439 (July 2007 est.) | 2,868 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 4% (2003) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.289% (2007 est.) | -1.99% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
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 (2006) |
0 km |
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: 1.054 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.959 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.526 male(s)/female total population: 0.887 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 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: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 792,400 (2006) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.718 million (2006) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 27 (may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations) (2001) | NA |
Terrain | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
Total fertility rate | 1.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 3.7%
note: based on survey data, official registered unemployment of 5.7% (2006 est.) |
- |
Waterways | 425 km (2005) | none |