Lithuania

Lithuania (/ˌlɪθjuˈeɪniə/ [13] Lithuanian: Lietuva [lʲɪɛtʊˈvɐ]), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika [lʲɪɛtʊˈvoːs rʲɛsˈpʊblʲɪkɐ]), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia to the southwest. It has a maritime border with Sweden to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.86 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages.

Lithuania is a developed country with a high income, advanced economy, and ranking 35th in the Human Development Index. Lithuania is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the eurozone, the Nordic Investment Bank, the Schengen Agreement, NATO, and OECD. It also participates in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) regional co-operation format.

Etymology

The first known record of the name of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva) is in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno in the Quedlinburg Chronicle.[21] The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the name Lietuva: Litua[22] (pronounced [litua]). Due to the lack of reliable evidence, the true meaning of the name is unknown. Nowadays, scholars still debate the meaning of the word and there are a few plausible versions.[23]

Since Lietuva has a suffix (-uva), the original word should have no suffix.[23] A likely candidate is Lietā. Because many Baltic ethnonyms originated from hydronyms, linguists have searched for its origin among local hydronyms. Usually, such names evolved through the following process: hydronym → toponym → ethnonym.[24] Lietava, a small river not far from Kernavė, the core area of the early Lithuanian state and a possible first capital of the eventual Grand Duchy of Lithuania, is usually credited as the source of the name.[24] However, the river is very small and some find it improbable that such a small and local object could have lent its name to an entire nation. On the other hand, such naming is not unprecedented in world history.[25]

Artūras Dubonis proposed another hypothesis,[26] that Lietuva relates to the word leičiai (plural of leitis). From the middle of the 13th century, leičiai were a distinct warrior social group of the Lithuanian society subordinate to the Lithuanian ruler or the state itself. The word leičiai is used in the 14–16th century historical sources as an ethnonym for Lithuanians (but not Samogitians) and is still used, usually poetically or in historical contexts, in the Latvian language, which is closely related to Lithuanian.[27][28][29]

The Standard way to refer to people from Lithuania is "Lithuanian"

History

The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded about 10,000 years ago,[1][2] but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD.[3] Lithuanians, one of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands and established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century (and also a short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania). The Grand Duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state. It remained fiercely independent and was one of the last areas of Europe to adopt Christianity (beginning in the 14th century). A formidable power, it became the largest state in Europe in the 15th century spread from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, through the conquest of large groups of East Slavs who resided in Ruthenia.[4] In 1385, the Grand Duchy formed a dynastic union with Poland through the Union of Krewo. Later, the Union of Lublin (1569) created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that lasted until 1795, when the last of the Partitions of Poland erased both independent Lithuania and Poland from the political map. After the dissolution, Lithuanians lived under the rule of the Russian Empire until the 20th century, although there were several major rebellions, especially in 1830–1831 and 1863.

On 16 February 1918, Lithuania was re-established as a democratic state. It remained independent until the outset of World War II, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Following a brief occupation by Nazi Germany after the Nazis waged war on the Soviet Union, Lithuania was again absorbed into the Soviet Union for nearly 50 years. In 1990–1991, Lithuania restored its sovereignty with the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. Lithuania joined the NATO alliance in 2004 and the European Union as part of its enlargement in 2004.

Geography

Lithuania is located in the Baltic region of Europe[a] and covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi).[142] It lies between latitudes 53° and 57° N, and mostly between longitudes 21° and 27° E (part of the Curonian Spit lies west of 21°). It has around 99 kilometres (61.5 mi) of sandy coastline, only about 38 kilometres (24 mi) of which face the open Baltic Sea, less than the other two Baltic states. The rest of the coast is sheltered by the Curonian sand peninsula. Lithuania's major warm-water port, Klaipėda, lies at the narrow mouth of the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuanian: Kuršių marios), a shallow lagoon extending south to Kaliningrad. The country's main and largest river, the Nemunas River, and some of its tributaries carry international shipping.

Lithuania lies at the edge of the North European Plain. Its landscape was smoothed by the glaciers of the last ice age, and is a combination of moderate lowlands and highlands. Its highest point is Aukštojas Hill at 294 metres (965 ft) in the eastern part of the country. The terrain features numerous lakes (Lake Vištytis, for example) and wetlands, and a mixed forest zone covers over 33% of the country. Drūkšiai is the largest, Tauragnas is the deepest and Asveja is the longest lake in Lithuania.

After a re-estimation of the boundaries of the continent of Europe in 1989, Jean-George Affholder, a scientist at the Institut Géographique National (French National Geographic Institute), determined that the geographic centre of Europe was in Lithuania, at 54°54′N 25°19′E, 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of Lithuania's capital city of Vilnius.[143] Affholder accomplished this by calculating the centre of gravity of the geometrical figure of Europe.

Climate

Lithuania has a temperate climate with both maritime and continental influences. It is defined as humid continental (Dfb) under the Köppen climate classification (but is close to oceanic in a narrow coastal zone).

Average temperatures on the coast are −2.5 °C (27.5 °F) in January and 16 °C (61 °F) in July. In Vilnius the average temperatures are −6 °C (21 °F) in January and 17 °C (63 °F) in July. During the summer, 20 °C (68 °F) is common during the day while 14 °C (57 °F) is common at night; in the past, temperatures have reached as high as 30 or 35 °C (86 or 95 °F). Some winters can be very cold. −20 °C (−4 °F) occurs almost every winter. Winter extremes are −34 °C (−29 °F) in coastal areas and −43 °C (−45 °F) in the east of Lithuania.

The average annual precipitation is 800 mm (31.5 in) on the coast, 900 mm (35.4 in) in the Samogitia highlands and 600 mm (23.6 in) in the eastern part of the country. Snow occurs every year, it can snow from October to April. In some years sleet can fall in September or May. The growing season lasts 202 days in the western part of the country and 169 days in the eastern part. Severe storms are rare in the eastern part of Lithuania but common in the coastal areas.

The longest records of measured temperature in the Baltic area cover about 250 years. The data show warm periods during the latter half of the 18th century, and that the 19th century was a relatively cool period. An early 20th-century warming culminated in the 1930s, followed by a smaller cooling that lasted until the 1960s. A warming trend has persisted since then.[144]

Lithuania experienced a drought in 2002, causing forest and peat bog fires.[145]

Environment

After the restoration of Lithuania's independence in 1990, the Aplinkos apsaugos įstatymas (Environmental Protection Act) was adopted already in 1992. The law provided the foundations for regulating social relations in the field of environmental protection, established the basic rights and obligations of legal and natural persons in preserving the biodiversity inherent in Lithuania, ecological systems and the landscape.[147] Lithuania agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by 2020 and by at least 40% by 2030, together with all European Union members. Also, by 2020 at least 20% (27% by 2030) of the country's total energy consumption should be from the renewable energy sources.[148] In 2016, Lithuania introduced especially effective container deposit legislation, which resulted in collecting 92% of all packagings in 2017.[149]

Lithuania does not have high mountains and its landscape is dominated by blooming meadows, dense forests and fertile fields of cereals. However it stands out by the abundance of hillforts, which previously had castles where the ancient Lithuanians burned altars for pagan gods.[150] Lithuania is a particularly watered region with more than 3,000 lakes, mostly in the northeast. The country is also drained by numerous rivers, most notably the longest Nemunas.[150] Lithuania is home to two terrestrial ecoregions: Central European mixed forests and Sarmatic mixed forests.[151]

Forest has long been one of the most important natural resources in Lithuania. Forests occupy one third of the country's territory and timber-related industrial production accounts for almost 11% industrial production in the country.[152] Lithuania has five national parks,[153] 30 regional parks,[154] 402 nature reserves,[155] 668 state-protected natural heritage objects.[156]

In 2018 Lithuania was ranked fifth, second to Sweden (first 3 places were not granted) in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).[157] It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.62/10, ranking it 162nd globally out of 172 countries.[158]

Demographics

Population
Since the Neolithic period, the demographics of Lithuania have stayed fairly homogenous. There is a high probability that the inhabitants of present-day Lithuania have similar genetic compositions to their ancestors,[359][360][361] although without being actually isolated from them.[362] The Lithuanian population appears to be relatively homogeneous, without apparent genetic differences among ethnic subgroups.[363]

A 2004 analysis of MtDNA in the Lithuanian population revealed that Lithuanians are genetically close to the Slavic and Finno-Ugric speaking populations of Northern and Eastern Europe. Y-chromosome SNP haplogroup analysis showed Lithuanians to be genetically closest to Latvians and Estonians.[364]

In 2021, the age structure of the population was as follows:

0–14 years, 14.86% (male 214,113/female 203,117)
15–64 years: 65.19% (male 896,400/female 934,467)
65 years and over: 19.95% (male 195,269/female 365,014).[365]
The median age in 2022 was 44 years (male: 41, female: 47).[365]

Lithuania has a sub-replacement fertility rate: the total fertility rate (TFR) in Lithuania was 1.34 children born per woman in 2021, and the mean age of women at childbirth was 30.3 years. The average age of first childbirth for women was 28.2 years. The human sex ratio is male leaning for the age categories 15–44, with 1.0352 males for every female.[365] As of 2021, 25.6% of births were to unmarried women. The mean age at first marriage in 2021 was 28.3 years for women and 30.5 years for men.[365]

