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NAVIGATION
Republic of Lithuania
Lietuvos Respublika
former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic local long form: Lietuvos Respublika |
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Government type:
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parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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Vilnius |
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Administrative divisions:
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10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus |
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Independence:
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11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date of independence from German, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian occupation, 11 March 1990 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union |
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Constitution:
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adopted 25 October 1992 |
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Legal system:
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based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Rolandas PAKSAS (since 26 February 2003)
head of government: Premier Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 3 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 22 December 2002 and 5 January 2003 (next to be held in late 2007); premier appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament election results: Rolandas PAKSAS elected president; percent of vote - Rolandas PAKSAS 54.9%, Valdas ADAMKUS 45.1% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democratic Coalition 31.1%, New Union-Social Liberals 19.6%, Liberal Union 17.2%, TS 8.6%, remaining parties all less than 5%; seats by party - Social Democratic Coalition 52, Liberal Union 34, New Union-Social Liberals 29, TS 9, Farmer's Party 4, Center Union 2, Poles' Electoral Action 2, Modern Christian Democratic Union 1, independents 3, others 5 |
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Judicial branch:
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Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Christian Democratic Party or LKDP [Kazys BOBELIS, chairman]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Vytautas LANDSBERGIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Center Union or LCS [Kestutis GLAVECKAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Farmer's Party or LUP [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Green Party [Rimantas BRAZIULIS]; Lithuanian Liberal Union [Eugenijus GENTVILAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Liberal Youth [Neringa MOROZAITE]; Lithuanian National Democratic Party [Vygintas GONTIS]; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSPD, and New Democracy; Moderate Conservative Union [Gediminas VAGNORIUS]; Modern Christian Democratic Union [Vytautas BOGUSIS, chairman]; New Democracy and Farmer's Union [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman]; New Union-Social Liberals [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]; Young Lithuania [Arnoldas PLATELIS] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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ACCT (observer), BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Vygaudas USACKAS
consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860 chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador John F. TEFFT
embassy: 2600 Akmenu 6, Vilnius mailing address: American Embassy, Vilnius, PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723 telephone: [370] (2) 665-500 FAX: [370] (2) 665-510 |
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Flag description:
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three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has been slowly rebounding from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. High unemployment, still 12% in 2002, and weak consumption have held back recovery. Trade has been increasingly oriented toward the West. Lithuania has gained membership in the World Trade Organization and has moved ahead with plans to join the EU. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, is underway. Overall, more than 80% of enterprises have been privatized. The US government and business aid have helped in the transition from the old command economy to a market economy. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $29.2 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.5% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $8,400 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 8%
industry: 31% services: 61% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1996) (1996) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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34 (1999) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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0.8% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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1.5 million (2001 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (1997 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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12.5% (2001 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $1.59 billion
expenditures: $1.77 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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Industries:
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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 |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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6% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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10.966 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 20%
hydro: 3% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 77% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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6.898 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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6.3 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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3 billion kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
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Exports:
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$5.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001) |
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Exports - partners:
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UK 13.8%, Latvia 12.6%, Germany 12.6%, Russia 11%, Poland 6.3% (2001) |
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Imports:
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$6.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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mineral products 21%, machinery and equipment 17%, transport equipment 11%, chemicals 9%, textiles and clothing 9%, metals 5% (2001) |
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Imports - partners:
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Russia 25.3%, Germany 17.2%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.2%, France 3.8% (2001) |
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Debt - external:
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$5.8 billion (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$228.5 million (1995) (1995) |
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Currency:
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litas (LTL) |
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Currency code:
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LTL |
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Exchange rates:
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litai per US dollar - 3.4946 (15 October 2002), 3.4794 (1 July 2002), 4.000 (fixed rate between 1 May 1994 and 1 February 2002); note - litai is the plural of litas; effective 1 February 2002 the litas was pegged to the euro at a rate of 3.4528 |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |