Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.89 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities include Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians belong to the linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian.
Republic of Lithuania Lietuvos Respublika (Lithuanian) | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Anthem: Tautiška giesmė "National Hymn" | |
 Location of Lithuania (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) | |
| Capital and largest city | Vilnius 54°41′N 25°19′E / 54.683°N 25.317°E |
| Official languages | Lithuanian |
| Ethnic groups (2024) |
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| Religion (2021) |
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| Demonym(s) | Lithuanian |
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential republic |
• President | Gitanas Nausėda |
• Prime Minister | Gintautas Paluckas |
• Seimas Speaker | Saulius Skvernelis |
| Legislature | Seimas |
| Formation | |
• First mentioned | 9 March 1009 |
• Grand Duchy | 1236 |
• Coronation of Mindaugas | 6 July 1253 |
• Union with Poland | 2 February 1386 |
• Commonwealth created | 1 July 1569 |
• Partitioned | 24 October 1795 |
• Independence reinstated | 16 February 1918 |
• Soviet occupation | 16 June 1940 |
• Independence restored | 11 March 1990 |
| Area | |
• Total | 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi) (121st) |
• Water (%) | 1.98 (2015) |
| Population | |
• 2025 estimate |  2,897,430 (135th) |
• Density | 44/km2 (114.0/sq mi) (138th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2025 estimate |
• Total |  $161.454 billion (88th) |
• Per capita | $55,995 (39th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2025 estimate |
• Total | $87.981 billion (78th) |
• Per capita | $30,514 (40th) |
| Gini (2023) |  35.7medium inequality |
| HDI (2022) | 0.879 very high (37th) |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Date format | yyyy-mm-dd |
| Drives on | Right |
| Calling code | +370 |
| ISO 3166 code | LT |
| Internet TLD | .lt |
For millennia, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas, who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Subsequent expansion and consolidation resulted in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which by the 14th century was the largest country in Europe. In 1386, the Grand Duchy entered into a de facto personal union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The two realms were united into the bi-confederal Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, forming one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighbouring countries gradually dismantled it between 1772 and 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.
Towards the end of World War I, Lithuania declared Independence in 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. In World War II, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany, before being reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence.
Lithuania is a developed country with a high income and an advanced economy. 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 spelling of Lithuania was a later addition to the original Latinate Lituania since 1800 as a form of hyperforeignism (such as the word author being a superseding form of older autor) influenced by Greek loanwords with the theta; it is ultimately from Lithuanian: Lietuva. The first known record of Lietuva is in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno in the Quedlinburg Chronicle. The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the name Lietuva: Litua (pronounced [litua]). Due to lack of reliable evidence, the true meaning of the name is unknown and scholars still debate it. There are a few plausible versions.
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. 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.
Artūras Dubonis proposed another hypothesis, 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 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.
History
Early history and Baltic tribes
The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded about 10,000 years ago. The first people settled in the territory of Lithuania after the Last Glacial Period in the 10th millennium BC: Kunda, Neman and Narva cultures. They were traveling hunters. In the 8th millennium BC the climate became warmer and forests developed. The inhabitants of what is now Lithuania travelled less and engaged in local hunting, gathering and fresh-water fishing. The Indo-Europeans, who arrived in the 3rd – 2nd millennium BC, mixed with the local population and formed various Baltic tribes. The Baltic tribes did not maintain close cultural or political contacts with the Roman Empire, while maintaining trade contacts via the Amber Road.
From the 9th to the 11th centuries, coastal Balts were subjected to raids by the Vikings. Lithuania comprised mainly the culturally different regions of Samogitia (known for its early medieval skeletal burials), and further east Aukštaitija, or Lithuania proper (known for its early medieval cremation burials). The area was remote and unattractive to outsiders, including traders, which accounts for its separate linguistic, cultural and religious identity and delayed integration into general European patterns and trends. Traditional Lithuanian pagan customs and mythology, with many archaic elements, were long preserved. Rulers' bodies were cremated up until the conversion to Christianity: the descriptions of the cremation ceremonies of the grand dukes Algirdas and Kęstutis have survived.
Kingdom of Lithuania, Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD. Facing the German threat, Mindaugas in the middle of the 13th century united a large part of the Baltic tribes and founded the State of Lithuania, while in 1253 he was crowned as the Catholic King of Lithuania. Moreover by taking advantage of the weakened territory of the former Kievan Rus' due to the Mongol invasion, Mindaugas incorporated Black Ruthenia into Lithuania. After Mindaugas' assassination in 1263, pagan Lithuania was again a target of the Christian crusades of the Teutonic Knights and Livonian Order.Traidenis during his reign (1269–1282) reunified all Lithuanian lands and achieved military successes against the Crusaders, fighting alongside other Baltic tribes, but was unable to militarily assist the Old Prussians in their Great Uprising. Traidenis' main residence was in Kernavė.
From the late 13th century members of the Lithuanian Gediminids dynasty began ruling Lithuania, who consolidated a hereditary monarchy and the status of Vilnius as permanent capital city, christianized Lithuania and by incorporating East Slavs' territories (e.g. principalities of Minsk, Kyiv, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk, etc.) significantly expanded the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's territory, which reached ~650,000 km2 in the first half of the 14th century. At the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. In 1385, Lithuania formed a dynastic union with Poland through the Union of Krewo. Furthermore, in the late 14th–15th centuries patrilineal members of the Lithuanian ruling Gediminids dynasty ruled not only Lithuania and Poland, but Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and Moldavia. The German attacks on Lithuania were ceased with a decisive Polish–Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and by concluding the Treaty of Melno in 1422.
In the 15th century the strengthened Grand Duchy of Moscow renewed the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars for the Lithuanian-controlled Eastern Orthodox territories. Due to the unsuccessful beginning of the Livonian War, loss of land to the Tsardom of Russia, and pressure by monarch Sigismund II Augustus, a supporter of a close Polish–Lithuanian union, the Lithuanian nobility agreed to conclude the Union of Lublin in 1569 with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which created a new federative Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with a joint monarch (holding both titles of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania), but Lithuania remained a separate state from Poland with its own territory (~300 000 km2), coat of arms, management apparatus, laws, courts, seal, army, treasury, etc. After concluding the real union Lithuania and Poland jointly managed to reach military successes during the Livonian War, occupation of Moscow (1610), war with Sweden (1600–1611), Smolensk war with Russia (1632–1634), etc. In 1588, Sigismund III Vasa personally confirmed the Third Statute of Lithuania where it was stated that Lithuania and Poland have equal rights within the Commonwealth and ensured the separation of powers. The real union strongly intensified the Polonization of Lithuania and Lithuanian nobility.
The mid-17th century was marked with disastrous military loses for Lithuania as during the Deluge most of the territory of Lithuania was annexed by the Tsardom of Russia and even Lithuania's capital Vilnius was fully captured for the first time by a foreign army and ravaged. In 1655, Lithuania unilaterally seceded from Poland, declared the Swedish King Charles X Gustav as the Grand Duke of Lithuania and fell under the protection of the Swedish Empire. However, by 1657 Lithuania was once again a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth following the Lithuanian revolt against the Swedes. Vilnius was recaptured from the Russians in 1661.
In the second half of the 18th century the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was three times partitioned by three neighboring countries which completely dissoluted both independent Lithuania and Poland from the political map in 1795 after a failed Kościuszko Uprising and short-lived recapture of capital Vilnius in 1794. Most of Lithuania's territory was annexed by the Russian Empire, while Užnemunė was annexed by Prussia.
Efforts to restore statehood
Following the annexation the Russian Tsarist authorities implemented Russification policies in Lithuania, which then made a part of a new administrative region Northwestern Krai. In 1812 Napoleon during the French invasion of Russia has established the puppet Lithuanian Provisional Governing Commission to support his war efforts, however after Napoleon's defeat the Russian rule was reinstated in Lithuania.
During the November Uprising (1830–1831) the Lithuanians and Poles jointly attempted to restore their statehoods, however the Russian victory resulted in stricter Russification measures: the Russian language was introduced in all government institutions, Vilnius University was closed in 1832, and theories that Lithuania had been a "Western Russian" state since its establishment were propagated. Subsequently, the Lithuanians once again tried to restore statehood by participating in the January Uprising (1863–1864), but yet another Russian victory resulted in even stronger Russification policies with the introduction of the Lithuanian press ban, pressure on the Catholic Church in Lithuania and Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky's repressions.
Simonas Daukantas promoted a return to Lithuania's pre-Commonwealth traditions, which he depicted as a Golden Age of Lithuania and a renewal of the native culture, based on the Lithuanian language and customs. With those ideas in mind, he wrote already in 1822 a history of Lithuania in Lithuanian – Darbai senųjų lietuvių ir žemaičių (The Deeds of Ancient Lithuanians and Samogitians), though it was not published at that time. A colleague of S. Daukantas, Teodor Narbutt, wrote in Polish a voluminous Ancient History of the Lithuanian Nation (1835–1841), where he likewise expounded and expanded further on the concept of historic Lithuania, whose days of glory had ended with the Union of Lublin in 1569. Narbutt, invoking German scholarship, pointed out the relationship between the Lithuanian and Sanskrit languages.
The Lithuanians resisted Russification through an extensive network of Lithuanian book smugglers, secret Lithuanian publishing and homeschooling. Moreover, the Lithuanian National Revival, inspired by Lithuanian history, language and culture, laid the foundations for the reestablishment of an independent Lithuania. The Great Seimas of Vilnius was held in 1905 and its participants adopted resolutions which demanded a wide autonomy for Lithuania.
Restored statehood and occupations
During World War I the German Empire annexed Lithuanian territories from the Russian Empire and they became a part of Ober Ost. In 1907, the Lithuanians organized the Vilnius Conference which adopted a resolution, featuring the aspiration for the restoration of Lithuania's sovereignty and military alliance with Germany and elected the Council of Lithuania. In 1918, the short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania was proclaimed; however on 16 February 1918 the Council of Lithuania adopted the Act of Independence of Lithuania which restored Lithuania as democratic republic with its capital in Vilnius and separated that state from all state relations that existed with other nations. In 1918–1920 the Lithuanians defended the statehood of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence with Bolsheviks, Bermontians and Poles. The aims of the newly restored Lithuania clashed with Józef Piłsudski's plans to create a federation (Intermarium) in territories previously ruled by the Jagiellonians. The Lithuanian authorities prevented the 1919 Polish coup attempt in Lithuania and in 1920 during the Żeligowski's Mutiny the Polish forces captured Vilnius Region and established a puppet state of the Republic of Central Lithuania, which in 1922 was incorporated into Poland. Consequently, Kaunas became the temporary capital of Lithuania where the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania was held and other primary Lithuanian institutions operated until 1940. In 1923, the Klaipėda Revolt was organized which unified the Klaipėda Region with Lithuania. The 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état replaced the democratically elected government and president with an authoritarian regime led by Antanas Smetona.
In the late 1930s Lithuania has accepted the 1938 Polish ultimatum, 1939 German ultimatum and transferred the Klaipėda Region to Nazi Germany and following the beginning of the World War II concluded the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty. In 1940 Lithuania has accepted the Soviet ultimatum and recovered the control of historical capital Vilnius, however the acceptance resulted in the Soviet occupation of Lithuania and its transformation into the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1941 during the June Uprising in Lithuania it was attempted to restore independent Lithuania and the Red Army was expelled from its territory, however in a few days Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1944 Lithuania was re-occupied by the Soviet Union and Soviet political repressions along with Soviet deportations from Lithuania resumed. Thousands of Lithuanian partisans and their supporters attempted to militarily restore independent Lithuania, but their resistance was eventually suppressed in 1953 by the Soviet authorities and their collaborators.Jonas Žemaitis, the chairman of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters, was captured and executed in 1954, his successor as chairman Adolfas Ramanauskas was brutally tortured and executed in 1957. Since the late 1980s Sąjūdis movement sought for the restoration of independent Lithuania and in 1989 the Baltic Way was held.
1990–present
On 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council announced the restoration of Lithuania's independence. Lithuania became the first Soviet-occupied state to announce the restitution of independence. On 20 April 1990, the Soviets imposed an economic blockade by ceasing to deliver supplies of raw materials to Lithuania. Not only domestic industry, but also the population started feeling the lack of fuel, essential goods, and even hot water. Although the blockade lasted for 74 days, Lithuania did not renounce the declaration of independence.
Gradually, economic relations were restored. However, tensions peaked again in January 1991. Attempts were made to carry out a coup using the Soviet Armed Forces, the Internal Army of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the USSR Committee for State Security (KGB). Because of the poor economic situation in Lithuania, the forces in Moscow thought the coup d'état would receive strong public support. People flooded to Vilnius to defend the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania and independence. The coup ended with a few casualties and material loss. The Soviet Army killed 14 people and injured hundreds. A large part of the Lithuanian population participated in the January Events. On 31 July 1991, Soviet paramilitaries killed 7 Lithuanian border guards on the Belarusian border in what became known as the Medininkai Massacre. On 17 September 1991, Lithuania was admitted to the United Nations.
On 25 October 1992, citizens voted in a referendum to adopt the current constitution. On 14 February 1993, during the direct general elections, Algirdas Brazauskas became the first president after the restoration of independence. On 31 August 1993 the last units of the former Soviet Army left Lithuania.
On 31 May 2001, Lithuania joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Since March 2004, Lithuania has been part of NATO. On 1 May 2004, it became a full member of the European Union, and a member of the Schengen Agreement in December 2007. On 1 January 2015, Lithuania joined the eurozone and adopted the European Union's single currency. On 4 July 2018, Lithuania officially joined the OECD.Dalia Grybauskaitė was the first female President of Lithuania (2009–2019) and the first to be re-elected for a second consecutive term. On 24 February 2022, Lithuania declared a state of emergency in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Together with seven other NATO member states, it invoked NATO Article 4 to hold consultations on security. On 11–12 July 2023, the 2023 NATO summit was held in Vilnius.
Geography
Lithuania is located in the Baltic region of Europe and covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi). 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 / 54.900°N 25.317°E, 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of Lithuania's capital city of Vilnius. 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, and 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.
Lithuania experienced a drought in 2002, causing forest and peat bog fires.
Biodiversity and conservation
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. 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. In 2016, Lithuania introduced especially effective container deposit legislation, which resulted in collecting 92% of all packagings in 2017.
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. 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. Lithuania is home to two terrestrial ecoregions: Central European mixed forests and Sarmatic mixed forests.
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% of industrial production in the country. Lithuania has five national parks, 30 regional parks, 402 nature reserves, 668 state-protected natural heritage objects.
Lithuanian ecosystems include natural and semi-natural (forests, bogs, wetlands and meadows), and anthropogenic (agrarian and urban) ecosystems. Among natural ecosystems, forests are particularly important to Lithuania, covering 33% of the country's territory. Wetlands (raised bogs, fens, transitional mires, etc.) cover 7.9% of the country, with 70% of wetlands having been lost due to drainage and peat extraction between 1960 and 1980. Changes in wetland plant communities resulted in the replacement of moss and grass communities by trees and shrubs, and fens not directly affected by land reclamation have become drier as a result of a drop in the water table. There are 29,000 rivers with a total length of 64,000 km in Lithuania, the Nemunas River basin occupying 74% of the territory of the country. Due to the construction of dams, approximately 70% of spawning sites of potential catadromous fish species have disappeared. In some cases, river and lake ecosystems continue to be impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication.
Agricultural land comprises 54% of Lithuania's territory (roughly 70% of that is arable land and 30% meadows and pastures), approximately 400,000 ha of agricultural land is not farmed, and acts as an ecological niche for weeds and invasive plant species. Habitat deterioration is occurring in regions with very productive and expensive lands as crop areas are expanded. Currently, 18.9% of all plant species, including 1.87% of all known fungi species and 31% of all known species of lichens, are listed in the Lithuanian Red Data Book. The list also contains 8% of all fish species.
The wildlife populations have rebounded as the hunting became more restricted and urbanization allowed replanting forests (forests already tripled in size since their lows). Currently, Lithuania has approximately 250,000 larger wild animals or 5 per each square kilometre. The most prolific large wild animal in every part of Lithuania is the roe deer, with 120,000 of them. They are followed by boars (55,000). Other ungulates are the deer (~22,000), fallow-deer (~21,000) and the largest one: moose (~7,000). Among the Lithuanian predators, foxes are the most common (~27,000). Wolves are, however, more ingrained into the mythology as there are just 800 in Lithuania. Even rarer are the lynxes (~200). The large animals mentioned above exclude the rabbit, ~200,000 of which may live in the Lithuanian forests.
Government and politics
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. 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. Through compromise, a semi-presidential system was agreed on.
President since 2019
Prime Minister since 2024
Speaker of the Seimas since 2024
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. 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. The current Lithuanian head of state, Gitanas Nausėda was elected on 26 May 2019 by winning in all the municipalities of Lithuania in the second election round. He was re-elected in 2024, winning more than 74% of the run-off votes.
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 by the President, Chairman of the Seimas, and the Chairman of the Supreme Court. The unicameral Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has 141 members elected to four-year terms - 71 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.
Political parties and elections
Lithuania was one of the first countries in the world to grant women a right to vote in the elections. Lithuanian women were allowed to vote by the 1918 Constitution of Lithuania and used their newly granted right for the first time in 1919. By doing so, Lithuania allowed it earlier than such democratic countries as the United States (1920), France (1945), Greece (1952), Switzerland (1971).
Lithuania exhibits a fragmented multi-party system, with a number of small parties in which coalition governments are common. Ordinary elections to the Seimas take place on the second Sunday of October every four years. To be eligible for election, candidates must be at least 21 years old on the election day, not under allegiance to a foreign state and permanently reside in Lithuania. Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the election are not eligible. Also, judges, citizens performing military service, and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments may not stand for election.Social Democratic Party of Lithuania won the 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary elections and gained 52 of 141 seats in the parliament. In November 2024, Gintautas Paluckas was confirmed as the prime minister after the Social Democrats reached a coalition agreement with Union of Democrats "For Lithuania" and Dawn of Nemunas.
The President of Lithuania is the head of state of the country, elected to a five-year term in a majority vote. Elections take place on the last Sunday no more than two months before the end of current presidential term. To be eligible for election, candidates must be at least 40 years old on the election day and reside in Lithuania for at least three years, in addition to satisfying the eligibility criteria for a member of the parliament. Same President may serve for not more than two terms.Gitanas Nausėda was elected as an independent candidate in 2019 and re-elected in 2024.
Each municipality in Lithuania is governed by a municipal council and a mayor, who is a member of the municipal council. The number of members, elected on a four-year term, in each municipal council depends on the size of the municipality and varies from 15 (in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents) to 51 (in municipalities with more than 500,000 residents). 1,498 municipal council members were elected in 2023. Members of the council, with the exception of the mayor, are elected using proportional representation. Starting with 2015, the mayor is elected directly by the majority of residents of the municipality.Social Democratic Party of Lithuania won the most positions in the 2023 elections (358 municipal council seats and 17 mayors).
As of 2024, the number of seats in the European Parliament allocated to Lithuania was 11. Ordinary elections take place on a Sunday on the same day as in other EU countries. The vote is open to all citizens of Lithuania, as well as citizens of other EU countries that permanently reside in Lithuania, who are at least 18 years old on the election day. To be eligible for election, candidates must be at least 21 years old on the election day, a citizen of Lithuania or a citizen of another EU country permanently residing in Lithuania. Candidates are not allowed to stand for election in more than one country. Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the election are not eligible. Also, judges, citizens performing military service, and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments may not stand for election. Eight political parties gained seats in the 2024 elections.
Law and law enforcement
The first attempt to codify the Lithuanian laws was in 1468 when the Casimir's Code was compiled and adopted by Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon. In the 16th century three editions of the Statutes of Lithuania were created with the First Statute being adopted in 1529, the Second Statute in 1566, and the Third Statute in 1588. On 3 May 1791, the Europe's first and the world's second Constitution was adopted by the Great Sejm. The Third Statute was partly in force in the territory of Lithuania even until 1840, despite the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795.
In 1934–1935, Lithuania held the first mass trial of the Nazis in Europe, the convicted were sentenced to imprisonment in a heavy labor prison and capital punishments.
After regaining of independence in 1990, the largely modified Soviet legal codes were in force for about a decade. The current Constitution of Lithuania was adopted on 25 October 1992. In 2001, the Civil Code of Lithuania was passed in Seimas. It was succeeded by the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in 2003. The approach to the criminal law is inquisitorial, as opposed to adversarial; it is generally characterised by an insistence on formality and rationalisation, as opposed to practicality and informality. Normative legal act enters into force on the next day after its publication in the Teisės aktų registras, unless it has a later entry into force date.
The European Union law is an integral part of the Lithuanian legal system since 1 May 2004.
Lithuania, after breaking away from the Soviet Union, had a difficult crime situation, however, the Lithuanian law enforcement agencies fought crime over the years, making Lithuania a reasonably safe country. Crime in Lithuania has been declining rapidly. Law enforcement in Lithuania is primarily the responsibility of local Lietuvos policija (Lithuanian Police) commissariats. They are supplemented by the Lietuvos policijos antiteroristinių operacijų rinktinė Aras (Anti-Terrorist Operations Team of the Lithuanian Police Aras), Lietuvos kriminalinės policijos biuras (Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau), Lietuvos policijos kriminalistinių tyrimų centras (Lithuanian Police Forensic Research Center) and Lietuvos kelių policijos tarnyba (Lithuanian Road Police Service).
In 2017, there were 63,846 crimes registered in Lithuania. Of these, thefts comprised a large part with 19,630 cases (13.2% less than in 2016). While 2,835 crimes were serious and very serious (crimes that may lead to more than six years imprisonment), which is 14.5% less than in 2016. In total, 129 homicides or attempted homicide occurred (19.9% less than in 2016), while serious bodily harm was registered 178 times (17.6% less than in 2016). Another problematic crime contraband cases also decreased by 27.2% from 2016 numbers. Meanwhile, crimes in electronic data and information technology security fields noticeably increased by 26.6%. In the 2013 Special Eurobarometer, 29% of Lithuanians said that corruption affects their daily lives (EU average 26%). Moreover, 95% of Lithuanians regarded corruption as widespread in their country (EU average 76%), and 88% agreed that bribery and the use of connections is often the easiest way of obtaining certain public services (EU average 73%). Though, according to local branch of Transparency International, corruption levels have been decreasing over the past decade.
Capital punishment in Lithuania was suspended in 1996 and eliminated in 1998. Lithuania has the highest number of prison inmates in the EU. According to scientist Gintautas Sakalauskas, this is not because of a high criminality rate in the country, but due to Lithuania's high repression level and the lack of trust of the convicted, who are frequently sentenced to imprisonment.
Administrative divisions
Alytus County
Kaunas County
Klaipėda
County
Marijampolė
County
Panevėžys County
Šiauliai County
Tauragė County
Telšiai County
Utena County
Vilnius County
The current system of administrative division was established in 1994 and modified in 2000 to meet the requirements of the European Union. The country's 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular – apskritis, plural – apskritys) are subdivided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: singular – savivaldybė, plural – savivaldybės), and further divided into 500 elderships (Lithuanian: singular – seniūnija, plural – seniūnijos). There are also 5 distinct cultural regions in Lithuania – Dzūkija, Aukštaitija, Suvalkija, Samogitia and Lithuania Minor, which are recognized by the state.
Municipalities have been the most important unit of administration in Lithuania since the system of county governorship (apskrities viršininkas) was dissolved in 2010. Some municipalities are historically called "district municipalities" (often shortened to "district"), while others are called "city municipalities" (sometimes shortened to "city"). Each has its own elected government. The election of municipality councils originally occurred every three years, but now takes place every four years. The council appoints elders to govern the elderships. Mayors have been directly elected since 2015; prior to that, they were appointed by the council.
Elderships, numbering over 500, are the smallest administrative units and do not play a role in national politics. They provide necessary local public services—for example, registering births and deaths in rural areas. They are most active in the social sector, identifying needy individuals or families and organizing and distributing welfare and other forms of relief. Some citizens feel that elderships have no real power and receive too little attention, and that they could otherwise become a source of local initiative for addressing rural problems.
| County | Area (km2) | Population (2023) | GDP (billion EUR) | GDP per capita (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alytus County | 5,425 | 135,367 | 1.8 | 13,600 |
| Kaunas County | 8,089 | 580,333 | 13.7 | 23,900 |
| Klaipėda County | 5,209 | 336,104 | 7.0 | 21,300 |
| Marijampolė County | 4,463 | 135,891 | 2.0 | 14,400 |
| Panevėžys County | 7,881 | 211,652 | 3.6 | 17,100 |
| Šiauliai County | 8,540 | 261,764 | 4.6 | 17,600 |
| Tauragė County | 4,411 | 90,652 | 1.2 | 13,200 |
| Telšiai County | 4,350 | 131,431 | 2.2 | 16,900 |
| Utena County | 7,201 | 125,462 | 1.7 | 13,800 |
| Vilnius County | 9,731 | 851,346 | 29.4 | 35,300 |
| Lithuania | 65,300 | 2,860,002 | 67.4 | 23,800 |
Foreign relations
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, while also seeking membership in other Western organizations.
Lithuania has established diplomatic relations with 149 countries.
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 Nordic-Baltic Eight 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 Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) was established in Copenhagen in 1992 as an informal regional political forum. Its main aim is to promote integration and to close contacts between the region's countries. The members of CBSS are Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Russia, and the European Commission. Its observer states are Belarus, France, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine.
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.
Lithuania, together with the five Nordic countries and the two other Baltic countries, is a member of the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and cooperates in its NORDPLUS programme, which is committed to education.
The Baltic Development Forum (BDF) is an independent nonprofit organization that unites large companies, cities, business associations and institutions in the Baltic Sea region. In 2010 the BDF's 12th summit was held in Vilnius.
Poland was highly supportive of Lithuanian independence, despite Lithuania's discriminatory treatment of its Polish minority. The former Solidarity leader and Polish President Lech Wałęsa criticised the government of Lithuania over discrimination against the Polish minority and rejected Lithuania's Order of Vytautas the Great. Lithuania maintains greatly warm mutual relations with Georgia and strongly supports its European Union and NATO aspirations. During the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, when the Russian troops were occupying the territory of Georgia and approaching towards the Georgian capital Tbilisi, President Valdas Adamkus, together with the Polish and Ukrainian presidents, went to Tbilisi by answering to the Georgians request of the international assistance. Shortly, Lithuanians and the Lithuanian Catholic Church also began collecting financial support for the war victims.
In 2004–2009, Dalia Grybauskaitė served as European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget within the José Manuel Barroso-led Commission.
In 2013, Lithuania was elected to the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term, becoming the first Baltic country elected to this post. During its membership, Lithuania actively supported Ukraine and often condemned Russia for the war in Ukraine, immediately earning vast Ukrainians esteem. As the war in Donbas progressed, President Dalia Grybauskaitė has compared the Russian President Vladimir Putin to Josef Stalin and to Adolf Hitler, she has also called Russia a "terrorist state".
In 2018 Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia were awarded the – for their exceptional model of democratic development and contribution to peace in the continent. In 2019 Lithuania condemned the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. In December 2021, Lithuania reported that in an escalation of the diplomatic spat with China over its relations with Taiwan, China had stopped all imports from Lithuania. According to Lithuanian intelligence agencies, in 2023 there was an increase in Chinese intelligence activity against Lithuania, including cyberespionage and increased focus on Lithuania's internal affairs and foreign policy.
The 2023 NATO summit was held in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
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. Compulsory conscription ended in 2008 but was reintroduced in 2015. The Lithuanian Armed Forces currently have 30 soldiers and officers participating in nine international operations and European Union training missions deployed in Kosovo, Iraq, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Mozambique, Spain, Italy, and in the United Kingdom, providing training for Ukrainian soldiers on Operation Interflex.
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.
Beginning in summer of 2005, Lithuania was 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 included personnel from Denmark, Iceland and the US. There were 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.
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.
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. 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.
Economy
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Lithuania has an open and mixed economy that is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank. As of 2017[update] the three largest sectors were – services (67% of GDP), industry (29%) and agriculture (3%). Lithuania joined NATO in 2004, EU in 2004,Schengen in 2007 and OECD in 2018. On 1 January 2015, the euro became the national currency, replacing litas at the rate of EUR 1.00 = LTL 3.45280.
Agricultural products and food comprise 18% of exports; other major sectors include chemical products and plastics (18%), machinery and appliances (16%), mineral products (15%), wood and furniture (13%). As of 2016[update] more than half of exports go to 7 countries including Russia (14%), Latvia (10%), Poland (9%), Germany (8%), Estonia (5%), Sweden (%) and the UK (4%). Exports equaled 81% of GDP in 2017.
GDP experienced very high real growth rates for the decade up to 2009, peaking at 11% in 2007. As a result, the country was often termed a Baltic Tiger. However, in 2009 due to the 2007–2008 financial crisis, GDP contracted 15% and unemployment rate reached 17.8% in 2010. Growth has since been much slower. According to the IMF, financial conditions are conducive to growth and financial soundness indicators remain strong. The public debt ratio in 2016 was 40% of GDP, it had been 15% in 2008.
On average, more than 95% of all foreign direct investment comes from EU countries. Sweden is historically the largest investor with 20% – 30% of FDI. FDI into Lithuania spiked in 2017, reaching its highest ever recorded number of greenfield investment projects. In 2017, Lithuania was third, after Ireland and Singapore by the average job value of investment projects. The US was the leading source country in 2017, 25% of total FDI. Next up were Germany and the UK, each representing 11% of total project numbers. Based on the Eurostat's data, in 2017, the value of exports recorded the most rapid growth not only in the Baltic countries, but across Europe, which was 17%.
Between 2004 and 2016, one out of five Lithuanians emigrated, primarily due to insufficient income for residents; secondarily seeking to study. Long term emigration and economic growth has resulted in a shortage in the labor market and growth in salaries being larger than growth in labor efficiency. Unemployment in 2017 was 8%.
As of 2022, Lithuanian median wealth per adult was $32,000 (mean was $70,000), while total national wealth was $147bn. As of 2023 Q2, the average monthly gross salary in Lithuania was €2,000.
Lithuania has a flat tax rather than a progressive scheme. The personal income tax (15%) and corporate tax (15%) rates are among the lowest in the EU. The country has the lowest implicit rate of tax on capital (9.8%) in the EU. The corporate tax rate is 15% and 5% for small businesses; 7 free economic zones operate.
Information technology production is growing, reaching €2 billion in 2016. In 2017 only, 35FinTech companies came to Lithuania – a result of the government and Bank of Lithuania simplifying procedures. Lithuania has granted a total of 39 e-money licenses, second in the EU only to the UK with 128 licenses. In 2018 Google set up a payment company in Lithuania. Europe's first international Blockchain Centre launched in Vilnius in 2018. Since 2021, Lithuania has issued hundreds of licenses for cryptocurrency exchange and storage operations, making it one of the leading countries in the EU in this sector.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Lithuania dates to the Neolithic period, about 3,000 to 1,000 BC. It has been one of Lithuania's most important occupations for many centuries. Lithuania's accession to the European Union in 2004 ushered in a new agricultural era. The EU pursues a very high standard of food safety and purity. In 1999, the Seimas (parliament) of Lithuania adopted a Law on Product Safety, and in 2000 it adopted a Law on Food. The reform of the agricultural market has been carried out on the basis of these two laws.
In 2016, agricultural production was €2.3 billion. Cereal crops occupied the largest part (5710 tons), other significant types include: sugar beet (934 tons), rapeseed (393 tons) and potatoes (340 tons). Products totaling €4,385 million were exported to foreign markets, of which products for €3,165 million were of Lithuanian origin. Export of agricultural and food products accounted for 19% of all exports of goods.
Organic farming is becoming more popular. The status of organic growers and producers is granted by the public body Ekoagros. In 2016, there were 2539 such farms that occupied 225,542 hectares. Of these, 43% were cereals, 31% perennial grasses, 14% leguminous crops and 12% others.
Science and technology
The foundation of the University of Vilnius in 1579 was a major factor in fostering a scientific and academic community within Lithuania. The university has welcomed such prominent scientists and thinkers as Georg Forster, Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert, Johann Peter Frank. The 17th century artillery expert Kazimieras Simonavičius is considered a pioneer of rocketry; his publication, the Artis Magnae Artilleriae, was a basic artillery manual throughout Europe, containing a large chapter on caliber, construction, production and properties of rockets (for military and civil purposes), including multistage rockets, batteries of rockets, and rockets with delta wing stabilizers. Botanist Jurgis Pabrėža (1771–1849) created the first systematic guide of Lithuanian flora, Taislius auguminis (Botany), written in the Samogitian dialect, the Latin-Lithuanian dictionary of plant names, and the first Lithuanian geography textbook. German scientist Theodor Grotthuss (1785–1822), who proposed the Grotthuss mechanism, lived and worked in the , where he gained local prominence for his effort to educate and improve the well-being of peasants.
The world wars of the 20th century severely diminished Lithuanian science and academia, although Lithuanian scholars and scientists managed to succeed, particularly abroad, including philosopher Vosylius Sezemanas, jurist Mykolas Römeris, aviator Antanas Gustaitis, management theorist Vytautas Andrius Graičiūnas, archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, primatologist Birutė Galdikas, linguist Algirdas Julien Greimas, and medievalist Jurgis Baltrušaitis. Mathematician Jonas Kubilius, long-term rector of the University of Vilnius, is known for works in Probabilistic number theory, including the Kubilius model, Theorem of Kubilius and the Turán–Kubilius inequality. Kubilius also successfully resisted attempts to Russify the university.
Lasers and biotechnology are flagship fields of the Lithuanian science and high-tech industry.Šviesos konversija ("Light Conversion") has developed a femtosecond laser system that has 80% market share worldwide, with applications in DNA research, ophthalmological surgeries, and nanotechnology. The Vilnius University Laser Research Center has developed one of the most powerful femtosecond lasers in the world dedicated primarily to oncological diseases. In 1963, Vytautas Straižys and his colleagues created Vilnius photometric system that is used in astronomy. Noninvasive intracranial pressure and blood flow measuring devices were developed by KTU scientist A. Ragauskas. Kęstutis Pyragas contributed to the study of chaos theory with his method of delayed feedback control, the Pyragas method. Kavli Prize laureate Virginijus Šikšnys is known for his discoveries in CRISPR, namely with respect to CRISPR-Cas9.
Lithuania has launched three satellites to space: LitSat-1, Lituanica SAT-1 and LituanicaSAT-2.Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology and Molėtai Astronomical Observatory is located in Kulionys. Fifteen R&D institutions are members of Lithuanian Space Association; Lithuania is a cooperating state with European Space Agency.Rimantas Stankevičius is the only ethnically Lithuanian astronaut.
Lithuania in 2018 became an Associated Member State of CERN. Two CERN incubators in Vilnius and Kaunas will be hosted. The most advanced scientific research is being conducted at the Life Sciences Center, Center For Physical Sciences and Technology.
As of 2016 calculations, yearly growth of Lithuania's biotech and life science sector was 22% over the past 5 years. 16 academic institutions, 15 R&D centres (science parks and innovation valleys) and more than 370 manufacturers operate in the Lithuanian life science and biotech industry.
In 2008 the Valley development programme was started aiming to upgrade Lithuanian scientific research infrastructure and encourage business and science cooperation. Five R&D Valleys were launched – Jūrinis (maritime technologies), Nemunas (agro, bioenergy, forestry), Saulėtekis (laser and light, semiconductor), Santara (biotechnology, medicine), Santaka (sustainable chemistry and pharmacy). Lithuanian Innovation Center is created to provide support for innovations and research institutions.
Lithuania ranks moderately in the International Innovation Index, and is placed 15th among EU countries by the European Innovation Scoreboard. Lithuania was ranked 35th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.
Tourism
Statistics from 2023 showed 1.4 million tourists from foreign countries visited Lithuania and spent at least one night. The largest number of tourists came from Poland (173,500), Latvia (144,300), Belarus (141,900), Germany (127,400), the United Kingdom (74,200), the United States (69,700), Ukraine (67,000), and Estonia (61,300).
Domestic tourism has been on the rise as well. Currently there are up to 1000 places of attraction in Lithuania. Most tourists visit the big cities—Vilnius, Klaipėda, and Kaunas, seaside resorts, such as Neringa, Palanga, and Spa towns – Druskininkai, Birštonas.
Hot air ballooning is popular, especially in Vilnius and Trakai. Bicycle tourism is growing, especially the Lithuanian Seaside Cycle Route. EuroVelo routes EV10, EV11, EV13 go through Lithuania. The total length of bicycle tracks amounts to 3769 km (of which 1988 km is asphalt pavement).Nemunas Delta Regional Park and Žuvintas biosphere reserve are known for birdwatching.
The total contribution of tourism to GDP had been forecast to rise to €3.2 billion, 7% of GDP by 2027, but has decreased to €1.7 billion, 2.3% of GDP in 2023, although it is rising post COVID-19 pandemic.
Infrastructure
Communication
Lithuania has a well developed communications infrastructure. The country has 2.8 million citizens and 5 million SIM cards. The largest LTE (4G) mobile network covers 97% of Lithuania's territory. Usage of fixed phone lines has been rapidly decreasing due to rapid expansion of mobile-cellular services.
In 2017, Lithuania was top 30 in the world by average mobile broadband speeds and top 20 by average fixed broadband speeds. 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.
There are four TIER III datacenters in Lithuania. Lithuania is 44th globally ranked country on data center density according to Cloudscene.
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. 72% of Lithuanian households have access to internet, a number which in 2017 was among EU's lowest and in 2016 ranked 97th by CIA World Factbook. Number of households with internet access is expected to increase and reach 77% by 2021. Almost 50% of Lithuanians had smartphones in 2016, a number that is expected to increase to 65% by 2022. Lithuania has the highest FTTH (Fiber to the home) penetration rate in Europe (36.8% in September 2016) according to FTTH Council Europe.
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. More than half of all inland freight transported in Lithuania is carried by rail. 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.
Transportation is the third largest sector in Lithuanian economy. Lithuanian transport companies drew attention in 2016 and 2017 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.
Lithuania has an extensive network of motorways. WEF grades Lithuanian roads at 4.7 / 7.0 and Lithuanian road authority (LAKD) at 6.5 / 10.0.
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)Port of Klaipėda is outside of EU's 20 largest ports, but it is the eighth largest port in the Baltic Sea region with ongoing expansion plans.
As of 2022, the LIWA (Lithuanian Inland Waterways Authority, Vidaus vandens keliu direkcija in Lithuanian) is developing a strategy to resurrect cargo shipping on the Nemunas. Its fleet of electric ships will travel 260 km between the port of Klaipda on the Baltic Sea coast and the industrial and transportation centre of Kaunas. The project is anticipated to need a €75.7 million initial investment in total. and estimated to eliminate 48 000 truck trips annually.
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. 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. The inland river cargo port in Marvelė, linking Kaunas and Klaipėda, received first cargo in 2019.
Energy
Systematic diversification of energy imports and resources is Lithuania's key energy strategy. Long-term aims were defined in National Energy Independence strategy in 2012 by Lietuvos Seimas. 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. 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.
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. As of 2015[update], 66% of electrical power was imported. 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.
In 2018, synchronising the Baltic states' electricity grid with the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe has started. In 2016, 20.8% of electricity consumed in Lithuania came from renewable sources.
In order to break down Gazprom's monopoly 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. Norwegian company Equinor supplies 540 million cubic metres (19 billion cubic feet) of natural gas annually from 2015 until 2020. 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.Gas Interconnection Poland–Lithuania (GIPL), also known as Lithuania–Poland pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline interconnection between Lithuania and Poland that became operational in 2022.
Demographics
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, although without being actually isolated from them. The Lithuanian population appears to be relatively homogeneous, without apparent genetic differences among ethnic subgroups.
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.
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).
The median age in 2022 was 44 years (male: 41, female: 47).
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. As of 2021[update], 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.
Functional urban areas
| Functional urban areas | Population (2023) |
|---|---|
| Vilnius urban area |  747,864 |
| Kaunas urban area | 403,375 |
| Panevėžys urban area | 122,860 |
Ethnic groups and languages
Lithuania has the most homogeneous population in the Baltic States. Ethnic Lithuanians make up about five-sixths of the country's population. In 2024, 82.6% of the 2,809,977 Lithuania's residents were ethnic Lithuanians who speak Lithuanian, which is the official language of the country. Several sizeable minorities exist, such as Poles (6.3%), Russians (5.0%), Belarusians (2.1%) and Ukrainians (1.7%).
Poles in Lithuania are the largest minority, concentrated in southeast Lithuania (the Vilnius region), constituting majority in Šalčininkai (76.3%) and Vilnius District Municipality (46.8%). Russians in Lithuania are the second largest minority, concentrated in Visaginas (47.4%), Zarasai District Municipality (17.2%) and Klaipėda (16%). About 2,250 Roma live in Lithuania, mostly in Vilnius, Kaunas and Panevėžys; their organizations are supported by the National Minority and Emigration Department. For centuries, Tatar and Karaite communities have lived in Lithuania. In 2021, there were around 2,150 registered Tatars and 196 Karaites in the country.
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, Visaginas, and Vilnius District.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.
According to the survey carried out within the framework of the Lithuanian census of 2021, 85.33% of the country's population speak Lithuanian as their native language, 6.8% are native speakers of Russian and 5.1% of Polish. As of 2021[update], 60.6% of residents speak Russian as a foreign language, 31.1% – English, 10.5% – Lithuanian, 8% – German, 7.9% – Polish, 1.9% – French, 2.6% – various others. Most Lithuanian schools teach English as the first foreign language, but students may also study German, or, in some schools, French or Russian. Around 80% of young people in Lithuania know English.[failed verification]
Urbanization
There has been a steady movement of population to the cities since the 1990s, encouraged by the planning of regional centres, such as Alytus, Marijampolė, Utena, Plungė, and Mažeikiai. By the early 21st century, about two-thirds of the total population lived in urban areas. As of 2021[update], 68.19% of the total population lives in urban areas. Lithuania's functional urban areas include Vilnius (population 708,203), Kaunas (population 391,153), and Panevėžys (population 124,526). The fDI of the Financial Times in their research Cities and Regions of the Future ranked Vilnius fourth in the mid-sized European cities category in the 2018–19 ranking, second in the 2022–23 ranking, second in 2023 ranking while the city claimed 24th spot in the worldwide overall ranking in 2021–22 and Vilnius county was ranked 10th in the small European regions category in 2018–19, fifth in 2022–23, fifth in 2023 rankings.
Largest cities or towns in Lithuania State Data Agency (2025) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | County | Pop. | Rank | Name | County | Pop. | ||
 Vilnius  Kaunas | 1 | Vilnius | Vilnius | 607,404 | 11 | Kėdainiai | Kaunas | 23,323 |  Klaipėda  Šiauliai |
| 2 | Kaunas | Kaunas | 303,978 | 12 | Ukmergė | Vilnius | 21,954 | ||
| 3 | Klaipėda | Klaipėda | 160,885 | 13 | Telšiai | Telšiai | 21,834 | ||
| 4 | Šiauliai | Šiauliai | 111,971 | 14 | Tauragė | Tauragė | 21,404 | ||
| 5 | Panevėžys | Panevėžys | 85,774 | 15 | Visaginas | Utena | 19,114 | ||
| 6 | Alytus | Alytus | 50,741 | 16 | Palanga | Klaipėda | 18,551 | ||
| 7 | Marijampolė | Marijampolė | 36,240 | 17 | Plungė | Telšiai | 17,031 | ||
| 8 | Mažeikiai | Telšiai | 33,303 | 18 | Kretinga | Klaipėda | 16,952 | ||
| 9 | Jonava | Kaunas | 26,680 | 19 | Šilutė | Klaipėda | 15,985 | ||
| 10 | Utena | Utena | 25,587 | 20 | Radviliškis | Šiauliai | 15,486 | ||
Health
Lithuania provides free state-funded healthcare to all citizens and registered long-term residents. It co-exists with a significant private healthcare sector. In 2003–2012, the network of hospitals was restructured, as part of wider healthcare service reforms. It started in 2003–2005 with the expansion of ambulatory services and primary care. In 2016, Lithuania ranked 27th in Europe in the Euro health consumer index, a ranking of European healthcare systems based on waiting time, results and other indicators. Lithuania ranked 19th in the 2024 edition of the World Happiness Report.
As of 2023[update], Lithuanian life expectancy at birth was 76.0 (70.6 years for males and 81.6 for females) and the infant mortality rate was 2.99 per 1,000 births. The annual population growth rate increased by 0.3% in 2007. Lithuania has seen a dramatic rise in suicides in the 1990s. The suicide rate has been constantly decreasing since, but it still remains the highest in the EU and one of the highest in the OECD. The suicide rate as of 2019 is 20.2 per 100,000 people.Suicide in Lithuania has been a subject of research, but the main reasons behind the high rate are thought[who?] to be both psychological and economic, including: social transformations and economic recessions, alcoholism, lack of tolerance in the society and bullying.
By 2000, the vast majority of Lithuanian health care institutions were non-profit-making enterprises and a private sector developed, providing mostly outpatient services which are paid for out-of-pocket. The Ministry of Health also runs a few health care facilities and is involved in the running of the two major Lithuanian teaching hospitals. It is responsible for the State Public Health Centre which manages the public health network including ten county public health centres with their local branches. The ten counties run county hospitals and specialised health care facilities.
There is Compulsory Health Insurance for the Lithuanian residents. There are 5 Territorial Health Insurance Funds, covering Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Contributions for people who are economically active are 9% of income.
Emergency medical services are provided free of charge to all residents. Access to the secondary and tertiary care, such as hospital treatment, is normally via referral by a general practitioner. Lithuania also has one of the lowest health care prices in Europe.
Religion
According to the 2021 census, 74.2% of residents of Lithuania were Catholics. 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. 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. They were mainly Germans and Prussian Lithuanians in the Klaipėda Region (Memel territory). This population fled or was expelled after the war, and Protestantism is now 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.
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. 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. The Lithuanian Jewish community numbered about 4,000 at the end of 2009.
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. Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith, which asserts the sanctity of nature and has elements of ancestor worship. According to the 2001 census, there were 1,270 people of Baltic faith in Lithuania. That number jumped to 5,118 in the 2011 census.
Education
The Constitution of Lithuania mandates ten-year education ending at age 16 and guarantees a free public higher education for students deemed 'good'. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania proposes national educational policies and goals that are then voted for in the Seimas. Laws govern long-term educational strategy along with general laws on standards for higher education, vocational training, law and science, adult education, and special education. 5.4% of GDP or 15.4% of total public expenditure was spent for education in 2016.
According to the World Bank, the literacy rate among Lithuanians aged 15 years and older is 100%. School attendance rates are above the EU average and school leave is less common than in the EU. According to Eurostat Lithuania leads among other countries of the European Union in people with secondary education (93.3%). Based on OECD data, Lithuania is among the top 5 countries in the world in postsecondary (tertiary) education attainment. As of 2016[update], 54.9% of the population aged 25 to 34, and 30.7% of the population aged 55 to 64 had completed tertiary education. The share of tertiary-educated 25–64-year-olds in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields in Lithuania were above the OECD average (29% and 26% respectively), similarly to business, administration and law (25% and 23% respectively).
Modern Lithuanian education system has multiple structural problems. Insufficient funding, quality issues, and decreasing student population are the most prevalent. Lithuanian teacher salaries below EU average, despite significant increases since 2011. Low teacher salaries was the primary reason behind national teacher strikes in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Salaries in the higher education sector are also low. Many Lithuanian professors have a second job to supplement their income. PISA report from 2022 found that Lithuanian results in math, science and reading were around OECD average, after trailing the OECD average in earlier reports in 2010 and 2015, although the relative improvement was primarily driven by the decrease in performance in the other OECD countries as a result of COVID 19 pandemic. The population ages 6 to 19 has decreased by 36% between 2005 and 2015. As a result, the student-teacher ratio is decreasing and expenditure per student is increasing, but schools, particularly in rural areas, are forced into reorganizations and consolidations. As with other Baltic nations, in particular Latvia, the large volume of higher education graduates within the country, coupled with the high rate of spoken second languages is contributing to an education brain drain.
As of 2008[update], there were 15 public and 6 private universities as well as 16 public and 11 private colleges in Lithuania (see: List of universities in Lithuania).Vilnius University is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe and the largest university in Lithuania. Kaunas University of Technology is the largest technical university in the Baltic States and the second largest university in Lithuania. In an attempt to reduce costs and adapt to sharply decreasing number of high-school students, Lithuanian parliament decided to reduce the number of universities in Lithuania. In early 2018, Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences and Aleksandras Stulginskis University were merged into Vytautas Magnus University.
Culture
Lithuanian language
The Lithuanian language (lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 0.2 million abroad.
Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they are not mutually intelligible. It is written in an adapted version of the Roman script. Lithuanian is believed to be the linguistically most conservative living Indo-European tongue, retaining many features of Proto Indo-European. Lithuanian language studies are important for comparative linguistics and for reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European language. Lithuanian was studied by linguists such as Franz Bopp, August Schleicher, Adalbert Bezzenberger, Louis Hjelmslev,Ferdinand de Saussure,Winfred P. Lehmann, Vladimir Toporov and others.
There are two main dialects of the Lithuanian language: Aukštaitian dialect and Samogitian dialect. Aukštaitian dialect is mainly used in the central, southern and eastern parts of Lithuania while Samogitian dialect is used in the western part of the country. The Samogitian dialect also has many completely different words and is even considered a separate language by some linguists. Nowadays, the distinguishing feature between the two main Lithuanian dialects is the unequal pronunciation of accented and unaccented two-vowels uo and ie.
The groundwork for written Lithuanian was laid in 16th and 17th centuries by Lithuanian noblemen and scholars, who promoted Lithuanian language, created dictionaries and published books – Mikalojus Daukša, Stanislovas Rapolionis, Abraomas Kulvietis, Jonas Bretkūnas, Martynas Mažvydas, Konstantinas Sirvydas, Simonas Vaišnoras-Varniškis. The first grammar book of the Lithuanian language Grammatica Litvanica was published in Latin in 1653 by Danielius Kleinas.
Jonas Jablonskis' works and activities are especially important for the Lithuanian literature moving from the use of dialects to a standard Lithuanian language. The linguistic material which he collected was published in the 20 volumes of Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian and is still being used in research and in editing of texts and books. He also introduced the letter ū into Lithuanian writing.
Literature
There is a great deal of Lithuanian literature written in Latin, the main scholarly language of the Middle Ages. The edicts of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas are the prime example of the literature of this kind. The Letters of Gediminas are another crucial heritage of the Lithuanian Latin writings.
One of the first Lithuanian authors who wrote in Latin was Nicolaus Hussovianus (around 1480 – after 1533). His poem Carmen de statura, feritate ac venatione bisontis (A Song about the Appearance, Savagery and Hunting of the Bison), published in 1523, describes the Lithuanian landscape, way of life and customs, touches on some actual political problems, and reflects the clash of paganism and Christianity. A person under the pseudonym Michalo Lituanus (around 1490 – 1560) wrote a treatise De moribus tartarorum, lituanorum et moscorum (On the Customs of Tatars, Lithuanians and Muscovites) in the middle of the 16th century, but it was not published until 1615. An extraordinary figure in the cultural life of Lithuania in the 16th century was the lawyer and poet of Spanish origin Petrus Roysius Maurus Alcagnicensis (around 1505 – 1571). The publicist, lawyer, and mayor of Vilnius, Augustinus Rotundus (around 1520–1582) wrote a no longer existent history of Lithuania in Latin around the year 1560. loannes Radvanus, a humanist poet of the second half of the 16th century, wrote an epic poem imitating the Aeneid of Vergil. His Radivilias, intended to become the Lithuanian national epic, was published in Vilnius in 1588.
17th century Lithuanian scholars also wrote in Latin – , Žygimantas Liauksminas are known for their Latin writings in theology, rhetorics and music. Albertas Kojalavičius-Vijūkas wrote first printed Lithuanian history Historia Lithuania.
Lithuanian literary works in the Lithuanian language started being first published in the 16th century. In 1547 Martynas Mažvydas compiled and published the first printed Lithuanian book Katekizmo prasti žodžiai (The Simple Words of Catechism), which marks the beginning of literature, printed in Lithuanian. He was followed by Mikalojus Daukša with Katechizmas. In the 16th and 17th centuries, as in the whole Christian Europe, Lithuanian literature was primarily religious.
The evolution of the old (14th–18th century) Lithuanian literature ends with Kristijonas Donelaitis, one of the most prominent authors of the Age of Enlightenment. Donelaitis' poem Metai (The Seasons) is a landmark of the Lithuanian fiction literature, written in hexameter.
With a mix of Classicism, Sentimentalism and Romanticism, the Lithuanian literature of the first half of the 19th century is represented by Maironis, Antanas Baranauskas, Simonas Daukantas, Oscar Milosz, and Simonas Stanevičius. During the Tsarist annexation of Lithuania in the 19th century, the Lithuanian press ban was implemented, which led to the formation of the Knygnešiai (Book smugglers) movement. This movement is thought[who?] to be the very reason the Lithuanian language and literature survived.
20th-century Lithuanian literature is represented by Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, Antanas Vienuolis, Bernardas Brazdžionis, Antanas Škėma, Balys Sruoga, Vytautas Mačernis and Justinas Marcinkevičius.[citation needed]
In 21st century debuted Kristina Sabaliauskaitė, Renata Šerelytė, Valdas Papievis, Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė, Rūta Šepetys.[citation needed]
Architecture
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.Vilnius is considered as a capital of the Eastern Europe Baroque.Vilnius Old Town that is full of astonishing Baroque churches and other buildings is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Lithuania is also known for numerous castles. About twenty castles exist in Lithuania. Some castles had to be rebuilt or survive partially. Many Lithuanian nobles' historic palaces and manor houses have remained till the nowadays and were reconstructed. Lithuanian village life has existed since the days of Vytautas the Great. Zervynos and Kapiniškiai are two of many ethnographic villages in Lithuania.Rumšiškės is an open space museum where old ethnographic architecture is preserved.
During the interwar period, Art Deco, Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural style buildings were constructed in the Lithuania's temporary capital Kaunas. Its architecture is regarded as one of the finest examples of the European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label.
Arts and museums
The Lithuanian Art Museum was founded in 1933 and is the largest museum of art conservation and display in Lithuania. Among other important museums are the Palanga Amber Museum, where amber pieces comprise a major part of the collection, National Gallery of Art, presenting collection of Lithuanian art of the 20th and 21st century, National Museum of Lithuania presenting Lithuanian archaeology, history and ethnic culture. In 2018 two private museums were opened – MO Museum devoted to modern and contemporary Lithuanian art and Tartle, exhibiting a collection of Lithuanian art heritage and artefacts.
Perhaps the most renowned figure in Lithuania's art community was the composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911), an internationally renowned musician. The 2420 Čiurlionis asteroid, identified in 1975, honors his achievements. The M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, as well as the only military museum in Lithuania, Vytautas the Great War Museum, are located in Kaunas. Franciszek Smuglewicz, Jan Rustem, Józef Oleszkiewicz and Kanuty Rusiecki are the most prominent Lithuanian painters of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Theatre
Lithuania has theatres in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Panevėžys. These include Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, Keistuolių teatras (Theatre of Freaks) in Vilnius, Kaunas State Drama Theatre, Theatre of Oskaras Koršunovas, Klaipėda Drama Theatre, Theatre of Gytis Ivanauskas, Miltinis Drama Theatre in Panevėžys, The Doll's Theatre, Old Theatre of Vilnius. Theatre festivals include Sirenos (Sirens), TheATRIUM, Nerk į teatrą (Dive into the Theatre).