Language
The official language is Lithuanian, but in some areas there is a significant presence of minority languages such as Polish, Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian. The greatest presence of minorities and the use of these languages are in Šalčininkai District Municipality, Vilnius District Municipality and Visaginas Municipality. Yiddish is spoken by members of the tiny remaining Jewish community in Lithuania. The state laws guarantee education in minority languages and there are numerous publicly funded schools in the areas populated by minorities, with Polish as the language of instruction being the most widely available.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, 74.2% of residents of Lithuania were Catholics.[3] Catholicism has been the main religion since the official Christianisation of Lithuania in 1387. The Catholic Church was persecuted by the Russian Empire as part of the Russification policies and by the Soviet Union as part of the overall anti-religious campaigns. During the Soviet era, some priests actively led the resistance against the Communist regime, as symbolised by the Hill of Crosses and exemplified by The Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania.

3.7% of the population are Eastern Orthodox, mainly among the Russian minority.[3] The community of Old Believers (0.6% of population) dates back to the 1660s.

Protestants are 0.8%, of which 0.6% are Lutheran and 0.2% are Reformed. The Reformation did not impact Lithuania to a great extent as seen in East Prussia, Estonia, or Latvia. Before World War II, according to Losch (1932), the Lutherans were 3.3% of the total population.[392] They were mainly Germans and Prussian Lithuanians in the Klaipėda Region (Memel territory). This population fled or was expelled after the war, and today Protestantism is mainly represented by ethnic Lithuanians throughout the northern and western parts of the country, as well as in large urban areas. Newly arriving evangelical churches have established missions in Lithuania since 1990.[393]

Hinduism is a minority religion and a fairly recent development in Lithuania. Hinduism is spread in Lithuania by Hindu organizations: ISKCON, Sathya Sai Baba, Brahma Kumaris and Osho Rajneesh. ISKCON (Lithuanian: Krišnos sąmonės judėjimas) is the largest and the oldest movement as the first Krishna followers date to 1979.[394] It has three centres in Lithuania: in Vilnius, Klaipėda and Kaunas. Brahma Kumaris maintains the Centre Brahma Kumaris in Antakalnis, Vilnius.

The historical communities of Lipka Tatars maintain Islam as their religion. Lithuania was historically home to a significant Jewish community and was an important centre of Jewish scholarship and culture from the 18th century until the eve of World War II. Of the approximately 220,000 Jews who lived in Lithuania in June 1941, almost all were killed during the Holocaust.[395][396] The Lithuanian Jewish community numbered about 4,000 at the end of 2009.[397]

Romuva, the neopagan revival of the ancient religious practices, has gained popularity over the years. Romuva claims to continue living pagan traditions, which survived in folklore and customs.[398][399][400] Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith, which asserts the sanctity of nature and has elements of ancestor worship.[401] According to the 2001 census, there were 1,270 people of Baltic faith in Lithuania.[402] That number jumped to 5,118 in the 2011 census.[369]

Race

The majority ethnicity in Lithuania is Lithuanians, who make up 85,08% of the population and are the country's original inhabitants.

Poles come second (6,65%), mostly concentrated in Southeast Lithuania, including Vilnius. Russians are third at 5,88% with their liveliest communities in cities.

The fourth largest ethnicity in Lithuania was the Belarusians (1,2%), though by now they are certainly surpassed by Ukrainians (0,55% before the Russo-Ukrainian war, likely ~3% today). Together with the other ethnicities of the former Soviet Union, these two are concentrated primarily in the cities.

Other traditional minorities in Lithuania are the Jews, Germans, Tatars, Latvians, Karaims and Gypsies, each of them dating to 14th-15th centuries but consisting of 0,1% or less population today.

Inter-ethnic relations are generally good in Lithuania. Unlike in many European nations, Lithuania’s largest ethnic minorities enjoy public schools where the language of instruction is their native one rather than the official Lithuanian language. However, other points of language policy raised discussions recently, such as the legality of Polish street names in Polish-dominated municipalities.

Inter-ethnic marriages used to be shunned by peers while under the Soviet occupation (as the offspring were then likely to assimilate into the Russophone culture, threatening the long-term existence of the Lithuanian nation) but are now generally a non-issue if both spouses belong to the traditional communities.

Like elsewhere in Eastern Europe the concept of nation is more associated with ethnicity than citizenship, therefore using the term "Lithuanian" for ethnic minorities may be controversial (both among the minority in question and the rest of the population). Conversations about one's ethnicity are generally welcome.

