Lithuania

Airports

NA

Civil air

NA

Highways

44,200 km total (1990); 35,500 km hard surfaced, 8,700 km earth

Inland waterways

600 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine

66 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,854 GRT/315,690 DWT; includes 27 cargo, 24 timber carrier, 1 container, 3 railcar carrier, 11 combination bulk

Pipelines

NA

Ports

maritime - Klaipeda; inland - Kaunas

Railroads

2,010 km (includes NA km electrified); does not include industrial lines (1990)

Telecommunications

better developed than in most other former USSR republics; 22.4 telephones per 100 persons; broadcast stations - 13 AM, 26 FM, 1 SW, 1 LW, 3 TV; landlines or microwave to former USSR republics; leased connection to the Moscow international switch for traffic with other countries; satellite earth stations - (8 channels to Norway)

Branches

Ground Forces, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard/Volunteers; Russian Forces (Ground, Navy, Air, and Air Defense)

Manpower availability

NA

Agriculture

employs 29% of labor force; sugar, grain, potatoes, sugarbeets, vegetables, meat, milk, dairy products, eggs, and fish; most developed are the livestock and dairy branches - these depend on imported grain; Lithuania is a net exporter of meat, milk, and eggs

Budget

revenues 4.8 billion rubles; expenditures 4.7 billion rubles (1989 economic survey); note - budget revenues and expenditures are not given for other former Soviet republics; implied deficit from these figures does not have a clear interpretation

Currency

as of May 1992, retaining ruble as currency but planning early introduction of ``litas''

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $NA million; Communist countries (1971-86), $NA million

Electricity

5,875,000 kW capacity; 25,500 million kWh produced, NA kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

NA

Exports

700 million rubles (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: electronics 18%, petroleum products 16%, food 10%, chemicals 6% (1989) partners: Russia 60%, Ukraine 15%, other former Soviet republics 20%, West 5%

External debt

$650 million (1991 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power equivalent - $NA; per capita NA; real growth rate -13% (1991)

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe

Imports

2.2 billion rubles (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: oil 24%, machinery 14%, chemicals 8%, grain NA% partners: NA

Industrial production

growth rate -1.3% (1991)

Industries

employs 25% of the labor force; its shares in the total production of the former USSR are metal-cutting machine tools 6.6%; electric motors 4.6%; television sets 6.2%; refrigerators and freezers 5.4%; other production includes petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, and amber

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

200% (1991)

Overview

Lithuania is striving to become a small, independent, largely privatized economy rather than a segment of a huge, centrally planned economy. Although substantially above average in living standards and technology in the old USSR, Lithuania historically lagged behind Latvia and Estonia in economic development. It is ahead of its Baltic neighbors, however, in implementing market reform. The country has no important natural resources aside from its arable land and strategic location. Industry depends entirely on imported materials that have come from the republics of the former USSR. Lithuania benefits from its ice-free port at Klaipeda on the Baltic Sea and its rail and highway hub at Vilnius, which provides land communication between Eastern Europe and Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Belarus. Industry produces a small assortment of high-quality products, ranging from complex machine tools to sophisticated consumer electronics. Thanks to nuclear power, Lithuania is presently self-sufficient in electricity, exporting its surplus to Latvia and Belarus; the nuclear facilities inherited from the USSR, however, have come under world scrutiny as seriously deficient in safety standards. Agriculture is efficient compared with most of the former Soviet Union. Lithuania holds first place in per capita consumption of meat, second place for eggs and potatoes, and fourth place for milk and dairy products. Grain must be imported to support the meat and dairy industries. As to economic reforms, Lithuania is pressing ahead with plans to privatize at least 60% of state-owned property (industry, agriculture, and housing) having already sold many small enterprises using a voucher system. Other government priorities include stimulating foreign investment by protecting the property rights of foreign firms and redirecting foreign trade away from Eastern markets to the more competitive Western markets. For the moment, Lithuania will remain highly dependent on Russia for energy, raw materials, grains, and markets for its products.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

maritime; wet, moderate winters

Coastline

108 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than West Virginia

Disputes

dispute with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) over the position of the Neman River border presently located on the Lithuanian bank and not in midriver as by international standards