Lithuanian theatre directors include Eimuntas Nekrošius, Jonas Vaitkus, Cezaris Graužinis, Gintaras Varnas, Dalia Ibelhauptaitė and Artūras Areima. Actors include Dainius Gavenonis, Rolandas Kazlas, Saulius Balandis and Gabija Jaraminaitė.
Theatre director Oskaras Koršunovas was awarded the Swedish Commander Grand Cross – the Order of the Polar Star.
Cinema
On 28 July 1896, Thomas Edison live photography session was held in the Concerts Hall of the Botanical Garden of Vilnius University. After a year, similar American movies were available with the addition of special phonograph records that also provided sound. In 1909, Lithuanian cinema pioneers Antanas Račiūnas and Ladislas Starevich released their first movies. Soon the Račiūnas' recordings of Lithuania's views became very popular among the Lithuanian Americans abroad. In 1925, Pranas Valuskis filmed movie Naktis Lietuvoje (Night in Lithuania) about Lithuanian book smugglers that left the first bright Lithuanian footprint in Hollywood. The most significant and mature Lithuanian American movie of the time Aukso žąsis (Golden goose) was created in 1965 by that featured motifs from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. In 1940, Romuva Cinema was opened in Kaunas and currently is the oldest still operational cinema in Lithuania. After the occupation of the state, movies mostly were used for the Soviet propaganda purposes, nevertheless Almantas Grikevičius, Gytis Lukšas, Henrikas Šablevičius, Arūnas Žebriūnas, Raimondas Vabalas were able to overcome the obstacles and create valuable films. After the restoration of the independence, Šarūnas Bartas, Audrius Stonys, Arūnas Matelis, Audrius Juzėnas, Algimantas Puipa, , Dijana and her husband Kornelijus Matuzevičius received success in international movie festivals.
In 2018, 4,265,414 cinema tickets were sold in Lithuania with the average price of €5.26.
Music
Lithuanian folk music belongs to Baltic music branch which is connected with neolithic corded ware culture. Two instrument cultures meet in the areas inhabited by Lithuanians: stringed (kanklių) and wind instrument cultures. Lithuanian folk music is archaic, mostly used for ritual purposes, containing elements of paganism faith. There are three ancient styles of singing in Lithuania connected with ethnographical regions: monophony, heterophony and polyphony. Folk song genres: Sutartinės (Multipart Songs), Wedding Songs, War-Historical Time Songs, Calendar Cycle and Ritual Songs and Work Songs.
Italian artists organized the first opera in Lithuania on 4 September 1636 at the Palace of the Grand Dukes by the order of Władysław IV Vasa. Currently, operas are staged at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and also by independent troupe Vilnius City Opera.
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was a Lithuanian painter and composer. During his short life he created about 200 pieces of music. His works have influenced modern Lithuanian culture. His symphonic poems In the Forest (Miške) and The Sea (Jūra) were performed only posthumously. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. He has been considered one of the pioneers of abstract art in Europe.
In Lithuania, choral music is important. Vilnius is the only city with three choirs laureates (Brevis, Jauna Muzika and Chamber Choir of the Conservatoire) at the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. There is a long-standing tradition of the Dainų šventė (Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival). The first one took place in Kaunas in 1924. Since 1990, the festival has been organised every four years and summons roughly 30,000 singers and folk dancers of various professional levels and age groups from across the country. In 2008, Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival together with its Latvian and Estonian versions was inscribed as UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.Gatvės muzikos diena (Street Music Day) gathers musicians of various genres annually.
Modern classical composers emerged in seventies – Bronius Kutavičius, , Osvaldas Balakauskas, Onutė Narbutaitė, Vidmantas Bartulis and others. Most of those composers explored archaic Lithuanian music and its harmonic combination with modern minimalism and neoromanticism.
Jazz scene was active even during the years of Soviet occupation. In 1970–71 the Ganelin/Tarasov/Chekasin trio established the Vilnius Jazz School. Most known annual events are Vilnius Jazz Festival, Kaunas Jazz, Birštonas Jazz. Music Information Centre Lithuania (MICL) collects, promotes and shares information on Lithuanian musical culture.
Rock and protest music
After the Soviet reoccupation of Lithuania in 1944, the Soviet's censorship continued firmly controlling all artistic expressions in Lithuania, and any violations by criticizing the regime would immediately result in punishments. The first local rock bands started to emerge around 1965 and included Kertukai, Aitvarai and Nuogi ant slenksčio in Kaunas, and Kęstutis Antanėlis, Vienuoliai, and Gėlių Vaikai in Vilnius, among others. Unable to express their opinions directly, the Lithuanian artists began organizing patriotic Roko Maršai and were using metaphors in their songs' lyrics, which were easily identified for their true meanings by the locals.Postmodernist rock band Antis and its vocalist Algirdas Kaušpėdas were one of the most active performers who mocked the Soviet regime by using metaphors. For example, in the song Zombiai (Zombies), the band indirectly sang about the Red Army soldiers who occupied the state and its military base in Ukmergė.Vytautas Kernagis' song Kolorado vabalai (Colorado beetles) was also a favourite due to its lyrics in which true meaning of the Colorado beetles was intended to be the Soviets decorated with the Ribbons of Saint George.
In the early independence years, rock band Foje was particularly popular and gathered tens of thousands of spectators to the concerts. After disbanding in 1997, Foje vocalist Andrius Mamontovas remained one of the most prominent Lithuanian performers and an active participant in various charity events.Marijonas Mikutavičius is famous for creating unofficial Lithuania sport anthem Trys milijonai (Three millions) and official anthem of the EuroBasket 2011 Nebetyli sirgaliai (English version was named Celebrate Basketball).
Cuisine
Lithuanian cuisine features the products suited to the cool and moist northern climate of Lithuania: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialties. Fish dishes are very popular in the coastal region. Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Northern Europe, Lithuanian cuisine has some similarities to Scandinavian cuisine. Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by a variety of influences during the country's long and difficult history.
Dairy products are an important part of traditional Lithuanian cuisine. These include white cottage cheese (varškės sūris), curd (varškė), soured milk (rūgpienis), sour cream (grietinė), butter (sviestas), and sour cream butter kastinis. Traditional meat products are usually seasoned, matured and smoked – smoked sausages (dešros), lard (lašiniai), skilandis, smoked ham (kumpis). Soups (sriubos) – boletus soup (baravykų sriuba), cabbage soup (kopūstų sriuba), beer soup (alaus sriuba), milk soup (pieniška sriuba), cold-beet soup (šaltibarščiai) and various kinds of porridges (košės) are part of tradition and daily diet. Freshwater fish, herring, wild berries and mushrooms, honey are highly popular diet to this day.
One of the oldest and most fundamental Lithuanian food products was and is rye bread. Rye bread is eaten every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bread played an important role in family rituals and agrarian ceremonies.
Lithuanians and other nations that once formed part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania share many dishes and beverages. 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 (Karaite) cuisine – the kibinai are popular in Lithuania. Lithuanian noblemen usually hired French chefs, so French cuisine influence came to Lithuania in this way.
Balts were using mead (midus) for thousands of years. Beer (alus) is the most common alcoholic beverage. Lithuania has a long farmhouse beer tradition, first mentioned in 11th century chronicles. Beer was brewed for ancient Baltic festivities and rituals. Farmhouse brewing survived to a greater extent in Lithuania than anywhere else, and through accidents of history the Lithuanians then developed a commercial brewing culture from their unique farmhouse traditions. Lithuania is top 5 by consumption of beer per capita in Europe in 2015, counting 75 active breweries, 32 of them are microbreweries. The microbrewery scene in Lithuania has grown, with a number of bars focusing on these beers opening in Vilnius and other parts of the country.[citation needed]
Eight Lithuanian restaurants are listed in the White Guide Baltic Top 30. The local „30 geriausių restoranų” guide lists top domestic places, and Lithuanian restaurants will appear in the Michelin Guide on 13 June 2024.
Media
The Constitution of Lithuania provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to promote these freedoms. However, the constitutional definition of freedom of expression does not protect certain acts, such as incitement to national, racial, religious, or social hatred, violence and discrimination, or slander, and disinformation. It is a crime to deny or "grossly trivialize" Soviet or Nazi German crimes against Lithuania or its citizens, or to deny genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.
In 2021, the best-selling daily national newspapers in Lithuania were Lietuvos rytas (5.4% of all weekly readers), (3.2%), Kauno diena (2.9%). Best-selling weekly newspapers were (16.5%), (8.4%), Prie kavos (4.1%), Savaitgalis (3.9%) and Verslo žinios (3.2%).
In 2021, the most popular national television channels in Lithuania were TV3 (34.6% of the daily audience), LNK (32.3%), Lithuanian National Radio and Television (31.6%), BTV (17.3%), Lietuvos rytas TV (16.2%), TV6 (15.3%).
The most popular radio stations in Lithuania were M-1 (14.5% of daily listeners), Lietus (12.7%), Radiocentras (9.1%) and LRT Radijas (8.5%).
Public holidays and festivals
As a result of a thousand-years history, Lithuania has two National days. The first one is the Statehood Day on 6 July, marking the establishment of the medieval Kingdom of Lithuania by Mindaugas in 1253. The creation of modern Lithuanian state is commemorated on 16 February as a Lithuanian State Reestablishment Day on which declaration of independence from Russia and Germany was declared in 1918. Joninės (previously known as Rasos) is a public holiday with paganic roots that celebrates a solstice. As of 2018, there are 13 public holidays (which come with a day off).
Kaziuko mugė is an annual fair held since the beginning of the 17th century that commemorates the anniversary of Saint Casimir's death and gathers thousands of visitors and many craftsmen. Other notable festivals are Vilnius International Film Festival, Kauno Miesto Diena, Klaipėda Sea Festival, , Vilnius Book Fair, Vilnius Marathon, Devilstone Open Air, , Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Festival.
| Public holidays in Lithuania | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | English name | Local name | Remarks |
| 1 January | New Year's Day | Naujųjų metų diena | |
| 16 February | Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania (1918) | Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo diena | |
| 11 March | Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania (1990) | Lietuvos nepriklausomybės atkūrimo diena | |
| Moveable Sunday | Easter Sunday | Velykos | Commemorates resurrection of Jesus. The first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March. |
| The day after Easter Sunday | Easter Monday | Antroji Velykų diena | |
| 1 May | International Workers' Day | Tarptautinė darbo diena | |
| First Sunday in May | Mother's Day | Motinos diena | |
| First Sunday in June | Father's Day | Tėvo diena | |
| 24 June | St. John's Day / Day of Dew | Joninės / Rasos | Celebrated according to mostly pagan traditions (Midsummer Day, Saint Jonas Day). |
| 6 July | Statehood Day | Valstybės (Lietuvos karaliaus Mindaugo karūnavimo) ir Tautiškos giesmės diena | Celebrates the 1253 coronation of Mindaugas, the first King of Lithuania, and the national anthem of Lithuania. |
| 15 August | Assumption Day | Žolinė (Švenčiausios Mergelės Marijos ėmimo į dangų diena) | Also marked according to pagan traditions, celebrating the goddess Žemyna and noting the mid-August as the middle between summer and autumn. |
| 1 November | All Saints' Day | Visų šventųjų diena | Halloween is increasingly popular and is also informally celebrated on the eve (31 October). |
| 2 November | All Souls' Day | Mirusiųjų atminimo (Vėlinių) diena | |
| 24 December | Christmas Eve | Kūčios | |
| 25 and 26 December | Christmas Day | Kalėdos | Commemorates birth of Jesus. |
Sports
Basketball is the most popular and national sport of Lithuania. The Lithuania national basketball team has won the EuroBasket on three occasions (1937, 1939 and 2003), as well a total of 8 other medals in the Eurobasket, the World Championships and the Olympic Games. 76% of the country's population watched the men's national team games live in 2014. Lithuania hosted the Eurobasket in 1939 and 2011. The historic Lithuanian basketball team BC Žalgiris, from Kaunas, won the European basketball league Euroleague in 1999. Lithuania has produced a number of NBA players, including Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Arvydas Sabonis and Šarūnas Marčiulionis, and current NBA players Jonas Valančiūnas, Domantas Sabonis.
Lithuania has won a total of 26 medals at the Olympic Games, including 6 gold medals in athletics, modern pentathlon, shooting, and swimming. Other Lithuanians won Olympic medals representing Soviet Union. Discus thrower Virgilijus Alekna is the most successful Olympic athlete of independent Lithuania, having won gold medals in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens games, as well as a bronze in 2008 Summer Olympics and numerous World Championship medals. More recently, a gold medal was won by 15-year-old swimmer Rūta Meilutytė at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and sparked a rise in popularity for the sport in Lithuania.[citation needed]
Lithuania hosted the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup, the first time Lithuania had hosted a FIFA tournament.
Few Lithuanian athletes have found success in winter sports, although facilities are provided by several ice rinks and skiing slopes, including Snow Arena, the first indoor ski slope in the Baltics. In 2018 Lithuania men's national ice hockey team won gold medals at the 2018 IIHF World Championship Division I.
See also
- Index of Lithuania-related articles
- List of Lithuanians
- Outline of Lithuania
Notes
- Lithuania uses ISO 8601 standard for date and time.
- /ˌlɪθjuˈeɪniə/ LITH-ew-AY-nee-ə;Lithuanian: Lietuva [lʲiətʊˈvɐ]
- Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika [lʲiətʊˈvoːs rʲɛsˈpʊblʲɪkɐ]
- Various sources classify Lithuania differently for statistical and other purposes. For example, United Nations, and Eurovoc (which additionally classifies Lithuania as central and eastern European country), among others, classify it as northern Europe. The European Commission, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Columbia Encyclopedia place Lithuania in central Europe. The CIA World Factbook classifies it as eastern Europe, and Encyclopædia Britannica locates it in northeastern Europe. Usage varies greatly, and controversially, in press sources.
References
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Duhamel has developed the approach further: He stresses that the French construction does not correspond to either parliamentary or the presidential form of government, and then develops the distinction of 'système politique' and 'régime constitutionnel'. While the former comprises the exercise of power that results from the dominant institutional practice, the latter is the totality of the rules for the dominant institutional practice of the power. In this way, France appears as 'presidentialist system' endowed with a 'semi-presidential regime' (1983: 587). By this standard he recognizes Duverger's pléiade as semi-presidential regimes, as well as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania (1993: 87).
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Lithuania last night became the first republic to break away from the Soviet Union, by proclaiming the restoration of its pre-war independence. The newly-elected parliament, 'reflecting the people's will,' decreed the restoration of 'the sovereign rights of the Lithuanian state, infringed by alien forces in 1940,' and declared that from that moment Lithuania was again an independent state
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Lithuania officially the Republic of Lithuania 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 bordered by Latvia to the north Belarus to the east and south Poland to the south and the Russian semi exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest with a maritime border with Sweden to the west Lithuania covers an area of 65 300 km2 25 200 sq mi with a population of 2 89 million Its capital and largest city is Vilnius other major cities include Kaunas Klaipeda Siauliai and Panevezys Lithuanians belong to the linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian Republic of LithuaniaLietuvos Respublika Lithuanian Flag Coat of armsAnthem Tautiska giesme National Hymn source source track track track track track track track track track track Location of Lithuania dark green in Europe green amp dark grey in the European Union green Legend Capitaland largest cityVilnius 54 41 N 25 19 E 54 683 N 25 317 E 54 683 25 317Official languagesLithuanianEthnic groups 2024 82 6 Lithuanians6 3 Poles5 0 Russians2 1 Belarusians1 7 Ukrainians2 3 othersReligion 2021 79 4 Christianity 74 2 Catholicism 5 2 other Christian 6 1 no religion 0 8 others 13 7 no answerDemonym s LithuanianGovernmentUnitary semi presidential republic PresidentGitanas Nauseda Prime MinisterGintautas Paluckas Seimas SpeakerSaulius SkvernelisLegislatureSeimasFormation First mentioned9 March 1009 Grand Duchy1236 Coronation of Mindaugas6 July 1253 Union with Poland2 February 1386 Commonwealth created1 July 1569 Partitioned24 October 1795 Independence reinstated16 February 1918 Soviet occupation16 June 1940 Independence restored11 March 1990Area Total65 300 km2 25 200 sq mi 121st Water 1 98 2015 Population 2025 estimate2 897 430 135th Density44 km2 114 0 sq mi 138th GDP PPP 2025 estimate Total 161 454 billion 88th Per capita 55 995 39th GDP nominal 2025 estimate Total 87 981 billion 78th Per capita 30 514 40th Gini 2023 35 7 medium inequalityHDI 2022 0 879 very high 37th CurrencyEuro EUR Time zoneUTC 2 EET Summer DST UTC 3 EEST Date formatyyyy mm ddDrives onRightCalling code 370ISO 3166 codeLTInternet TLD lt For millennia the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes In the 1230s Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253 Subsequent expansion and consolidation resulted in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which by the 14th century was the largest country in Europe In 1386 the Grand Duchy entered into a de facto personal union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The two realms were united into the bi confederal Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569 forming one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries until neighbouring countries gradually dismantled it between 1772 and 1795 with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania s territory Towards the end of World War I Lithuania declared Independence in 1918 founding the modern Republic of Lithuania In World War II Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union then by Nazi Germany before being reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944 Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s On 11 March 1990 a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence Lithuania is a developed country with a high income and an advanced economy 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 EtymologyLithuania s name in writing Litua on line 7 1009 The spelling of Lithuania was a later addition to the original Latinate Lituania since 1800 as a form of hyperforeignism such as the word author being a superseding form of older autor influenced by Greek loanwords with the theta it is ultimately from Lithuanian Lietuva The first known record of Lietuva is in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno in the Quedlinburg Chronicle The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the name Lietuva Litua pronounced litua Due to lack of reliable evidence the true meaning of the name is unknown and scholars still debate it There are a few plausible versions Lietava a small river not far from Kernave 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 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 Arturas Dubonis proposed another hypothesis that Lietuva relates to the word leiciai plural of leitis From the middle of the 13th century leiciai were a distinct warrior social group of the Lithuanian society subordinate to the Lithuanian ruler or the state itself The word leiciai is used in 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 HistoryEarly history and Baltic tribes Baltic amber was a valuable trade item transported from the region of modern day Lithuania to the Roman Empire through the Amber Road Ancient Kernave hillforts The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded about 10 000 years ago The first people settled in the territory of Lithuania after the Last Glacial Period in the 10th millennium BC Kunda Neman and Narva cultures They were traveling hunters In the 8th millennium BC the climate became warmer and forests developed The inhabitants of what is now Lithuania travelled less and engaged in local hunting gathering and fresh water fishing The Indo Europeans who arrived in the 3rd 2nd millennium BC mixed with the local population and formed various Baltic tribes The Baltic tribes did not maintain close cultural or political contacts with the Roman Empire while maintaining trade contacts via the Amber Road From the 9th to the 11th centuries coastal Balts were subjected to raids by the Vikings Lithuania comprised mainly the culturally different regions of Samogitia known for its early medieval skeletal burials and further east Aukstaitija or Lithuania proper known for its early medieval cremation burials The area was remote and unattractive to outsiders including traders which accounts for its separate linguistic cultural and religious identity and delayed integration into general European patterns and trends Traditional Lithuanian pagan customs and mythology with many archaic elements were long preserved Rulers bodies were cremated up until the conversion to Christianity the descriptions of the cremation ceremonies of the grand dukes Algirdas and Kestutis have survived Kingdom of Lithuania Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Changes in the territory of Lithuania from the 13th to 15th century At its peak Lithuania was the largest state in Europe Trakai Island Castle the former residence of the Grand Dukes Trakai was the capital of the medieval state Panorama of Vilnius in 1600 The first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD Facing the German threat Mindaugas in the middle of the 13th century united a large part of the Baltic tribes and founded the State of Lithuania while in 1253 he was crowned as the Catholic King of Lithuania Moreover by taking advantage of the weakened territory of the former Kievan Rus due to the Mongol invasion Mindaugas incorporated Black Ruthenia into Lithuania After Mindaugas assassination in 1263 pagan Lithuania was again a target of the Christian crusades of the Teutonic Knights and Livonian Order Traidenis during his reign 1269 1282 reunified all Lithuanian lands and achieved military successes against the Crusaders fighting alongside other Baltic tribes but was unable to militarily assist the Old Prussians in their Great Uprising Traidenis main residence was in Kernave From the late 13th century members of the Lithuanian Gediminids dynasty began ruling Lithuania who consolidated a hereditary monarchy and the status of Vilnius as permanent capital city christianized Lithuania and by incorporating East Slavs territories e g principalities of Minsk Kyiv Polotsk Vitebsk Smolensk etc significantly expanded the Grand Duchy of Lithuania s territory which reached 650 000 km2 in the first half of the 14th century At the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest country in Europe In 1385 Lithuania formed a dynastic union with Poland through the Union of Krewo Furthermore in the late 14th 15th centuries patrilineal members of the Lithuanian ruling Gediminids dynasty ruled not only Lithuania and Poland but Hungary Croatia Bohemia and Moldavia The German attacks on Lithuania were ceased with a decisive Polish Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and by concluding the Treaty of Melno in 1422 In the 15th century the strengthened Grand Duchy of Moscow renewed the Muscovite Lithuanian Wars for the Lithuanian controlled Eastern Orthodox territories Due to the unsuccessful beginning of the Livonian War loss of land to the Tsardom of Russia and pressure by monarch Sigismund II Augustus a supporter of a close Polish Lithuanian union the Lithuanian nobility agreed to conclude the Union of Lublin in 1569 with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland which created a new federative Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth with a joint monarch holding both titles of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania but Lithuania remained a separate state from Poland with its own territory 300 000 km2 coat of arms management apparatus laws courts seal army treasury etc After concluding the real union Lithuania and Poland jointly managed to reach military successes during the Livonian War occupation of Moscow 1610 war with Sweden 1600 1611 Smolensk war with Russia 1632 1634 etc In 1588 Sigismund III Vasa personally confirmed the Third Statute of Lithuania where it was stated that Lithuania and Poland have equal rights within the Commonwealth and ensured the separation of powers The real union strongly intensified the Polonization of Lithuania and Lithuanian nobility The mid 17th century was marked with disastrous military loses for Lithuania as during the Deluge most of the territory of Lithuania was annexed by the Tsardom of Russia and even Lithuania s capital Vilnius was fully captured for the first time by a foreign army and ravaged In 1655 Lithuania unilaterally seceded from Poland declared the Swedish King Charles X Gustav as the Grand Duke of Lithuania and fell under the protection of the Swedish Empire However by 1657 Lithuania was once again a part of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth following the Lithuanian revolt against the Swedes Vilnius was recaptured from the Russians in 1661 In the second half of the 18th century the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was three times partitioned by three neighboring countries which completely dissoluted both independent Lithuania and Poland from the political map in 1795 after a failed Kosciuszko Uprising and short lived recapture of capital Vilnius in 1794 Most of Lithuania s territory was annexed by the Russian Empire while Uznemune lt was annexed by Prussia Efforts to restore statehood Emilia Plater leading peasant scythemen during the 1831 Uprising against Russian Empire often nicknamed as a Lithuanian Joan of Arc Following the annexation the Russian Tsarist authorities implemented Russification policies in Lithuania which then made a part of a new administrative region Northwestern Krai In 1812 Napoleon during the French invasion of Russia has established the puppet Lithuanian Provisional Governing Commission to support his war efforts however after Napoleon s defeat the Russian rule was reinstated in Lithuania During the November Uprising 1830 1831 the Lithuanians and Poles jointly attempted to restore their statehoods however the Russian victory resulted in stricter Russification measures the Russian language was introduced in all government institutions Vilnius University was closed in 1832 and theories that Lithuania had been a Western Russian state since its establishment were propagated Subsequently the Lithuanians once again tried to restore statehood by participating in the January Uprising 1863 1864 but yet another Russian victory resulted in even stronger Russification policies with the introduction of the Lithuanian press ban pressure on the Catholic Church in Lithuania and Mikhail Muravyov Vilensky s repressions Simonas Daukantas promoted a return to Lithuania s pre Commonwealth traditions which he depicted as a Golden Age of Lithuania and a renewal of the native culture based on the Lithuanian language and customs With those ideas in mind he wrote already in 1822 a history of Lithuania in Lithuanian Darbai senuju lietuviu ir zemaiciu The Deeds of Ancient Lithuanians and Samogitians though it was not published at that time A colleague of S Daukantas Teodor Narbutt wrote in Polish a voluminous Ancient History of the Lithuanian Nation 1835 1841 where he likewise expounded and expanded further on the concept of historic Lithuania whose days of glory had ended with the Union of Lublin in 1569 Narbutt invoking German scholarship pointed out the relationship between the Lithuanian and Sanskrit languages The Lithuanians resisted Russification through an extensive network of Lithuanian book smugglers secret Lithuanian publishing and homeschooling Moreover the Lithuanian National Revival inspired by Lithuanian history language and culture laid the foundations for the reestablishment of an independent Lithuania The Great Seimas of Vilnius was held in 1905 and its participants adopted resolutions which demanded a wide autonomy for Lithuania Restored statehood and occupations Members of the Council of Lithuania after signing the Act of Independence of Lithuania in 1918 During World War I the German Empire annexed Lithuanian territories from the Russian Empire and they became a part of Ober Ost In 1907 the Lithuanians organized the Vilnius Conference which adopted a resolution featuring the aspiration for the restoration of Lithuania s sovereignty and military alliance with Germany and elected the Council of Lithuania In 1918 the short lived Kingdom of Lithuania was proclaimed however on 16 February 1918 the Council of Lithuania adopted the Act of Independence of Lithuania which restored Lithuania as democratic republic with its capital in Vilnius and separated that state from all state relations that existed with other nations In 1918 1920 the Lithuanians defended the statehood of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence with Bolsheviks Bermontians and Poles The aims of the newly restored Lithuania clashed with Jozef Pilsudski s plans to create a federation Intermarium in territories previously ruled by the Jagiellonians The Lithuanian authorities prevented the 1919 Polish coup attempt in Lithuania and in 1920 during the Zeligowski s Mutiny the Polish forces captured Vilnius Region and established a puppet state of the Republic of Central Lithuania which in 1922 was incorporated into Poland Consequently Kaunas became the temporary capital of Lithuania where the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania was held and other primary Lithuanian institutions operated until 1940 In 1923 the Klaipeda Revolt was organized which unified the Klaipeda Region with Lithuania The 1926 Lithuanian coup d etat replaced the democratically elected government and president with an authoritarian regime led by Antanas Smetona Lithuanian Armed Forces returning to Vilnius in 1939 In the late 1930s Lithuania has accepted the 1938 Polish ultimatum 1939 German ultimatum and transferred the Klaipeda Region to Nazi Germany and following the beginning of the World War II concluded the Soviet Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty In 1940 Lithuania has accepted the Soviet ultimatum and recovered the control of historical capital Vilnius however the acceptance resulted in the Soviet occupation of Lithuania and its transformation into the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic In 1941 during the June Uprising in Lithuania it was attempted to restore independent Lithuania and the Red Army was expelled from its territory however in a few days Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany In 1944 Lithuania was re occupied by the Soviet Union and Soviet political repressions along with Soviet deportations from Lithuania resumed Thousands of Lithuanian partisans and their supporters attempted to militarily restore independent Lithuania but their resistance was eventually suppressed in 1953 by the Soviet authorities and their collaborators Jonas Zemaitis the chairman of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters was captured and executed in 1954 his successor as chairman Adolfas Ramanauskas was brutally tortured and executed in 1957 Since the late 1980s Sajudis movement sought for the restoration of independent Lithuania and in 1989 the Baltic Way was held 1990 present On 11 March 1990 the Supreme Council announced the restoration of Lithuania s independence After refusal to revoke the Act Soviet forces stormed the Seimas Palace while Lithuanians defended the democratically elected Council The Act the first such declaration in the USSR later was a model and inspiration to other Soviet republics and strongly influenced the dissolution of the Soviet Union On 11 March 1990 the Supreme Council announced the restoration of Lithuania s independence Lithuania became the first Soviet occupied state to announce the restitution of independence On 20 April 1990 the Soviets imposed an economic blockade by ceasing to deliver supplies of raw materials to Lithuania Not only domestic industry but also the population started feeling the lack of fuel essential goods and even hot water Although the blockade lasted for 74 days Lithuania did not renounce the declaration of independence Gradually economic relations were restored However tensions peaked again in January 1991 Attempts were made to carry out a coup using the Soviet Armed Forces the Internal Army of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the USSR Committee for State Security KGB Because of the poor economic situation in Lithuania the forces in Moscow thought the coup d etat would receive strong public support People flooded to Vilnius to defend the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania and independence The coup ended with a few casualties and material loss The Soviet Army killed 14 people and injured hundreds A large part of the Lithuanian population participated in the January Events On 31 July 1991 Soviet paramilitaries killed 7 Lithuanian border guards on the Belarusian border in what became known as the Medininkai Massacre On 17 September 1991 Lithuania was admitted to the United Nations On 25 October 1992 citizens voted in a referendum to adopt the current constitution On 14 February 1993 during the direct general elections Algirdas Brazauskas became the first president after the restoration of independence On 31 August 1993 the last units of the former Soviet Army left Lithuania On 31 May 2001 Lithuania joined the World Trade Organization WTO Since March 2004 Lithuania has been part of NATO On 1 May 2004 it became a full member of the European Union and a member of the Schengen Agreement in December 2007 On 1 January 2015 Lithuania joined the eurozone and adopted the European Union s single currency On 4 July 2018 Lithuania officially joined the OECD Dalia Grybauskaite was the first female President of Lithuania 2009 2019 and the first to be re elected for a second consecutive term On 24 February 2022 Lithuania declared a state of emergency in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Together with seven other NATO member states it invoked NATO Article 4 to hold consultations on security On 11 12 July 2023 the 2023 NATO summit was held in Vilnius GeographyPhysical map and geomorphological subdivision of Lithuania Lithuania is located in the Baltic region of Europe and covers an area of 65 300 km2 25 200 sq mi 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 Klaipeda lies at the narrow mouth of the Curonian Lagoon Lithuanian Kursiu 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 Aukstojas Hill at 294 metres 965 ft in the eastern part of the country The terrain features numerous lakes Lake Vistytis for example and wetlands and a mixed forest zone covers over 33 of the country Druksiai 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 Geographique National French National Geographic Institute determined that the geographic centre of Europe was in Lithuania at 54 54 N 25 19 E 54 900 N 25 317 E 54 900 25 317 Purnuskes centre of gravity 26 kilometres 16 mi north of Lithuania s capital city of Vilnius 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 Koppen 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 and 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 Lithuania experienced a drought in 2002 causing forest and peat bog fires Biodiversity and conservation Lithuanian flatlands with lakes swamps and forests Lithuania has thousands of lakes Sand dunes of the Curonian Spit near Nida which are the highest drifting sand dunes in Europe UNESCO World Heritage Site 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 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 In 2016 Lithuania introduced especially effective container deposit legislation which resulted in collecting 92 of all packagings in 2017 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 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 Lithuania is home to two terrestrial ecoregions Central European mixed forests and Sarmatic mixed forests 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 of industrial production in the country Lithuania has five national parks 30 regional parks 402 nature reserves 668 state protected natural heritage objects The white stork is the national bird of Lithuania which has the highest density stork population in Europe Lithuanian ecosystems include natural and semi natural forests bogs wetlands and meadows and anthropogenic agrarian and urban ecosystems Among natural ecosystems forests are particularly important to Lithuania covering 33 of the country s territory Wetlands raised bogs fens transitional mires etc cover 7 9 of the country with 70 of wetlands having been lost due to drainage and peat extraction between 1960 and 1980 Changes in wetland plant communities resulted in the replacement of moss and grass communities by trees and shrubs and fens not directly affected by land reclamation have become drier as a result of a drop in the water table There are 29 000 rivers with a total length of 64 000 km in Lithuania the Nemunas River basin occupying 74 of the territory of the country Due to the construction of dams approximately 70 of spawning sites of potential catadromous fish species have disappeared In some cases river and lake ecosystems continue to be impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication Agricultural land comprises 54 of Lithuania s territory roughly 70 of that is arable land and 30 meadows and pastures approximately 400 000 ha of agricultural land is not farmed and acts as an ecological niche for weeds and invasive plant species Habitat deterioration is occurring in regions with very productive and expensive lands as crop areas are expanded Currently 18 9 of all plant species including 1 87 of all known fungi species and 31 of all known species of lichens are listed in the Lithuanian Red Data Book The list also contains 8 of all fish species The wildlife populations have rebounded as the hunting became more restricted and urbanization allowed replanting forests forests already tripled in size since their lows Currently Lithuania has approximately 250 000 larger wild animals or 5 per each square kilometre The most prolific large wild animal in every part of Lithuania is the roe deer with 120 000 of them They are followed by boars 55 000 Other ungulates are the deer 22 000 fallow deer 21 000 and the largest one moose 7 000 Among the Lithuanian predators foxes are the most common 27 000 Wolves are however more ingrained into the