All the traditional communities (well over 99% of the population) are White. Races are thus seen as an external issue used to describe global (rather than local) diversity.

Largest Cities

Government

Since Lithuania declared the restoration of its independence on 11 March 1990, it has maintained strong democratic traditions. It held its first independent general elections on 25 October 1992, in which 56.75% of voters supported the new constitution.[163] There were intense debates concerning the constitution, particularly the role of the president. A separate referendum was held on 23 May 1992 to gauge public opinion on the matter, and 41% of voters supported the restoration of the President of Lithuania.[163] Through compromise, a semi-presidential system was agreed on.[4]

The Lithuanian head of state is the president, directly elected for a five-year term and serving a maximum of two terms. The president oversees foreign affairs and national security, and is the commander-in-chief of the military.[164] The president also appoints the prime minister and, on the latter's nomination, the rest of the cabinet, as well as a number of other top civil servants and the judges for all courts except the Constitutional Court.[164] The current Lithuanian head of state, Gitanas Nausėda was elected on 26 May 2019 by unanimously winning in all municipalities of Lithuania on the second election tour.[165]

The judges of the Constitutional Court (Konstitucinis Teismas) serve nine-year terms. The court is renewed by a third every three years. The judges are appointed by the Seimas, on the nomination of the President, Chairman of the Seimas, and the Chairman of the Supreme Court,. The unicameral Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has 141 members who are elected to four-year terms. 71 of the members of its members are elected in single-member constituencies, and the others in a nationwide vote by proportional representation. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be eligible for any of the 70 national seats in the Seimas.[166]

Foreign Relations and Military

Lithuania became a member of the United Nations on 18 September 1991, and is a signatory to a number of its organizations and other international agreements. It is also a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as NATO and its adjunct North Atlantic Coordinating Council. Lithuania gained membership in the World Trade Organization on 31 May 2001, and joined the OECD on 5 July 2018,[199] while also seeking membership in other Western organizations.

Lithuania has established diplomatic relations with 149 countries.[200]

In 2011, Lithuania hosted the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Ministerial Council Meeting. During the second half of 2013, Lithuania assumed the role of the presidency of the European Union.

Lithuania is also active in developing cooperation among northern European countries. It is a member of the interparliamentary Baltic Assembly, the intergovernmental Baltic Council of Ministers and the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

Lithuania also cooperates with Nordic and the two other Baltic countries through the NB8 format. A similar format, NB6, unites Nordic and Baltic members of EU. NB6's focus is to discuss and agree on positions before presenting them to the Council of the European Union and at the meetings of EU foreign affairs ministers.

The Nordic Council of Ministers and Lithuania engage in political cooperation to attain mutual goals and to determine new trends and possibilities for joint cooperation. The council's information office aims to disseminate Nordic concepts and to demonstrate and promote Nordic cooperation.

The Allies, not from real life are: Suuriya, Antimonium, Nexus nx

Military.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces is the name for the unified armed forces of Lithuanian Land Force, Lithuanian Air Force, Lithuanian Naval Force, Lithuanian Special Operations Force and other units: Logistics Command, Training and Doctrine Command, Headquarters Battalion, Military Police. Directly subordinated to the Chief of Defence are the Special Operations Forces and Military Police. The Reserve Forces are under command of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of some 20,000 active personnel, which may be supported by reserve forces.[223] Compulsory conscription ended in 2008 but was reintroduced in 2015.[224] The Lithuanian Armed Forces currently have deployed personnel on international missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Mali and Somalia.[225]

Lithuania became a full member of NATO in March 2004. Fighter jets of NATO members are deployed in Šiauliai Air Base and provide safety for the Baltic airspace.

Since the summer of 2005, Lithuania has been part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF), leading a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the town of Chaghcharan in the province of Ghor. The PRT includes personnel from Denmark, Iceland and the US. There are also special operation forces units in Afghanistan, placed in Kandahar Province. Since joining international operations in 1994, Lithuania has lost two soldiers: Lt. Normundas Valteris fell in Bosnia, as his patrol vehicle drove over a mine. Sgt. Arūnas Jarmalavičius was fatally wounded during an attack on the camp of his Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.[226]

The Lithuanian National Defence Policy aims to guarantee the preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the state, the integrity of its land, territorial waters and airspace, and its constitutional order. Its main strategic goals are to defend the country's interests, and to maintain and expand the capabilities of its armed forces so they may contribute to and participate in the missions of NATO and European Union member states.[227]

The defense ministry is responsible for combat forces, search and rescue, and intelligence operations. The 5,000 border guards fall under the Interior Ministry's supervision and are responsible for border protection, passport and customs duties, and share responsibility with the navy for smuggling and drug trafficking interdiction. A special security department handles VIP protection and communications security. In 2015 National Cyber Security Centre of Lithuania was created. Paramilitary organisation Lithuanian Riflemen's Union acts as a civilian self-defence institution.

According to NATO, in 2020, Lithuania allocated 2.13% of its GDP to the national defense.[228] For a long time, especially after the global financial crisis in 2008, Lithuania lagged behind NATO allies in terms of defence spending. However, in recent years it has begun to rapidly increase the funding, exceeding the NATO guideline of 2% in 2019.

Lithuania's president Gitanas Nausėda called for more NATO troops on 22 April 2022, saying NATO should increase its deployment of troops in Lithuania and elsewhere on Europe's eastern flank following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during a meeting in Vilnius.[229]

Economy

Lithuania has an open and mixed economy that is classified as high-income economy by the World Bank.[231] According to data from 2017, the three largest sectors in Lithuanian economy are – services (67.2% of GDP), industry (29.4%) and agriculture (3.5%).[232] World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report ranks Lithuania 41st (of 137 ranked countries).

Lithuania joined NATO in 2004,[233] EU in 2004,[234] Schengen in 2007[235] and OECD in 2018.[199]

On 1 January 2015, the euro became the national currency, replacing litas at the rate of EUR 1.00 = LTL 3.45280.[236]

Agricultural products and food comprise 18.3% of exports; other major sectors include chemical products and plastics (17.8%), machinery and appliances (15.8%), mineral products (14.7%), wood and furniture (12.5%).[237] According to data from 2016, more than half of all Lithuanian exports go to 7 countries including Russia (14%), Latvia (9.9%), Poland (9.1%), Germany (7.7%), Estonia (5.3%), Sweden (4.8%) and United Kingdom (4.3%).[238] Exports equaled 81.31 percent of Lithuania's GDP in 2017.[239]

Lithuanian GDP experienced very high real growth rates for decade up to 2009, peaking at 11.1% in 2007. As a result, the country was often termed as a Baltic Tiger. However, in 2009 due to a global financial crisis marked experienced a drastic decline – GDP contracted by 14.9%[240] and unemployment rate reached 17.8% in 2010.[241] After the decline of 2009, Lithuanian annual economic growth has been much slower compared to pre-2009 years. According to IMF, financial conditions are conducive to growth and financial soundness indicators remain strong. The public debt ratio in 2016 fell to 40 percent of GDP, to compare with 42.7 in 2015 (before global finance crisis – 15 percent of GDP in 2008).[242]

On average, more than 95% of all foreign direct investment in Lithuania comes from European Union countries. Sweden is historically the largest investor with 20% – 30% of all FDI in Lithuania.[244] FDI into Lithuania spiked in 2017, reaching its highest ever recorded number of greenfield investment projects. In 2017, Lithuania was third country, after Ireland and Singapore by the average job value of investment projects.[245] The US was the leading source country in 2017, 24.59% of total FDI. Next up are Germany and the UK, each representing 11.48% of total project numbers.[246] Based on the Eurostat's data, in 2017, the value of Lithuanian exports recorded the most rapid growth not only in the Baltic countries, but also across Europe, which was 16.9 per cent.[247]

In the period between 2004 and 2016, one out of five Lithuanians emigrated, primarily due to insufficient income for residents;[248] secondarily seeking to study abroad. Long term emigration and economy growth has resulted in a noticeable shortage in the labor market[249] and growth in salaries being larger than growth in labor efficiency.[250] Unemployment rate in 2017 was 8.1%.[251]

As of 2021, Lithuanian median wealth per adult was $28,400 (mean was $63,500), while the total national wealth was $138 billion.[252] As of December 2022, the average monthly gross salary in Lithuania was €2,042.[253] Although, cost of living in the country also is sufficiently less with the price level for household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) – 63, being 39% lower than EU average – 102 in 2016.[254]

Lithuania has a flat tax rate rather than a progressive scheme. According to Eurostat,[255] the personal income tax (15%) and corporate tax (15%) rates in Lithuania are among the lowest in the EU. The country has the lowest implicit rate of tax on capital (9.8%) in the EU. Corporate tax rate in Lithuania is 15% and 5% for small businesses. 7 Free Economic Zones are operating in Lithuania.[256]

Information technology production is growing in the country, reaching €1.9 billion in 2016.[257] In 2017 only, 35 [258] FinTech companies came to Lithuania – a result of Lithuanian government and Bank of Lithuania simplified procedures for obtaining licences for the activities of e-money and payment institutions.[259] Europe's first international Blockchain Centre launched in Vilnius in 2018.[260] Lithuania has granted a total of 39 e-money licenses, second in the EU only to the U.K. with 128 licenses. In 2018 Google set up a payment company in Lithuania.[261]

Culture

Culture of Lithuania combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the unique Lithuanian language, with Nordic cultural aspects and Christian traditions resulting from historical ties with Poland. Although linguistic resemblances represent strong cultural ties with Latvia in various historical moments Lithuania was influenced by Nordic, Germanic and Slavic cultures. Various cultural changes occurred throughout Lithuania.