Environment

NA

Land area

65,200 km2

Land boundaries

1,273 km; Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km

Land use

49.1% arable land; NA% permanent crops; 22.2% meadows and pastures; 16.3% forest and woodland; 12.4% other; includes NA% irrigated

Maritime claims

Contiguous zone: NA nm Continental shelf: NA meter depth Exclusive fishing zone: NA nm Exclusive economic zone: NA nm Territorial sea: NA nm

Natural resources

peat

Terrain

lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil

Total area

65,200 km2

Administrative divisions

none - all rayons are under direct republic jurisdiction

Capital

Vilnius

Constitution

NA; Constitutional Commission has drafted a new constitution that will be sent to Parliament for ratification

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Stasys LOZORAITIS, Jr.; Embassy at 2622 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-5860, 2639 US: Ambassador Darryl JOHNSON; Embassy at Mykolaicio putino 4, Vilnius; (mailing address is APO AE 09862); telephone [7] (01-22) 628-049

Elections

President: last held March 1990 (elected by Parliament); results - LANDSBERGIS, BRAZAUSKAS Supreme Council: last held 24 February 1990; results - Sajudis (nationalist movement won a large majority) (90) 63%; seats - (141 total)

Executive branch

prime minister, Council of Ministers, Government,

Flag

yellow, green, and red horizontal stripes

Independence

1918; annexed by the Soviet Union 3 August 1940; restored independence 11 March 1990; and regained indpendence from the USSR 6 September 1991

Judicial branch

Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; district and city courts; Procurator General of Lithuania

Leaders

Chief of State: Chairman, Supreme Council Vytautas LANDSBERGIS (since March 1990), Deputy Chairmen Bronius KUZMICKAS (since March 1990), Ceslovas STANKEVICIUS (since March 1990) Head of Government: Prime Minister Gediminas VAGNORIUS (since January 1991); Deputy Prime Ministers Algis DOBROVOLSKAS (since January 1991), Vytantas PAKALNISKIS (since January 1991), Zigmas VAISVILA (since January 1991)

Legal system

based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts

Legislative branch

unicameral Supreme Council, Parliament

Long-form name

Republic of Lithuania

Member of

CSCE, IAEA, ILO, NACC, UN, UNCTAD

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 February; Defenders of Freedom Day, 13 January

Other political or pressure groups

Sajudis; Lithuanian Future Forum; Farmers Union

Political parties and leaders

Christian Democratic Party, FNU KATILIUS, chairman; Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania, Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman; Lithuanian Democratic Party, Sauluis PECELIUNAS, chairman; Lithuanian Green Party, Irena IGNATAVICIENE, chairwoman; Lithuanian Humanism Party, Vytautas KAZLAUSKAS, chairman; Lithuanian Independence Party, Virgilijus CEPAITIS, chairman; Lithuanian Liberty League, Antanas TERLECKAS; Lithuanian Liberals Union, Vytautus RADZVILAS, chairman; Lithuanian Nationalist Union, Rimantas SMETONA, chairman; Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, Aloizas SAKALAS, chairman

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

republic

Birth rate

15 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

11 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

Lithuanian 80.1%, Russian 8.6%, Poles 7.7%, Byelorussian 1.5%, other 2.1%

Infant mortality rate

18 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

1,836,000; industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 18%, other 40% (1990)

Languages

Lithuanian (official), Polish NA%, Russian NA%

Life expectancy at birth

66 years male, 76 years female (1992)

Literacy

NA% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write

Nationality

noun - Lithuanian(s); adjective - Lithuanian

Net migration rate

4 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

Lithuanian Trade Union Association; Labor Federation of Lithuania; Union of Workers

Population

3,788,542 (July 1992), growth rate 0.8% (1992)

Religions

Catholic NA%, Lutheran NA%, unknown NA%, none NA%, other NA%

Total fertility rate

2.1 children born/woman (1992)