mythology as there are just 800 in Lithuania Even rarer are the lynxes 200 The large animals mentioned above exclude the rabbit 200 000 of which may live in the Lithuanian forests Government and politicsSeimas Parliament of LithuaniaGovernment 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 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 Through compromise a semi presidential system was agreed on Gitanas Nauseda President since 2019Gintautas Paluckas Prime Minister since 2024Saulius Skvernelis Speaker of the Seimas since 2024 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 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 The current Lithuanian head of state Gitanas Nauseda was elected on 26 May 2019 by winning in all the municipalities of Lithuania in the second election round He was re elected in 2024 winning more than 74 of the run off votes 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 by the President Chairman of the Seimas and the Chairman of the Supreme Court The unicameral Lithuanian parliament the Seimas has 141 members elected to four year terms 71 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 Political parties and elections Lithuania was one of the first countries in the world to grant women a right to vote in the elections Lithuanian women were allowed to vote by the 1918 Constitution of Lithuania and used their newly granted right for the first time in 1919 By doing so Lithuania allowed it earlier than such democratic countries as the United States 1920 France 1945 Greece 1952 Switzerland 1971 Lithuania exhibits a fragmented multi party system with a number of small parties in which coalition governments are common Ordinary elections to the Seimas take place on the second Sunday of October every four years To be eligible for election candidates must be at least 21 years old on the election day not under allegiance to a foreign state and permanently reside in Lithuania Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the election are not eligible Also judges citizens performing military service and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments may not stand for election Social Democratic Party of Lithuania won the 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary elections and gained 52 of 141 seats in the parliament In November 2024 Gintautas Paluckas was confirmed as the prime minister after the Social Democrats reached a coalition agreement with Union of Democrats For Lithuania and Dawn of Nemunas Commemoration of the Act of the Re Establishment of the State of Lithuania in the historical Seimas hall where it was originally signed in 1990 The ceremony is attended by the Lithuanian President Prime Minister Chairman of the Seimas and other high ranking officials The President of Lithuania is the head of state of the country elected to a five year term in a majority vote Elections take place on the last Sunday no more than two months before the end of current presidential term To be eligible for election candidates must be at least 40 years old on the election day and reside in Lithuania for at least three years in addition to satisfying the eligibility criteria for a member of the parliament Same President may serve for not more than two terms Gitanas Nauseda was elected as an independent candidate in 2019 and re elected in 2024 Each municipality in Lithuania is governed by a municipal council and a mayor who is a member of the municipal council The number of members elected on a four year term in each municipal council depends on the size of the municipality and varies from 15 in municipalities with fewer than 5 000 residents to 51 in municipalities with more than 500 000 residents 1 498 municipal council members were elected in 2023 Members of the council with the exception of the mayor are elected using proportional representation Starting with 2015 the mayor is elected directly by the majority of residents of the municipality Social Democratic Party of Lithuania won the most positions in the 2023 elections 358 municipal council seats and 17 mayors As of 2024 the number of seats in the European Parliament allocated to Lithuania was 11 Ordinary elections take place on a Sunday on the same day as in other EU countries The vote is open to all citizens of Lithuania as well as citizens of other EU countries that permanently reside in Lithuania who are at least 18 years old on the election day To be eligible for election candidates must be at least 21 years old on the election day a citizen of Lithuania or a citizen of another EU country permanently residing in Lithuania Candidates are not allowed to stand for election in more than one country Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the election are not eligible Also judges citizens performing military service and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments may not stand for election Eight political parties gained seats in the 2024 elections Law and law enforcement Statutes of Lithuania were the central piece of Lithuanian law in 1529 1795 The first attempt to codify the Lithuanian laws was in 1468 when the Casimir s Code was compiled and adopted by Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon In the 16th century three editions of the Statutes of Lithuania were created with the First Statute being adopted in 1529 the Second Statute in 1566 and the Third Statute in 1588 On 3 May 1791 the Europe s first and the world s second Constitution was adopted by the Great Sejm The Third Statute was partly in force in the territory of Lithuania even until 1840 despite the Third Partition of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795 In 1934 1935 Lithuania held the first mass trial of the Nazis in Europe the convicted were sentenced to imprisonment in a heavy labor prison and capital punishments After regaining of independence in 1990 the largely modified Soviet legal codes were in force for about a decade The current Constitution of Lithuania was adopted on 25 October 1992 In 2001 the Civil Code of Lithuania was passed in Seimas It was succeeded by the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in 2003 The approach to the criminal law is inquisitorial as opposed to adversarial it is generally characterised by an insistence on formality and rationalisation as opposed to practicality and informality Normative legal act enters into force on the next day after its publication in the Teises aktu registras unless it has a later entry into force date The European Union law is an integral part of the Lithuanian legal system since 1 May 2004 Lithuania after breaking away from the Soviet Union had a difficult crime situation however the Lithuanian law enforcement agencies fought crime over the years making Lithuania a reasonably safe country Crime in Lithuania has been declining rapidly Law enforcement in Lithuania is primarily the responsibility of local Lietuvos policija Lithuanian Police commissariats They are supplemented by the Lietuvos policijos antiteroristiniu operaciju rinktine Aras Anti Terrorist Operations Team of the Lithuanian Police Aras Lietuvos kriminalines policijos biuras Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau Lietuvos policijos kriminalistiniu tyrimu centras Lithuanian Police Forensic Research Center and Lietuvos keliu policijos tarnyba Lithuanian Road Police Service Lithuanian police cruiser in Gediminas Avenue Vilnius In 2017 there were 63 846 crimes registered in Lithuania Of these thefts comprised a large part with 19 630 cases 13 2 less than in 2016 While 2 835 crimes were serious and very serious crimes that may lead to more than six years imprisonment which is 14 5 less than in 2016 In total 129 homicides or attempted homicide occurred 19 9 less than in 2016 while serious bodily harm was registered 178 times 17 6 less than in 2016 Another problematic crime contraband cases also decreased by 27 2 from 2016 numbers Meanwhile crimes in electronic data and information technology security fields noticeably increased by 26 6 In the 2013 Special Eurobarometer 29 of Lithuanians said that corruption affects their daily lives EU average 26 Moreover 95 of Lithuanians regarded corruption as widespread in their country EU average 76 and 88 agreed that bribery and the use of connections is often the easiest way of obtaining certain public services EU average 73 Though according to local branch of Transparency International corruption levels have been decreasing over the past decade Capital punishment in Lithuania was suspended in 1996 and eliminated in 1998 Lithuania has the highest number of prison inmates in the EU According to scientist Gintautas Sakalauskas this is not because of a high criminality rate in the country but due to Lithuania s high repression level and the lack of trust of the convicted who are frequently sentenced to imprisonment Administrative divisions Alytus County Kaunas County Klaipeda County Marijampole County Panevezys County Siauliai County Taurage County Telsiai County Utena County Vilnius County Baltic Sea Latvia Belarus Poland Russia Map of Cultural regions of Lithuania Lithuania Minor Mazoji Lietuva Samogitia Zemaitija Highland Aukstaitija Dainava Dzukija Sudovia Suvalkija The current system of administrative division was established in 1994 and modified in 2000 to meet the requirements of the European Union The country s 10 counties Lithuanian singular apskritis plural apskritys are subdivided into 60 municipalities Lithuanian singular savivaldybe plural savivaldybes and further divided into 500 elderships Lithuanian singular seniunija plural seniunijos There are also 5 distinct cultural regions in Lithuania Dzukija Aukstaitija Suvalkija Samogitia and Lithuania Minor which are recognized by the state Municipalities have been the most important unit of administration in Lithuania since the system of county governorship apskrities virsininkas was dissolved in 2010 Some municipalities are historically called district municipalities often shortened to district while others are called city municipalities sometimes shortened to city Each has its own elected government The election of municipality councils originally occurred every three years but now takes place every four years The council appoints elders to govern the elderships Mayors have been directly elected since 2015 prior to that they were appointed by the council Elderships numbering over 500 are the smallest administrative units and do not play a role in national politics They provide necessary local public services for example registering births and deaths in rural areas They are most active in the social sector identifying needy individuals or families and organizing and distributing welfare and other forms of relief Some citizens feel that elderships have no real power and receive too little attention and that they could otherwise become a source of local initiative for addressing rural problems County Area km2 Population 2023 GDP billion EUR GDP per capita EUR Alytus County 5 425 135 367 1 8 13 600Kaunas County 8 089 580 333 13 7 23 900Klaipeda County 5 209 336 104 7 0 21 300Marijampole County 4 463 135 891 2 0 14 400Panevezys County 7 881 211 652 3 6 17 100Siauliai County 8 540 261 764 4 6 17 600Taurage County 4 411 90 652 1 2 13 200Telsiai County 4 350 131 431 2 2 16 900Utena County 7 201 125 462 1 7 13 800Vilnius County 9 731 851 346 29 4 35 300Lithuania 65 300 2 860 002 67 4 23 800Foreign relations 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 while also seeking membership in other Western organizations Lithuania has established diplomatic relations with 149 countries 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 Stamp dedicated to Lithuania s presidency of the European Union Post of Lithuania 2013 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 Nordic Baltic Eight 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 Council of the Baltic Sea States CBSS was established in Copenhagen in 1992 as an informal regional political forum Its main aim is to promote integration and to close contacts between the region s countries The members of CBSS are Iceland Sweden Denmark Norway Finland Germany Lithuania Latvia Estonia Poland Russia and the European Commission Its observer states are Belarus France Italy Netherlands Romania Slovakia Spain the United States the United Kingdom and Ukraine 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 Lithuania was a member of the United Nations Security Council Its representatives are on the right side Lithuania together with the five Nordic countries and the two other Baltic countries is a member of the Nordic Investment Bank NIB and cooperates in its NORDPLUS programme which is committed to education The Baltic Development Forum BDF is an independent nonprofit organization that unites large companies cities business associations and institutions in the Baltic Sea region In 2010 the BDF s 12th summit was held in Vilnius Poland was highly supportive of Lithuanian independence despite Lithuania s discriminatory treatment of its Polish minority The former Solidarity leader and Polish President Lech Walesa criticised the government of Lithuania over discrimination against the Polish minority and rejected Lithuania s Order of Vytautas the Great Lithuania maintains greatly warm mutual relations with Georgia and strongly supports its European Union and NATO aspirations During the Russo Georgian War in 2008 when the Russian troops were occupying the territory of Georgia and approaching towards the Georgian capital Tbilisi President Valdas Adamkus together with the Polish and Ukrainian presidents went to Tbilisi by answering to the Georgians request of the international assistance Shortly Lithuanians and the Lithuanian Catholic Church also began collecting financial support for the war victims In 2004 2009 Dalia Grybauskaite served as European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget within the Jose Manuel Barroso led Commission Guests of the 2023 Vilnius NATO summit in the Courtyard of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius In 2013 Lithuania was elected to the United Nations Security Council for a two year term becoming the first Baltic country elected to this post During its membership Lithuania actively supported Ukraine and often condemned Russia for the war in Ukraine immediately earning vast Ukrainians esteem As the war in Donbas progressed President Dalia Grybauskaite has compared the Russian President Vladimir Putin to Josef Stalin and to Adolf Hitler she has also called Russia a terrorist state In 2018 Lithuania along with Latvia and Estonia were awarded the de for their exceptional model of democratic development and contribution to peace in the continent In 2019 Lithuania condemned the Turkish offensive into north eastern Syria In December 2021 Lithuania reported that in an escalation of the diplomatic spat with China over its relations with Taiwan China had stopped all imports from Lithuania According to Lithuanian intelligence agencies in 2023 there was an increase in Chinese intelligence activity against Lithuania including cyberespionage and increased focus on Lithuania s internal affairs and foreign policy The 2023 NATO summit was held in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius Military Lithuanian Army soldiers with their NATO allies during Iron Sword 2014Lithuanian Army soldiers marching with their dress uniforms in Vilnius An officer stands out with a sword 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 Compulsory conscription ended in 2008 but was reintroduced in 2015 The Lithuanian Armed Forces currently have 30 soldiers and officers participating in nine international operations and European Union training missions deployed in Kosovo Iraq Central African Republic Djibouti Mozambique Spain Italy and in the United Kingdom providing training for Ukrainian soldiers on Operation Interflex Lithuania became a full member of NATO in March 2004 Fighter jets of NATO members are deployed in Siauliai Air Base and provide safety for the Baltic airspace Beginning in summer of 2005 Lithuania was 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 included personnel from Denmark Iceland and the US There were 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 Arunas Jarmalavicius was fatally wounded during an attack on the camp of his Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan 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 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 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 Nauseda 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 EconomyThis section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information May 2024 This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it January 2025 Real GDP per capita development of Estonia Latvia and LithuaniaLithuanian counties by GDP per capita 2022Lithuania s GDP per capita compared to rest of the world 2022 Lithuania has an open and mixed economy that is classified as a high income economy by the World Bank As of 2017 update the three largest sectors were services 67 of GDP industry 29 and agriculture 3 Lithuania joined NATO in 2004 EU in 2004 Schengen in 2007 and OECD in 2018 On 1 January 2015 the euro became the national currency replacing litas at the rate of EUR 1 00 LTL 3 45280 Agricultural products and food comprise 18 of exports other major sectors include chemical products and plastics 18 machinery and appliances 16 mineral products 15 wood and furniture 13 As of 2016 update more than half of exports go to 7 countries including Russia 14 Latvia 10 Poland 9 Germany 8 Estonia 5 Sweden and the UK 4 Exports equaled 81 of GDP in 2017 GDP experienced very high real growth rates for the decade up to 2009 peaking at 11 in 2007 As a result the country was often termed a Baltic Tiger However in 2009 due to the 2007 2008 financial crisis GDP contracted 15 and unemployment rate reached 17 8 in 2010 Growth has since been much slower According to the IMF financial conditions are conducive to growth and financial soundness indicators remain strong The public debt ratio in 2016 was 40 of GDP it had been 15 in 2008 On average more than 95 of all foreign direct investment comes from EU countries Sweden is historically the largest investor with 20 30 of FDI FDI into Lithuania spiked in 2017 reaching its highest ever recorded number of greenfield investment projects In 2017 Lithuania was third after Ireland and Singapore by the average job value of investment projects The US was the leading source country in 2017 25 of total FDI Next up were Germany and the UK each representing 11 of total project numbers Based on the Eurostat s data in 2017 the value of exports recorded the most rapid growth not only in the Baltic countries but across Europe which was 17 Between 2004 and 2016 one out of five Lithuanians emigrated primarily due to insufficient income for residents secondarily seeking to study Long term emigration and economic growth has resulted in a shortage in the labor market and growth in salaries being larger than growth in labor efficiency Unemployment in 2017 was 8 As of 2022 Lithuanian median wealth per adult was 32 000 mean was 70 000 while total national wealth was 147bn As of 2023 Q2 the average monthly gross salary in Lithuania was 2 000 Lithuania has a flat tax rather than a progressive scheme The personal income tax 15 and corporate tax 15 rates are among the lowest in the EU The country has the lowest implicit rate of tax on capital 9 8 in the EU The corporate tax rate is 15 and 5 for small businesses 7 free economic zones operate Information technology production is growing reaching 2 billion in 2016 In 2017 only 35FinTech companies came to Lithuania a result of the government and Bank of Lithuania simplifying procedures Lithuania has granted a total of 39 e money licenses second in the EU only to the UK with 128 licenses In 2018 Google set up a payment company in Lithuania Europe s first international Blockchain Centre launched in Vilnius in 2018 Since 2021 Lithuania has issued hundreds of licenses for cryptocurrency exchange and storage operations making it one of the leading countries in the EU in this sector Agriculture Agriculture in Lithuania dates to the Neolithic period about 3 000 to 1 000 BC It has been one of Lithuania s most important occupations for many centuries Lithuania s accession to the European Union in 2004 ushered in a new agricultural era The EU pursues a very high standard of food safety and purity In 1999 the Seimas parliament of Lithuania adopted a Law on Product Safety and in 2000 it adopted a Law on Food The reform of the agricultural market has been carried out on the basis of these two laws In 2016 agricultural production was 2 3 billion Cereal crops occupied the largest part 5710 tons other significant types include sugar beet 934 tons rapeseed 393 tons and potatoes 340 tons Products totaling 4 385 million were exported to foreign markets of which products for 3 165 million were of Lithuanian origin Export of agricultural and food products accounted for 19 of all exports of goods Organic farming is becoming more popular The status of organic growers and producers is granted by the public body Ekoagros In 2016 there were 2539 such farms that occupied 225 542 hectares Of these 43 were cereals 31 perennial grasses 14 leguminous crops and 12 others Science and technology Lithuanian nobleman and artillery expert Kazimieras Simonavicius developed and popularized the concept of a multistage rocket The foundation of the University of Vilnius in 1579 was a major factor in fostering a scientific and academic community within Lithuania The university has welcomed such prominent scientists and thinkers as Georg Forster Jean Emmanuel Gilibert Johann Peter Frank The 17th century artillery expert Kazimieras Simonavicius is considered a pioneer of rocketry his publication the Artis Magnae Artilleriae was a basic artillery manual throughout Europe containing a large chapter on caliber construction production and properties of rockets for military and civil purposes including multistage rockets batteries of rockets and rockets with delta wing stabilizers Botanist Jurgis Pabreza 1771 1849 created the first systematic guide of Lithuanian flora Taislius auguminis Botany written in the Samogitian dialect the Latin Lithuanian dictionary of plant names and the first Lithuanian geography textbook German scientist Theodor Grotthuss 1785 1822 who proposed the Grotthuss mechanism lived and worked in the lt where he gained local prominence for his effort to educate and improve the well being of peasants The world wars of the 20th century severely diminished Lithuanian science and academia although Lithuanian scholars and scientists managed to succeed particularly abroad including philosopher Vosylius Sezemanas jurist Mykolas Romeris aviator Antanas Gustaitis management theorist Vytautas Andrius Graiciunas archaeologist Marija Gimbutas primatologist Birute Galdikas linguist Algirdas Julien Greimas and medievalist Jurgis Baltrusaitis Mathematician Jonas Kubilius long term rector of the University of Vilnius is known for works in Probabilistic number theory including the Kubilius model Theorem of Kubilius and the Turan Kubilius inequality Kubilius also successfully resisted attempts to Russify the university Lasers and biotechnology are flagship fields of the Lithuanian science and high tech industry Sviesos konversija Light Conversion has developed a femtosecond laser system that has 80 market share worldwide with applications in DNA research ophthalmological surgeries and nanotechnology The Vilnius University Laser Research Center has developed one of the most powerful femtosecond lasers in the world dedicated primarily to oncological diseases In 1963 Vytautas Straizys and his colleagues created Vilnius photometric system that is used in astronomy Noninvasive intracranial pressure and blood flow measuring devices were developed by KTU scientist A Ragauskas Kestutis Pyragas contributed to the study of chaos theory with his method of delayed feedback control the Pyragas method Kavli Prize laureate Virginijus Siksnys is known for his discoveries in CRISPR namely with respect to CRISPR Cas9 Lithuania has launched three satellites to space LitSat 1 Lituanica SAT 1 and LituanicaSAT 2 Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology and Moletai Astronomical Observatory is located in Kulionys Fifteen R amp D institutions are members of Lithuanian Space Association Lithuania is a cooperating state with European Space Agency Rimantas Stankevicius is the only ethnically Lithuanian astronaut Lithuania in 2018 became an Associated Member State of CERN Two CERN incubators in Vilnius and Kaunas will be hosted The most advanced scientific research is being conducted at the Life Sciences Center Center For Physical Sciences and Technology As of 2016 calculations yearly growth of Lithuania s biotech and life science sector was 22 over the past 5 years 16 academic institutions 15 R amp D centres science parks and innovation valleys and more than 370 manufacturers operate in the Lithuanian life science and biotech industry In 2008 the Valley development programme was started aiming to upgrade Lithuanian scientific research infrastructure and encourage business and science cooperation Five R amp D Valleys were launched Jurinis maritime technologies Nemunas agro bioenergy forestry Sauletekis laser and light semiconductor Santara biotechnology medicine Santaka sustainable chemistry and pharmacy Lithuanian Innovation Center is created to provide support for innovations and research institutions Lithuania ranks moderately in the International Innovation Index and is placed 15th among EU countries by the European Innovation Scoreboard Lithuania was ranked 35th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024 Tourism Druskininkai is a popular spa town Statistics from 2023 showed 1 4 million tourists from foreign countries visited Lithuania and spent at least one night The largest number of tourists came from Poland 173 500 Latvia 144 300 Belarus 141 900 Germany 127 400 the United Kingdom 74 200 the United States 69 700 Ukraine 67 000 and Estonia 61 300 Domestic tourism has been on the rise as well Currently there are up to 1000 places of attraction in Lithuania Most tourists visit the big cities Vilnius Klaipeda and Kaunas seaside resorts such as Neringa Palanga and Spa towns Druskininkai Birstonas Hot air ballooning is popular especially in Vilnius and Trakai Bicycle tourism is growing especially the Lithuanian Seaside Cycle Route EuroVelo routes EV10 EV11 EV13 go through Lithuania The total length of bicycle tracks amounts to 3769 km of which 1988 km is asphalt pavement Nemunas Delta Regional Park and Zuvintas biosphere reserve are known for birdwatching The total contribution of tourism to GDP had been forecast to rise to 3 2 billion 7 of GDP by 2027 but has decreased to 1 7 billion 2 3 of GDP in 2023 although it is rising post COVID 19 pandemic InfrastructureCommunication Telia skyscraper with the old Teo LT logo and Huawei headquarters in Vilnius Lithuania has a well developed communications infrastructure The country has 2 8 million citizens and 5 million SIM cards The largest LTE 4G mobile network covers 97 of Lithuania s territory Usage of fixed phone lines has been rapidly decreasing due to rapid expansion of mobile cellular services In 2017 Lithuania was top 30 in the world by average mobile broadband speeds and top 20 by average fixed broadband speeds 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 There are four TIER III datacenters in Lithuania Lithuania is 44th globally ranked country on data center density according to Cloudscene 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 72 of Lithuanian households have access to internet a number which in 2017 was among EU s lowest and in 2016 ranked 97th by CIA World Factbook Number of households with internet access is expected to increase and reach 77 by 2021 Almost 50 of Lithuanians had smartphones in 2016 a number that is expected to increase to 65 by 2022 Lithuania has the highest FTTH Fiber to the home penetration rate in Europe 36 8 in September 2016 according to FTTH Council Europe Transport Major highways in Lithuania 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 More than half of all inland freight transported in Lithuania is carried by rail 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 Gelezinkeliai a company that operates most railway lines in Lithuania received EU penalty for breaching EU s antitrust laws and restricting competition Transportation is the third largest sector in Lithuanian economy Lithuanian transport companies drew attention in 2016 and 2017 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 Marijampole railway station completed in 1924 Lithuania has an extensive network of motorways WEF grades Lithuanian roads at 4 7 7 0 and Lithuanian road authority LAKD at 6 5 10 0 The Port of Klaipeda is the only commercial cargo port in Lithuania In 2011 45 5 million tons of cargo were handled including Butinge oil terminal figures Port of Klaipeda is outside of EU s 20 largest ports but it is the eighth largest port in the Baltic Sea region with ongoing expansion plans As of 2022 the LIWA Lithuanian Inland Waterways Authority Vidaus vandens keliu direkcija in Lithuanian is developing a strategy to resurrect cargo shipping on the Nemunas Its fleet of electric ships will travel 260 km between the port of Klaipda on the Baltic Sea coast and the industrial and transportation centre of Kaunas The project is anticipated to need a 75 7 million initial investment in total and estimated to eliminate 48 000 truck trips annually 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 Other international airports include Kaunas International Airport Palanga International Airport and Siauliai International Airport Kaunas International Airport is also a small commercial cargo airport which started regular commercial cargo traffic in 2011 The inland river cargo port in Marvele linking Kaunas and Klaipeda received first cargo in 2019 Energy FSRU Independence in port of Klaipeda Systematic diversification of energy imports and resources is Lithuania s key energy strategy Long term aims were defined in National Energy Independence strategy in 2012 by Lietuvos Seimas 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 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 Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant The country s main primary source of electrical power is Elektrenai 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 As of 2015 update 66 of electrical power was imported First geothermal heating plant Klaipeda 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 In 2018 synchronising the Baltic states electricity grid with the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe has started In 2016 20 8 of electricity consumed in Lithuania came from renewable sources In order to break down Gazprom s monopoly in natural gas market of Lithuania first large scale LNG import terminal Klaipeda LNG FSRU in the Baltic region was built in port of Klaipeda in 2014 The Klaipeda LNG terminal was called Independence thus emphasising the aim to diversify energy market of Lithuania Norwegian company Equinor supplies 540 million cubic metres 19 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually from 2015 until 2020 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 Gas Interconnection Poland Lithuania GIPL also known as Lithuania Poland pipeline is a natural gas pipeline interconnection between Lithuania and Poland that became operational in 2022 DemographicsPopulation density in Lithuania by elderships 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 although without being actually isolated from them The Lithuanian population appears to be relatively homogeneous without apparent genetic differences among ethnic subgroups 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 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 The median age in 2022 was 44 years male 41 female 47 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 As of 2021 update 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 Functional urban areas Functional urban areas Population 2023 Vilnius urban area 747 864Kaunas urban area 403 375Panevezys urban area 122 860Ethnic groups and languages Residents of Lithuania by ethnicity 2024 Lithuanians 82 6 Poles 6 3 Russians 5 0 Belarusians 2 1 Ukrainians 1 7 Others 2 3 Lithuania has the most homogeneous population in the Baltic States Ethnic Lithuanians make up about five sixths of the country s population In 2024 82 6 of the 2 809 977 Lithuania s residents were ethnic Lithuanians who speak Lithuanian which is the official language of the country Several sizeable minorities exist such as Poles 6 3 Russians 5 0 Belarusians 2 1 and Ukrainians 1 7 Poles in Lithuania are the largest minority concentrated in southeast Lithuania the Vilnius region constituting majority in Salcininkai 76 3 and Vilnius District Municipality 46 8 Russians in Lithuania are the second largest minority concentrated in Visaginas 47 4 Zarasai District Municipality 17 2 and Klaipeda 16 About 2 250 Roma live in Lithuania mostly in Vilnius Kaunas and Panevezys their organizations are supported by the National Minority and Emigration Department For centuries Tatar and Karaite communities have lived in Lithuania In 2021 there were around 2 150 registered Tatars and 196 Karaites in the country 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 Salcininkai Visaginas and Vilnius District 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 According to the survey carried out within the framework of the Lithuanian census of 2021 85 33 of the country s population speak Lithuanian as their native language 6 8 are native speakers of Russian and 5 1 of Polish As of 2021 update 60 6 of residents speak Russian as a foreign language 31 1 English 10 5 Lithuanian 8 German 7 9 Polish 1 9 French 2 6 various others Most Lithuanian schools teach English as the first foreign language but students may also study German or in some schools French or Russian Around 80 of young people in Lithuania know English failed verification Urbanization There has been a steady movement of population to the cities since the 1990s encouraged by the planning of regional centres such as Alytus Marijampole Utena Plunge and Mazeikiai By the early 21st century about two thirds of the total population lived in urban areas As of 2021 update 68 19 of the total population lives in urban areas Lithuania s functional urban areas include Vilnius population 708 203 Kaunas population 391 153 and Panevezys population 124 526 The fDI of the Financial Times in their research Cities and Regions of the Future ranked Vilnius fourth in the mid sized European cities category in the 2018 19 ranking second in the 2022 23 ranking second in 2023 ranking while the city claimed 24th spot in the worldwide overall ranking in 2021 22 and Vilnius county was ranked 10th in the small European regions category in 2018 19 fifth in 2022 23 fifth in 2023 rankings Largest cities or towns in Lithuania State Data Agency 2025 Rank Name County Pop Rank Name County Pop Vilnius Kaunas 1 Vilnius Vilnius 607 404 11 Kedainiai Kaunas 23 323 Klaipeda Siauliai2 Kaunas Kaunas 303 978 12 Ukmerge Vilnius 21 9543 Klaipeda Klaipeda 160 885 13 Telsiai Telsiai 21 8344 Siauliai Siauliai 111 971 14 Taurage Taurage 21 4045 Panevezys Panevezys 85 774 15 Visaginas Utena 19 1146 Alytus Alytus 50 741 16 Palanga Klaipeda 18 5517 Marijampole Marijampole 36 240 17 Plunge Telsiai 17 0318 Mazeikiai Telsiai 33 303 18 Kretinga Klaipeda 16 9529 Jonava Kaunas 26 680 19 Silute Klaipeda 15 98510 Utena Utena 25 587 20 Radviliskis Siauliai 15 486 Health Kaunas Clinics a medical institution in Lithuania Lithuania provides free state funded healthcare to all citizens and registered long term residents It co exists with a significant private healthcare sector In 2003 2012 the network of hospitals was restructured as part of wider healthcare service reforms It started in 2003 2005 with the expansion of ambulatory services and primary care In 2016 Lithuania ranked 27th in Europe in the Euro health consumer index a ranking of European healthcare systems based on waiting time results and other indicators Lithuania ranked 19th in the 2024 edition of the World Happiness Report As of 2023 update Lithuanian life expectancy at birth was 76 0 70 6 years for males and 81 6 for females and the infant mortality rate was 2 99 per 1 000 births The annual population growth rate increased by 0 3 in 2007 Lithuania has seen a dramatic rise in suicides in the 1990s The suicide rate has been constantly decreasing since but it still remains the highest in the EU and one of the highest in the OECD The suicide rate as of 2019 is 20 2 per 100 000 people Suicide in Lithuania has been a subject of research but the main reasons behind the high rate are thought who to be both psychological and economic including social transformations and economic recessions alcoholism lack of tolerance in the society and bullying By 2000 the vast majority of Lithuanian health care institutions were non profit making enterprises and a private sector developed providing mostly outpatient services which are paid for out of pocket The Ministry of Health also runs a few health care facilities and is involved in the running of the two major Lithuanian teaching hospitals It is responsible for the State Public Health Centre which manages the public health network including ten county public health centres with their local branches The ten counties run county hospitals and specialised health care facilities There is Compulsory Health Insurance for the Lithuanian residents There are 5 Territorial Health Insurance Funds covering Vilnius Kaunas Klaipeda Siauliai and Panevezys Contributions for people who are economically active are 9 of income Emergency medical services are provided free of charge to all residents Access to the secondary and tertiary care such as hospital treatment is normally via referral by a general practitioner Lithuania also has one of the lowest health care prices in Europe Religion Hill of Crosses near SiauliaiChapel of Saint Casimir the patron saint of Lithuania and Lithuanian youth with his sarcophagus in the centre According to the 2021 census 74 2 of residents of Lithuania were Catholics 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 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 They were mainly Germans and Prussian Lithuanians in the Klaipeda Region Memel territory This population fled or was expelled after the war and Protestantism is now 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 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 Krisnos samones judejimas is the largest and the oldest movement as the first Krishna followers date to 1979 It has three centres in Lithuania in Vilnius Klaipeda 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 The Lithuanian Jewish community numbered about 4 000 at the end of 2009 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 Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith which asserts the sanctity of nature and has elements of ancestor worship According to the 2001 census there were 1 270 people of Baltic faith in Lithuania That number jumped to 5 118 in the 2011 census Education Vilnius University one of the oldest universities in the region It was established by Stephen Bathory King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1579 The Constitution of Lithuania mandates ten year education ending at age 16 and guarantees a free public higher education for students deemed good The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania proposes national educational policies and goals that are then voted for in the Seimas Laws govern long term educational strategy along with general laws on standards for higher education vocational training law and science adult education and special education 5 4 of GDP or 15 4 of total public expenditure was spent for education in 2016 Vilnius University Life Sciences Center in the Sunrise Valley According to the World Bank the literacy rate among Lithuanians aged 15 years and older is 100 School attendance rates are above the EU average and school leave is less common than in the EU According to Eurostat Lithuania leads among other countries of the European Union in people with secondary education 93 3 Based on OECD data Lithuania is among the top 5 countries in the world in postsecondary tertiary education attainment As of 2016 update 54 9 of the population aged 25 to 34 and 30 7 of the population aged 55 to 64 had completed tertiary education The share of tertiary educated 25 64 year olds in STEM Science technology engineering and mathematics fields in Lithuania were above the OECD average 29 and 26 respectively similarly to business administration and law 25 and 23 respectively Modern Lithuanian education system has multiple structural problems Insufficient funding quality issues and decreasing student population are the most prevalent Lithuanian teacher salaries below EU average despite significant increases since 2011 Low teacher salaries was the primary reason behind national teacher strikes in 2014 2015 and 2016 Salaries in the higher education sector are also low Many Lithuanian professors have a second job to supplement their income PISA report from 2022 found that Lithuanian results in math science and reading were around OECD average after trailing the OECD average in earlier reports in 2010 and 2015 although the relative improvement was primarily driven by the decrease in performance in the other OECD countries as a result of COVID 19 pandemic The population ages 6 to 19 has decreased by 36 between 2005 and 2015 As a result the student teacher ratio is decreasing and expenditure per student is increasing but schools particularly in rural areas are forced into reorganizations and consolidations As with other Baltic nations in particular Latvia the large volume of higher education graduates within the country coupled with the high rate of spoken second languages is contributing to an education brain drain As of 2008 update there were 15 public and 6 private universities as well as 16 public and 11 private colleges in Lithuania see List of universities in Lithuania Vilnius University is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe and the largest university in Lithuania Kaunas University of Technology is the largest technical university in the Baltic States and the second largest university in Lithuania In an attempt to reduce costs and adapt to sharply decreasing number of high school students Lithuanian parliament decided to reduce the number of universities in Lithuania In early 2018 Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences and Aleksandras Stulginskis University were merged into Vytautas Magnus University CultureLithuanian language A priest lexicographer Konstantinas Sirvydas cherisher of Lithuanian language in the 17th centuryJonas Jablonskis is the father of standard Lithuanian language The Lithuanian language lietuviu kalba is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union There are about 2 96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 0 2 million abroad Lithuanian is a Baltic language closely related to Latvian although they are not mutually intelligible It is written in an adapted version of the Roman script Lithuanian is believed to be the linguistically most conservative living Indo European tongue retaining many features of Proto Indo European Lithuanian language studies are important for comparative linguistics and for reconstruction of Proto Indo European language Lithuanian was studied by linguists such as Franz Bopp August Schleicher Adalbert Bezzenberger Louis Hjelmslev Ferdinand de Saussure Winfred P Lehmann Vladimir Toporov and others The earliest known Lithuanian glosses between 1520 and 1530 written in the margins of Johann Herolt book Liber Discipuli de eruditione Christifidelium Words teprydav ſ ʒy let it strike vbagyſte indigence There are two main dialects of the Lithuanian language Aukstaitian dialect and Samogitian dialect Aukstaitian dialect is mainly used in the central southern and eastern parts of Lithuania while Samogitian dialect is used in the western part of the country The Samogitian dialect also has many completely different words and is even considered a separate language by some linguists Nowadays the distinguishing feature between the two main Lithuanian dialects is the unequal pronunciation of accented and unaccented two vowels uo and ie The groundwork for written Lithuanian was laid in 16th and 17th centuries by Lithuanian noblemen and scholars who promoted Lithuanian language created dictionaries and published books Mikalojus Dauksa Stanislovas Rapolionis Abraomas Kulvietis Jonas Bretkunas Martynas Mazvydas Konstantinas Sirvydas Simonas Vaisnoras Varniskis The first grammar book of the Lithuanian language Grammatica Litvanica was published in Latin in 1653 by Danielius Kleinas Jonas Jablonskis works and activities are especially important for the Lithuanian literature moving from the use of dialects to a standard Lithuanian language The linguistic material which he collected was published in the 20 volumes of Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian and is still being used in research and in editing of texts and books He also introduced the letter u into Lithuanian writing Literature The first Lithuanian printed book Catechism of Martynas Mazvydas 1547 Konigsberg The title page of Radivilias 1592 Vilnius The poem celebrating commander Mikalojus Radvila Rudasis 1512 1584 and recounts the famous victory of Lithuanian Armed Forces over Moscow troops 1564 There is a great deal of Lithuanian literature written in Latin the main scholarly language of the Middle Ages The edicts of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas are the prime example of the literature of this kind The Letters of Gediminas are another crucial heritage of the Lithuanian Latin writings One of the first Lithuanian authors who wrote in Latin was Nicolaus Hussovianus around 1480 after 1533 His poem Carmen de statura feritate ac venatione bisontis A Song about the Appearance Savagery and Hunting of the Bison published in 1523 describes the Lithuanian landscape way of life and customs touches on some actual political problems and reflects the clash of paganism and Christianity A person under the pseudonym Michalo Lituanus lt around 1490 1560 wrote a treatise De moribus tartarorum lituanorum et moscorum On the Customs of Tatars Lithuanians and Muscovites in the middle of the 16th century but it was not published until 1615 An extraordinary figure in the cultural life of Lithuania in the 16th century was the lawyer and poet of Spanish origin Petrus Roysius Maurus Alcagnicensis around 1505 1571 The publicist lawyer and mayor of Vilnius Augustinus Rotundus around 1520 1582 wrote a no longer existent history of Lithuania in Latin around the year 1560 loannes Radvanus a humanist poet of the second half of the 16th century wrote an epic poem imitating the Aeneid of Vergil His Radivilias intended to become the Lithuanian national epic was published in Vilnius in 1588 17th century Lithuanian scholars also wrote in Latin lt Zygimantas Liauksminas are known for their Latin writings in theology rhetorics and music Albertas Kojalavicius Vijukas wrote first printed Lithuanian history Historia Lithuania Lithuanian literary works in the Lithuanian language started being first published in the 16th century In 1547 Martynas Mazvydas compiled and published the first printed Lithuanian book Katekizmo prasti zodziai The Simple Words of Catechism which marks the beginning of literature printed in Lithuanian He was followed by Mikalojus Dauksa with Katechizmas In the 16th and 17th centuries as in the whole Christian Europe Lithuanian literature was primarily religious The evolution of the old 14th 18th century Lithuanian literature ends with Kristijonas Donelaitis one of the most prominent authors of the Age of Enlightenment Donelaitis poem Metai The Seasons is a landmark of the Lithuanian fiction literature written in hexameter With a mix of Classicism Sentimentalism and Romanticism the Lithuanian literature of the first half of the 19th century is represented by Maironis Antanas Baranauskas Simonas Daukantas Oscar Milosz and Simonas Stanevicius During the Tsarist annexation of Lithuania in