Ethnicity and Nationality.

Lithuania has the most homogeneous population in the Baltic states. In the 2001 census, 83.45% of the population identified themselves as ethnic Lithuanians, 6.74% as Poles, 6.31% as Russians, 1.23% as Belarusians, and 2.27% as members of other ethnic groups.[1] Poles in Lithuania are concentrated in the Vilnius Region, allowing Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, their ethnically based party, to exert some influence. Russians, however, are relatively evenly spread throughout Lithuania. Lithuanians are usually divided into 5 groups: Samogitians, Sudovians, Aukštaitians, Dzūkians and Lietuvininkai,[2] although the Lietuvininkai are nearly extinct. City dwellers, however, are most often simply called Lithuanians.

Language.

Lithuanian is the official language of Lithuania. Lithuanian, an Indo-European language, closely resembles ancient Sanskrit, and is written using the Latin alphabet. It is considered by scholars that the Lithuanian language retained, with the fewest changes, most of the elements of Proto-Indo-European language.[5] Various dialects of Lithuanian exist, such as High Lithuanian (Aukštaitian) and Low Lithuanian (Samogitian).

Education.

Education in Lithuania exists from pre-school to adult education. Colleges and universities in Lithuania have undergraduate and higher education. Pre-school is for children aged three to six years. After pre-school, children enroll in primary school from seven to ten years of age. At eleven, students begin secondary school until the age of 18. Once the general education is completed, students go to college or university.[10] Students can take the UK exam to study overseas.[11] A bachelor's degree takes four years, traditionally, to complete. A master's takes one to two years to complete; and a doctoral degree takes four years.[12] Lithuania's oldest university is Vilnius University, which was founded in 1579.[13]

Food and Lifestyle.

Lithuanian cuisine features the products suited to its cool and moist northern climate: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialities. Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Eastern Europe, Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with other Eastern European and Ashkenazi cuisines. Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by a variety of influences during the country's long and difficult history. German traditions also influenced Lithuanian cuisine, introducing pork and potato dishes, such as potato pudding (kugelis or kugel) and potato sausages (vėdarai), as well as the baroque tree cake known as šakotis. The most exotic of all the influences is Eastern (Crimean Karaites) cuisine, and the dishes kibinai and čeburekai are popular in Lithuania. Torte Napoleon was introduced during Napoleon's passage through Lithuania in the 19th century. Some traditional meals are didžkukuliai (also called cepelinai) - potato dumplings, šaltibarščiai - cold borscht (beetroot soup), juoda duona - dark rye bread, balandėliai - stuffed cabbage rolls, bulviniai blynai - potato pancakes, gira - kvass (fermented rye bread drink), and lašiniai - smoked fatback.

Art and Museums.

Lithuania's art community is famous for Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911). Čiurlionis was a nationally renowned musician and artist in Lithuania. His symphonic compositions, Jūra ("The sea") and Miške ("In the forest"), were the first full-length pieces from a Lithuanian musician. Jūra ("The sea") and Miške ("In the forest") were composed to represent Lithuania's landscape.[14] After Čiurlionis's death, the 2420 Čiurlionis asteroid honors his achievements after being discovered in 1975.

A large number of museums exist in Lithuania. The Lithuanian Art Museum was founded in 1933 and is the largest museum of art preservation and display in Lithuania.[15] The Palanga Amber Museum is a subsidiary of the Lithuanian Art Museum. Various amber pieces comprise a major part of the museum. In total, 28,000 pieces of amber are displayed, and about 15,000 contain inclusions of insects, spiders, or plants.[16] Some 4,500 amber pieces in the museum are used for artwork and jewelry.[17]

Music.

Lithuania has a long history of folk, popular and classical musical development. Lithuanian folk music is based primarily around polyphonic music played on flutes, zithers (kanklės) and other instruments.

Cinema and Theater.

