ABOUT Lithuania, All You Need To Know

ABOUT Lithuania, All You Need To Know

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Dusk falls on the streets of Vilnius and the city's Athens-inspired cathedral.

Fast Facts

Population:

3,415,000

Capital:

Vilnius; 549,000

Area:

65,300 square kilometers (25,212 square miles)

Language:

Lithuanian, Polish, Russian

Religion:

Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Protestant

Currency:

Litas

Life Expectancy:

72

GDP per Capita:

U.S. $8,400

Literacy Percent:

100

Lithuania Facts Flag

Map

Lithuania is in northern Europe, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. The landscape consists of gently rolling plains and extensive forests. Beginning at about the same time as movements in the other Baltic republics of Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania quickly surged ahead. In March 1990 democratically elected representatives voted for independence, lost in 1940 with annexation by the Soviet Union. Lithuania, embracing market reform since independence, joined both the European Union and NATO in 2004.
ECONOMY

• Industry: Metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers
• Agriculture: Grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax; beef; fish
• Exports: Mineral products, textiles and clothing, machinery and equipment, chemicals

—Text From National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition