Lithuania is a Northeastern European country which combines what is regarded as Scandinavian - clean, orderly, progressive, natural and attractive, as well as what is regarded as Eastern European – new, rapidly developing, on the rise, and as yet undiscovered. Sometimes called a Northern, and sometimes an Eastern European country, Lithuania is an authentic combination of Northern and Eastern features.

State Government

Lithuania is an independent democratic republic. In Lithuania, the powers of the state are exercised by the Seimas (Parliament), the President, the Government, and the Judiciary.

Location and borders

Lithuania has common borders with Latvia in the north (588 km), Belarus in the south-east (653 km), Poland in the south-west (104 km), and the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, also in the south-west (249 km).

Size & Territory

Lithuania is the largest of the 3 Baltic States in terms of population, territory, and economy. Its territory of 65,300 sq km is larger than that of Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, or Switzerland. 70% of its lowland plains and hilly uplands are arable and 28% are forested. Lithuania’s 722 rivers, more than 2,800 lakes, and 99 km of the Baltic Sea coastline are mostly devoted to recreation and nature preservation.

Major Cities

Population

Lithuania has the largest population of the three Baltic States, ~3.2 million (85.4 percent are ethnic Lithuanians, 6.6 percent of the population are Polish, 5.4 percent Russian, 1.3 percent Belarusian, and 1.3 percent are of other nationalities.).

Religion

Mostly Roman Catholic. Other religions include Russian Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran, Judaic, etc.

State Language

Lithuanian is closely related to the old Sanskrit and belongs to the Baltic family of Indo-European languages.

Currency

Litas (LTL or Lt), which is pegged to the Euro at the rate of 3.4528 LTL/EUR. 100 cents = 1 LTL. 

Time

Lithuania operates in the Central European Time Zone: GMT+2 hours (+3 hours summer time). When it is noon in Vilnius, it is 11:00 am in Stockholm and Frankfurt, 10:00 am in London, 5:00 am in New York, 2:00 pm in Moscow and

Climate

Maritime/continental. Average July temperature +23°C; January - 5°C.

National Flag

• Yellow: the fertile fields of Lithuania, golden with ripe rye, wheat, flax, and other crops;
• Green: the symbol of the nation's vitality (as represented by nature);
• Red : the blood shed in defending the homeland's freedom.