Lithuania has a lively drama scene. Many film festivals exist, such as Kino Pavasaris and the AXX Commercial Film Festival Contest. Film tradition has emerged throughout Lithuania's occupation by the Soviet Union.[18] A popular Lithuanian film classic is Velnio Nuotaka, which is based upon folk tales.[19]

A major theater in Lithuania is the Lithuanian National Drama Theater. Another theatre, the Vilnius Little Theatre, was founded by Rimas Tuminas. Vilnius Little Theatre produces Shakespeare plays and other productions.[19] Actors are being taught in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, which was founded in 1919 by Juozas Naujalis as the Kaunas Music School. The academy was renamed in 2004.[20]

Several directors are important to Lithuania's theater scene. Eimuntas Nekrošius is a major part of Lithuania's theatre movement and has a theatre company, Meno Fortas. He has produced Shakespearean plays, such as Macbeth, Othello, and Hamlet. Oskaras Koršunovas is another acclaimed contemporary director, producing musicals, studio performances, and plays, including Hamlet and Midsummer Night's Dream.[19]

Architecture and Housing.

Several famous Lithuania-related architects are notable for their achievements in the field of architecture. Johann Christoph Glaubitz, Marcin Knackfus, Laurynas Gucevičius and Karol Podczaszyński were instrumental in introducing Baroque and neoclassical architectural movements to the Lithuanian architecture during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

Lithuania is also known for numerous castles. About twenty castles exist in Lithuania. Some castles had to be rebuilt or survive partially. Lithuanian village life has existed since the days of Vytautas the Great. Zervynos and Kapiniškės are two of many ethnographic villages in Lithuania.

Forty percent of Lithuania's population live in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Alytus, Panevėžys, and Šiauliai. The Population of Lithuania has risen really really exponentially...[26] Between 1996 and 2001, the World Bank financed the Lithuania Energy Efficiency Housing Project to renovate thermal temperatures in some of Lithuania's houses, due to Lithuania's cold climate.

Holidays

The official holidays are found in Article 162 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania. The holidays are as follows:[28]

January 1: New Year's Day
January 13: Defenders of Freedom Day
February 16: Day of Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania (1918)
March 11: Day of Restitution of Independence of Lithuania (from the Soviet Union, 1990)
First Sunday and Monday of spring with full moon Easter
May 1: International Labor Day
First Sunday in May: Mother's Day
First Sunday in June: Father's Day
June 24: St. John's Day [Christian name], Day of Dew [original pagan name] traditions. (aka: Midsummer Day, Saint Jonas Day)
July 6: Statehood Day
August 15: Assumption Day
November 1: All Saints' Day
December 25 and December 26: Christmas

Infrastructure

Lithuania has a well developed communications infrastructure. The country has 2.8 million citizens[309] and 5 million SIM cards.[310] The largest LTE (4G) mobile network covers 97% of Lithuania's territory.[311] Usage of fixed phone lines has been rapidly decreasing due to rapid expansion of mobile-cellular services.[312]

In 2017, Lithuania was top 30 in the world by average mobile broadband speeds and top 20 by average fixed broadband speeds.[313] Lithuania was also top 7 in 2017 in the List of countries by 4G LTE penetration. In 2016, Lithuania was ranked 17th in United Nations' e-participation index.[314][315]

There are four TIER III datacenters in Lithuania.[316] Lithuania is 44th globally ranked country on data center density according to Cloudscene.[317]

Long-term project (2005–2013) – Development of Rural Areas Broadband Network (RAIN) was started with the objective to provide residents, state and municipal authorities and businesses with fibre-optic broadband access in rural areas. RAIN infrastructure allows 51 communications operators to provide network services to their clients. The project was funded by the European Union and the Lithuanian government.[318][319] 72% of Lithuanian households have access to internet, a number which in 2017 was among EU's lowest[320] and in 2016 ranked 97th by CIA World Factbook.[321] Number of households with internet access is expected to increase and reach 77% by 2021.[322] Almost 50% of Lithuanians had smartphones in 2016, a number that is expected to increase to 65% by 2022.[323] Lithuania has the highest FTTH (Fiber to the home) penetration rate in Europe (36.8% in September 2016) according to FTTH Council Europe.[324]

Transport

Lithuania received its first railway connection in the middle of the 19th century, when the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway was constructed. It included a stretch from Daugavpils via Vilnius and Kaunas to Virbalis. The first and only still operating tunnel was completed in 1860.

