Lithuania

I

Introduction

Lithuania (Lietuva in Lithuanian), country in northeastern Europe. Along with Latvia and Estonia, two countries to the north, Lithuania is one of the Baltic states, and the largest of the three. Vilnius, the capital and largest city of Lithuania, is located in the southeastern portion of the country near the border with Belarus.

Lithuania sits on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, across from Sweden. On its northern border is Latvia. To the east and south of the country is Belarus, while to the southwest lie Poland and Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave (part of a country not connected to the main territory) of Russia.

The country is filled with forests, rivers, and lakes. The people are mostly ethnic Lithuanians and members of the Roman Catholic Church. They are proud of their independence, their language, and their distinct cultural traditions. Once a mostly rural populace reliant on agriculture, today Lithuania has a modern European economy.

Lithuania was once a much larger country—it also included the area that is now Belarus and much of Ukraine. It became an independent republic in 1918 but in 1940 was taken over and annexed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). After World War II (1939-1945), Lithuania remained part of the Soviet Union and was controlled by the communists politically and economically for more than four decades. When the USSR collapsed in 1991 Lithuania regained its independence. The following year the country adopted a new constitution and held its first post-Soviet democratic elections.

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Through much of the 1990s the nation worked to convert its economy from a governmentally controlled socialist model to a free-market system. Economic recession, inflation, and unemployment were serious problems. But the situation has steadily improved. In the early years of the 21st century Lithuania emerged as a forward-looking country, joining both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) in the first half of 2004.

II

Land and Resources

Lithuania is a land of fertile, low-lying plains in the western and central regions and rolling hills in the eastern portion of the country. A flat coastal plain lies along the Baltic Sea. Nearly all of Lithuania’s land is less than 200 m (less than 660 ft) in elevation. About one-quarter is forested, and there are thousands of lakes in the countryside.

Lithuania is the largest of the Baltic states, with an area of about 65,300 sq km (about 25,200 sq mi), or slightly larger than West Virginia. Lithuania’s Baltic coast extends 99 km (62 mi). The southern half of the coastline is buttressed by the Curonian Spit, a long, narrow sandbar that forms an offshore lagoon.

A

Climate

The country’s climate is dominated by marine influences, but conditions are more variable in the eastern portion of the republic. In the western region the summers are cooler and the winters are milder. Average annual precipitation ranges from less than 600 mm (less than 24 in) in the center of the country to more than 850 mm (33 in) in the west. Three-fourths of the precipitation consists of rain. Fog is common. In winter, freezing rain or snowstorms can occur.

B

Rivers and Lakes

Lithuania has about 3,000 small lakes and many rivers. The country’s longest and largest river is the Nemunas (Neman), which flows north from Belarus to the center of Lithuania, and then west until it reaches the Baltic. Marshes and swamps are prevalent in Lithuania, especially in the north and west, although much of the original wetlands have been drained for agricultural purposes.

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