Lithuania

C

Animals and Natural Resources

Lithuania’s nature reserves support a vast array of wildlife. There are more than 60 known species of mammals, including moose, deer, wolf, fox, and wild boar. The country’s many bird species include white stork, heron, goose, duck, and hawk.

Forests are most dense in the southeast. Pine trees are found in the coastal region and the south, while oak trees predominate in the central portion of the country. Spruce, birch, black alder, and aspen are less common.

Lithuania’s limited mineral resources include peat (a compact, high-carbon material used for fuel and mulch), iron ore, granite, sulfates, limestone, chalk, sand, and gravel. Western Lithuania and the shelf of the Baltic Sea are promising areas for the extraction of petroleum and natural gas. Amber, a fossil tree resin, is found along the Baltic shore.

D

Environmental Issues

Like many countries of the former USSR, Lithuania has a significant pollution problem. Despite the growth of the country’s environmental awareness since its independence from the USSR in 1991, a lack of technology, equipment, and funds have made it difficult to adequately reduce or treat industrial emissions and to replace older equipment. Mobile pollution sources, such as cars and trucks, contribute significantly to air pollution. Industrial centers such as Vilnius and Kaunas, with their fertilizer and cement industries and power plants, have also contributed to the severe contamination of the air. Air pollution has resulted in acid rain, which further degrades water and soil quality.

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Lithuania is struggling to upgrade its sewage treatment plants, because much of the country’s surface water is contaminated with bacteria. Agricultural runoff from fertilizers and pesticides also contributes to the pollution of the country’s groundwater and many of its rivers. Contamination of rivers, in turn, pollutes the coastal areas into which the rivers empty. See also Water Pollution.

During the Soviet era, Lithuania depended almost entirely on nuclear energy for its electricity. The Ignalina nuclear plant, in the eastern part of the country, still supplies electricity to Lithuania and to some neighboring countries. Constructed in the 1980s, the plant poses a considerable environmental threat—its reactors are of the same design as those at the Chernobyl’ nuclear power plant, which in 1986 suffered the worst nuclear disaster in history. Under pressure from the EU, Lithuanian officials agreed in 2002 to close down the plant by the end of the decade.

Lithuania has made some progress in dealing with its environmental problems since independence. Environmental regulations passed in the early 1990s called for reduced pollution and more effective monitoring. These regulations also sought to end the government secrecy about environmental issues that characterized the Soviet era. Lithuania has ratified agreements protecting biodiversity, the ozone layer, and wetlands. It is also party to international treaties concerning climate change and ship pollution.

III

People

Ethnic Lithuanians constitute about 80 percent of the country’s population. The proportion of Lithuanians increased slightly in the first years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union—many Lithuanians returned to their homeland from that country and abroad while some Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians left the country. Russians and Poles constitute the country’s largest minority groups, each accounting for roughly 7 percent of the population. Jews were the largest minority group in Lithuania before World War II (1939-1945), during which at least 200,000 were killed by the Nazis (see Holocaust).

In 1989 Lithuania passed laws allowing all people who live within its borders to apply for citizenship, regardless of ethnic origin. Most residents among the minority populations have since become citizens.

The population of Lithuania (2007 estimate) is 3,575,439, giving it a population density of 55 persons per sq km (142 persons per sq mi). Lithuania is highly urbanized, with 67 percent of the population living in urban areas. Unlike most other republics of the former USSR, the country is not dominated by a single urban center. Vilnius, the capital, is the largest city, followed by Kaunas, an industrial and commercial center, and Klaipėda, an important seaport.

A

Language and Religion

The country’s official language since 1988 has been Lithuanian, a language of the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Lithuanian language is closely related to Latvian. Other languages spoken in the country include Russian and Polish.

During most of the Soviet period, religious practice and instruction were greatly limited in Lithuania and the rest of the Soviet bloc. The lifting of these restrictions in the late 1980s and the restoration of independence in 1991 stimulated a revival of religious practice. More than 80 percent of the country is Roman Catholic. Other religions include Protestantism and Orthodox Christianity.

B

Education

Lithuania has an adult literacy rate of 99.6 percent, reflecting the high value the country places on universal education. School attendance is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. State-run educational institutions provide free education at all levels. A number of private schools have also been established since the end of Soviet rule. Vilnius University (founded in 1579), located in Vilnius, is the most prestigious institution of higher learning. The Vytautas Magnus University (1922) is located in Kaunas.