Rail transport in Lithuania consists of 1,762 km (1,095 mi) of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11.8 in) Russian gauge railway of which 122 km (76 mi) are electrified. This railway network is incompatible with European standard gauge and requires train switching. However, Lithuanian railway network also has 115 km (71 mi) of standard gauge lines.[325] More than half of all inland freight transported in Lithuania is carried by rail.[326] The Trans-European standard gauge Rail Baltica railway, linking Helsinki–Tallinn–Riga–Kaunas–Warsaw and continuing on to Berlin is under construction. In 2017, Lietuvos Geležinkeliai, a company that operates most railway lines in Lithuania, received EU penalty for breaching EU's antitrust laws and restricting competition.[327]

Transportation is the third largest sector in Lithuanian economy.[328] Lithuanian transport companies drew attention in 2016[329] and 2017[330] with huge and record-breaking orders of trucks. Almost 90% of commercial truck traffic in Lithuania is international transports, the highest of any EU country.[331]

Lithuania has an extensive network of motorways. WEF grades Lithuanian roads at 4.7 / 7.0[332] and Lithuanian road authority (LAKD) at 6.5 / 10.0.[333]

The Port of Klaipėda is the only commercial cargo port in Lithuania. In 2011 45.5 million tons of cargo were handled (including Būtingė oil terminal figures)[334] Port of Klaipėda is outside of EU's 20 largest ports,[335][336] but it is the eighth largest port in the Baltic Sea region[337] [338] with ongoing expansion plans.[339]

Vilnius International Airport is the largest airport in Lithuania, 91st busiest airport in Europe (EU's 100 largest airports). It served 3.8 million passengers in 2016.[340] Other international airports include Kaunas International Airport, Palanga International Airport and Šiauliai International Airport. Kaunas International Airport is also a small commercial cargo airport which started regular commercial cargo traffic in 2011.[341] The inland river cargo port in Marvelė, linking Kaunas and Klaipėda, received first cargo in 2019.[342]

Water Supply and Sanitation

Lithuania has one of the largest fresh water supplies, compared with other countries in Europe. Lithuania and Denmark are the only countries in Europe, which are fully equipped with fresh groundwater. Lithuanians consume about 0.5 million cubic metres of water per day, which is only 12–14 percent of all explored fresh groundwater resources.[343] Water quality in the country is very high and is determined by the fact that drinking water comes from deep layers that are protected from pollution on the surface of the earth. Drilling depth usually reaches 30–50 metres, but in Klaipėda Region it even reaches 250 metres. Consequently, Lithuania is one of very few European countries where groundwater is used for centralized water supply. With a large underground fresh water reserves, Lithuania exports mineral-rich water to other countries. Approved mineral water quantity is about 2.7 million cubic metres per year, while production is only 4–5 percent of all mineral water resources.[344]

Vilnius is the only Baltic capital that uses centralized water supplying from deep water springs, which are protected from pollution and has no nitrates or nitrites that are harmful to the human body. Water is cleaned without chemicals in Lithuania. About 20% of the consumed water in the state is a non-filtered very high quality water.[345]

Energy

Systematic diversification of energy imports and resources is Lithuania's key energy strategy.[346] Long-term aims were defined in National Energy Independence strategy in 2012 by Lietuvos Seimas.[347] It was estimated that strategic energy independence initiatives will cost €6.3–7.8 billion in total and provide annual savings of €0.9–1.1 billion.

After the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, Lithuania turned from electricity exporter to electricity importer. Unit No. 1 was closed in December 2004, as a condition of Lithuania's entry into the European Union; Unit No. 2 was closed down on 31 December 2009. Proposals have been made to construct a new – Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania.[348] However, a non-binding referendum held in October 2012 clouded the prospects for the Visaginas project, as 63% of voters said no to a new nuclear power plant.[349]

The country's main primary source of electrical power is Elektrėnai Power Plant. Other primary sources of Lithuania's electrical power are Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant and Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant. Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant is the only in the Baltic states power plant to be used for regulation of the power system's operation with generating capacity of 900 MW for at least 12 hours.[350] As of 2015, 66% of electrical power was imported.[351] First geothermal heating plant (Klaipėda Geothermal Demonstration Plant) in the Baltic Sea region was built in 2004.

Lithuania–Sweden submarine electricity interconnection NordBalt and Lithuania–Poland electricity interconnection LitPol Link were launched at the end of 2015.[352]

In order to break down Gazprom's monopoly[353][354] in natural gas market of Lithuania, first large scale LNG import terminal (Klaipėda LNG FSRU) in the Baltic region was built in port of Klaipėda in 2014. The Klaipėda LNG terminal was called Independence, thus emphasising the aim to diversify energy market of Lithuania. Norvegian company Equinor supplies 540 million cubic metres (19 billion cubic feet) of natural gas annually from 2015 until 2020.[355] The terminal is able to meet the Lithuania's demand 100 percent, and Latvia's and Estonia's national demand 90 percent in the future.[356]

Gas Interconnection Poland–Lithuania (GIPL), also known as Lithuania–Poland pipeline, is a proposed natural gas pipeline interconnection between Lithuania and Poland that is expected to be finished by 2019. In 2018 synchronising the Baltic States' electricity grid with the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe has started.[357]

In 2016, 20.8% of electricity consumed in Lithuania came from renewable sources.[358]

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