the 19th century the Lithuanian press ban was implemented which led to the formation of the Knygnesiai Book smugglers movement This movement is thought who to be the very reason the Lithuanian language and literature survived 20th century Lithuanian literature is represented by Juozas Tumas Vaizgantas Antanas Vienuolis Bernardas Brazdzionis Antanas Skema Balys Sruoga Vytautas Macernis and Justinas Marcinkevicius citation needed In 21st century debuted Kristina Sabaliauskaite Renata Serelyte Valdas Papievis Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite Ruta Sepetys citation needed Architecture Vilnius Cathedral by Laurynas Gucevicius Several famous Lithuania related architects are notable for their achievements in the field of architecture Johann Christoph Glaubitz Marcin Knackfus Laurynas Gucevicius and Karol Podczaszynski were instrumental in introducing Baroque and neoclassical architectural movements to the Lithuanian architecture during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries Vilnius is considered as a capital of the Eastern Europe Baroque Vilnius Old Town that is full of astonishing Baroque churches and other buildings is a UNESCO World Heritage Site Grycia traditional dwelling house built in the 19th century Lithuania is also known for numerous castles About twenty castles exist in Lithuania Some castles had to be rebuilt or survive partially Many Lithuanian nobles historic palaces and manor houses have remained till the nowadays and were reconstructed Lithuanian village life has existed since the days of Vytautas the Great Zervynos and Kapiniskiai are two of many ethnographic villages in Lithuania Rumsiskes is an open space museum where old ethnographic architecture is preserved During the interwar period Art Deco Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural style buildings were constructed in the Lithuania s temporary capital Kaunas Its architecture is regarded as one of the finest examples of the European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label Arts and museums Kings Fairy Tale 1908 1909 by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis The Lithuanian Art Museum was founded in 1933 and is the largest museum of art conservation and display in Lithuania Among other important museums are the Palanga Amber Museum where amber pieces comprise a major part of the collection National Gallery of Art presenting collection of Lithuanian art of the 20th and 21st century National Museum of Lithuania presenting Lithuanian archaeology history and ethnic culture In 2018 two private museums were opened MO Museum devoted to modern and contemporary Lithuanian art and Tartle exhibiting a collection of Lithuanian art heritage and artefacts Perhaps the most renowned figure in Lithuania s art community was the composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis 1875 1911 an internationally renowned musician The 2420 Ciurlionis asteroid identified in 1975 honors his achievements The M K Ciurlionis National Art Museum as well as the only military museum in Lithuania Vytautas the Great War Museum are located in Kaunas Franciszek Smuglewicz Jan Rustem Jozef Oleszkiewicz and Kanuty Rusiecki are the most prominent Lithuanian painters of the 18th and 19th centuries Theatre Lithuanian National Drama Theatre Lithuania has theatres in Vilnius Kaunas Klaipeda and Panevezys These include Lithuanian National Drama Theatre Keistuoliu teatras Theatre of Freaks in Vilnius Kaunas State Drama Theatre Theatre of Oskaras Korsunovas Klaipeda Drama Theatre Theatre of Gytis Ivanauskas Miltinis Drama Theatre in Panevezys The Doll s Theatre Old Theatre of Vilnius Theatre festivals include Sirenos Sirens TheATRIUM Nerk į teatra Dive into the Theatre Lithuanian theatre directors include Eimuntas Nekrosius Jonas Vaitkus Cezaris Grauzinis Gintaras Varnas Dalia Ibelhauptaite and Arturas Areima Actors include Dainius Gavenonis Rolandas Kazlas Saulius Balandis and Gabija Jaraminaite Theatre director Oskaras Korsunovas was awarded the Swedish Commander Grand Cross the Order of the Polar Star Cinema Romuva Cinema the oldest still operational cinema in Lithuania On 28 July 1896 Thomas Edison live photography session was held in the Concerts Hall of the Botanical Garden of Vilnius University After a year similar American movies were available with the addition of special phonograph records that also provided sound In 1909 Lithuanian cinema pioneers Antanas Raciunas and Ladislas Starevich released their first movies Soon the Raciunas recordings of Lithuania s views became very popular among the Lithuanian Americans abroad In 1925 Pranas Valuskis filmed movie Naktis Lietuvoje Night in Lithuania about Lithuanian book smugglers that left the first bright Lithuanian footprint in Hollywood The most significant and mature Lithuanian American movie of the time Aukso zasis Golden goose was created in 1965 by lt that featured motifs from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales In 1940 Romuva Cinema was opened in Kaunas and currently is the oldest still operational cinema in Lithuania After the occupation of the state movies mostly were used for the Soviet propaganda purposes nevertheless Almantas Grikevicius Gytis Luksas Henrikas Sablevicius Arunas Zebriunas Raimondas Vabalas were able to overcome the obstacles and create valuable films After the restoration of the independence Sarunas Bartas Audrius Stonys Arunas Matelis Audrius Juzenas Algimantas Puipa lt Dijana and her husband Kornelijus Matuzevicius received success in international movie festivals In 2018 4 265 414 cinema tickets were sold in Lithuania with the average price of 5 26 Music Lithuanians dancing at Skamba skamba kankliai festival and singing at Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival in Vingis Park Lithuanian folk music belongs to Baltic music branch which is connected with neolithic corded ware culture Two instrument cultures meet in the areas inhabited by Lithuanians stringed kankliu and wind instrument cultures Lithuanian folk music is archaic mostly used for ritual purposes containing elements of paganism faith There are three ancient styles of singing in Lithuania connected with ethnographical regions monophony heterophony and polyphony Folk song genres Sutartines Multipart Songs Wedding Songs War Historical Time Songs Calendar Cycle and Ritual Songs and Work Songs Italian artists organized the first opera in Lithuania on 4 September 1636 at the Palace of the Grand Dukes by the order of Wladyslaw IV Vasa Currently operas are staged at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and also by independent troupe Vilnius City Opera Painter and composer M K Ciurlionis Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis was a Lithuanian painter and composer During his short life he created about 200 pieces of music His works have influenced modern Lithuanian culture His symphonic poems In the Forest Miske and The Sea Jura were performed only posthumously Ciurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siecle epoch He has been considered one of the pioneers of abstract art in Europe In Lithuania choral music is important Vilnius is the only city with three choirs laureates Brevis Jauna Muzika and Chamber Choir of the Conservatoire at the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing There is a long standing tradition of the Dainu svente Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival The first one took place in Kaunas in 1924 Since 1990 the festival has been organised every four years and summons roughly 30 000 singers and folk dancers of various professional levels and age groups from across the country In 2008 Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival together with its Latvian and Estonian versions was inscribed as UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Gatves muzikos diena Street Music Day gathers musicians of various genres annually Modern classical composers emerged in seventies Bronius Kutavicius lt Osvaldas Balakauskas Onute Narbutaite Vidmantas Bartulis and others Most of those composers explored archaic Lithuanian music and its harmonic combination with modern minimalism and neoromanticism Jazz scene was active even during the years of Soviet occupation In 1970 71 the Ganelin Tarasov Chekasin trio established the Vilnius Jazz School Most known annual events are Vilnius Jazz Festival Kaunas Jazz Birstonas Jazz Music Information Centre Lithuania MICL collects promotes and shares information on Lithuanian musical culture Rock and protest music Rock band Antis which under firm censorship actively mocked the Soviet Union regime by using metaphors in their lyrics during an anti Sovietism anti communism concert in 1987 After the Soviet reoccupation of Lithuania in 1944 the Soviet s censorship continued firmly controlling all artistic expressions in Lithuania and any violations by criticizing the regime would immediately result in punishments The first local rock bands started to emerge around 1965 and included Kertukai Aitvarai and Nuogi ant slenkscio in Kaunas and Kestutis Antanelis Vienuoliai and Geliu Vaikai in Vilnius among others Unable to express their opinions directly the Lithuanian artists began organizing patriotic Roko Marsai and were using metaphors in their songs lyrics which were easily identified for their true meanings by the locals Postmodernist rock band Antis and its vocalist Algirdas Kauspedas were one of the most active performers who mocked the Soviet regime by using metaphors For example in the song Zombiai Zombies the band indirectly sang about the Red Army soldiers who occupied the state and its military base in Ukmerge Vytautas Kernagis song Kolorado vabalai Colorado beetles was also a favourite due to its lyrics in which true meaning of the Colorado beetles was intended to be the Soviets decorated with the Ribbons of Saint George In the early independence years rock band Foje was particularly popular and gathered tens of thousands of spectators to the concerts After disbanding in 1997 Foje vocalist Andrius Mamontovas remained one of the most prominent Lithuanian performers and an active participant in various charity events Marijonas Mikutavicius is famous for creating unofficial Lithuania sport anthem Trys milijonai Three millions and official anthem of the EuroBasket 2011 Nebetyli sirgaliai English version was named Celebrate Basketball Cuisine Lithuanian dark rye breadCepelinai a potato based dumpling dish characteristic of Lithuanian cuisine with meat curd or mushrooms Lithuanian cuisine features the products suited to the cool and moist northern climate of Lithuania barley potatoes rye beets greens berries and mushrooms are locally grown and dairy products are one of its specialties Fish dishes are very popular in the coastal region Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Northern Europe Lithuanian cuisine has some similarities to Scandinavian cuisine Nevertheless it has its own distinguishing features which were formed by a variety of influences during the country s long and difficult history Dairy products are an important part of traditional Lithuanian cuisine These include white cottage cheese varskes suris curd varske soured milk rugpienis sour cream grietine butter sviestas and sour cream butter kastinis Traditional meat products are usually seasoned matured and smoked smoked sausages desros lard lasiniai skilandis smoked ham kumpis Soups sriubos boletus soup baravyku sriuba cabbage soup kopustu sriuba beer soup alaus sriuba milk soup pieniska sriuba cold beet soup saltibarsciai and various kinds of porridges koses are part of tradition and daily diet Freshwater fish herring wild berries and mushrooms honey are highly popular diet to this day Lithuania has longlasting beer brewing traditions One of the oldest and most fundamental Lithuanian food products was and is rye bread Rye bread is eaten every day for breakfast lunch and dinner Bread played an important role in family rituals and agrarian ceremonies Lithuanians and other nations that once formed part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania share many dishes and beverages German traditions also influenced Lithuanian cuisine introducing pork and potato dishes such as potato pudding kugelis or kugel and potato sausages vedarai as well as the baroque tree cake known as Sakotis The most exotic of all the influences is Eastern Karaite cuisine the kibinai are popular in Lithuania Lithuanian noblemen usually hired French chefs so French cuisine influence came to Lithuania in this way Balts were using mead midus for thousands of years Beer alus is the most common alcoholic beverage Lithuania has a long farmhouse beer tradition first mentioned in 11th century chronicles Beer was brewed for ancient Baltic festivities and rituals Farmhouse brewing survived to a greater extent in Lithuania than anywhere else and through accidents of history the Lithuanians then developed a commercial brewing culture from their unique farmhouse traditions Lithuania is top 5 by consumption of beer per capita in Europe in 2015 counting 75 active breweries 32 of them are microbreweries The microbrewery scene in Lithuania has grown with a number of bars focusing on these beers opening in Vilnius and other parts of the country citation needed Eight Lithuanian restaurants are listed in the White Guide Baltic Top 30 The local 30 geriausiu restoranu guide lists top domestic places and Lithuanian restaurants will appear in the Michelin Guide on 13 June 2024 Media The Constitution of Lithuania provides for freedom of speech and press and the government generally respects these rights in practice An independent press an effective judiciary and a functioning democratic political system combine to promote these freedoms However the constitutional definition of freedom of expression does not protect certain acts such as incitement to national racial religious or social hatred violence and discrimination or slander and disinformation It is a crime to deny or grossly trivialize Soviet or Nazi German crimes against Lithuania or its citizens or to deny genocide crimes against humanity or war crimes In 2021 the best selling daily national newspapers in Lithuania were Lietuvos rytas 5 4 of all weekly readers lt 3 2 Kauno diena 2 9 Best selling weekly newspapers were lt 16 5 lt 8 4 Prie kavos 4 1 Savaitgalis 3 9 and Verslo zinios 3 2 In 2021 the most popular national television channels in Lithuania were TV3 34 6 of the daily audience LNK 32 3 Lithuanian National Radio and Television 31 6 BTV 17 3 Lietuvos rytas TV 16 2 TV6 15 3 The most popular radio stations in Lithuania were M 1 14 5 of daily listeners Lietus 12 7 Radiocentras 9 1 and LRT Radijas 8 5 Public holidays and festivals As a result of a thousand years history Lithuania has two National days The first one is the Statehood Day on 6 July marking the establishment of the medieval Kingdom of Lithuania by Mindaugas in 1253 The creation of modern Lithuanian state is commemorated on 16 February as a Lithuanian State Reestablishment Day on which declaration of independence from Russia and Germany was declared in 1918 Jonines previously known as Rasos is a public holiday with paganic roots that celebrates a solstice As of 2018 there are 13 public holidays which come with a day off Kaziuko muge is an annual fair held since the beginning of the 17th century that commemorates the anniversary of Saint Casimir s death and gathers thousands of visitors and many craftsmen Other notable festivals are Vilnius International Film Festival Kauno Miesto Diena Klaipeda Sea Festival Vilnius Book Fair Vilnius Marathon Devilstone Open Air lt Great Zemaiciu Kalvarija Festival Public holidays in LithuaniaDate English name Local name Remarks1 January New Year s Day Naujuju metu diena 16 February Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania 1918 Lietuvos valstybes atkurimo diena 11 March Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania 1990 Lietuvos nepriklausomybes atkurimo diena Moveable Sunday Easter Sunday Velykos Commemorates resurrection of Jesus The first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March The day after Easter Sunday Easter Monday Antroji Velyku diena 1 May International Workers Day Tarptautine darbo diena First Sunday in May Mother s Day Motinos diena First Sunday in June Father s Day Tevo diena 24 June St John s Day Day of Dew Jonines Rasos Celebrated according to mostly pagan traditions Midsummer Day Saint Jonas Day 6 July Statehood Day Valstybes Lietuvos karaliaus Mindaugo karunavimo ir Tautiskos giesmes diena Celebrates the 1253 coronation of Mindaugas the first King of Lithuania and the national anthem of Lithuania 15 August Assumption Day Zoline Svenciausios Mergeles Marijos emimo į dangu diena Also marked according to pagan traditions celebrating the goddess Zemyna and noting the mid August as the middle between summer and autumn 1 November All Saints Day Visu sventuju diena Halloween is increasingly popular and is also informally celebrated on the eve 31 October 2 November All Souls Day Mirusiuju atminimo Veliniu diena 24 December Christmas Eve Kucios 25 and 26 December Christmas Day Kaledos Commemorates birth of Jesus Sports Basketball is the most popular and national sport of Lithuania The Lithuania national basketball team has won the EuroBasket on three occasions 1937 1939 and 2003 as well a total of 8 other medals in the Eurobasket the World Championships and the Olympic Games 76 of the country s population watched the men s national team games live in 2014 Lithuania hosted the Eurobasket in 1939 and 2011 The historic Lithuanian basketball team BC Zalgiris from Kaunas won the European basketball league Euroleague in 1999 Lithuania has produced a number of NBA players including Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis and current NBA players Jonas Valanciunas Domantas Sabonis Lithuania men s national basketball team is ranked eighth worldwide in FIBA Rankings Lithuania has won a total of 26 medals at the Olympic Games including 6 gold medals in athletics modern pentathlon shooting and swimming Other Lithuanians won Olympic medals representing Soviet Union Discus thrower Virgilijus Alekna is the most successful Olympic athlete of independent Lithuania having won gold medals in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens games as well as a bronze in 2008 Summer Olympics and numerous World Championship medals More recently a gold medal was won by 15 year old swimmer Ruta Meilutyte at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and sparked a rise in popularity for the sport in Lithuania citation needed Lithuania hosted the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup the first time Lithuania had hosted a FIFA tournament Few Lithuanian athletes have found success in winter sports although facilities are provided by several ice rinks and skiing slopes including Snow Arena the first indoor ski slope in the Baltics In 2018 Lithuania men s national ice hockey team won gold medals at the 2018 IIHF World Championship Division I See alsoLithuania portalEurope portalIndex of Lithuania related articles List of Lithuanians Outline of LithuaniaNotesLithuania uses ISO 8601 standard for date and time ˌ l ɪ 8j u ˈ eɪ n i e LITH ew AY nee e Lithuanian Lietuva lʲietʊˈvɐ Lithuanian Lietuvos Respublika lʲietʊˈvoːs rʲɛsˈpʊblʲɪkɐ Various sources classify Lithuania differently for statistical and other purposes For example United Nations and Eurovoc which additionally classifies Lithuania as central and eastern European country among others classify it as northern Europe The European Commission European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Columbia Encyclopedia place Lithuania in central Europe The CIA World Factbook classifies it as eastern Europe and Encyclopaedia Britannica locates it in northeastern Europe Usage varies greatly and controversially in press sources References Lithuania s Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2019 PDF Constitute Project Archived PDF from the original on 21 February 2021 Retrieved 30 August 2020 Rodikliu duomenu baze Oficialiosios statistikos portalas osp stat gov lt Population by religious community indicated municipalities 2021 in Lithuanian Statistics Lithuania Archived from the original on 2 January 2022 Retrieved 2 January 2022 Kulikauskiene Lina 2002 Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania in Lithuanian Native History CD ISBN 978 9986 9216 7 7 Veser Ernst 23 September 1997 Semi Presidentialism Duverger s Concept A New Political System Model PDF in English and Chinese Department of Education School of Education University of Cologne pp 39 60 Archived from the original PDF on 24 April 2021 Retrieved 23 August 2017 Duhamel has developed the approach further He stresses that the French construction does not correspond to either parliamentary or the presidential form of government and then develops the distinction of systeme politique and regime constitutionnel While the former comprises the exercise of power that results from the dominant institutional practice the latter is the totality of the rules for the dominant institutional practice of the power In this way France appears as presidentialist system endowed with a semi presidential regime 1983 587 By this standard he recognizes Duverger s pleiade as semi presidential regimes as well as Poland Romania Bulgaria and Lithuania 1993 87 Shugart Matthew Soberg September 2005 Semi Presidential Systems Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns PDF Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies United States University of California San Diego Archived from the original PDF on 19 August 2008 Retrieved 23 August 2017 Shugart Matthew Soberg December 2005 Semi Presidential Systems Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns French Politics 3 3 Palgrave Macmillan Journals 323 351 doi 10 1057 palgrave fp 8200087 ISSN 1476 3419 A pattern similar to the French case of compatible majorities alternating with periods of cohabitation emerged in Lithuania where Talat Kelpsa 2001 notes that the ability of the Lithuanian president to influence government formation and policy declined abruptly when he lost the sympathetic majority in parliament Eurostat celebrates Lithuania 16 February 2018 Eurostat Retrieved 28 January 2025 Surface water and surface water change Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD Archived from the original on 24 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Another Part of Europe Bloomberg Archived from the original on 17 October 2017 Retrieved 1 September 2017 Bammesberger Alfred March 2012 Lietuva Lithuania and Chaucer s Lettow Lituanus 58 1 5 8 Baranauskas Tomas Fall 2009 On the Origin of the Name of Lithuania Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences 55 3 ISSN 0024 5089 Vilnius Key dates Archived 17 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 18 January 2007 Zinkevicius Zigmas Lietuvos vardas Vle lt in Lithuanian Archived from the original on 4 July 2022 Retrieved 12 July 2021 Zigmas Zinkevicius Kelios mintys kurios kyla skaitant Alfredo Bumblausko Senosios Lietuvos istorija 1009 1795m Voruta 2005 Zinkevicius Zigmas 30 November 1999 Lietuvos vardo kilme Voruta in Lithuanian 3 669 ISSN 1392 0677 Archived from the original on 10 May 2022 Dubonis Arturas 1998 Lietuvos didziojo kunigaikscio leiciai is Lietuvos ankstyvuju valstybiniu strukturu praeities Leiciai of Grand Duke of Lithuania from the past of Lithuanian stative 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pre war independence The newly elected parliament reflecting the people s will decreed the restoration of the sovereign rights of the Lithuanian state infringed by alien forces in 1940 and declared that from that moment Lithuania was again an independent state Martha Brill Olcott 1990 The Lithuanian Crisis www foreignaffairs com Archived from the original on 20 July 2021 Retrieved 18 November 2018 For over two years Lithuania has been moving toward reclaiming its independence This drive reached a crescendo on 11 March 1990 when the Supreme Soviet of Lithuania declared the republic no longer bound by Soviet law The act reasserted the independence Lithuania had declared more than seventy years before a declaration unilaterally annulled by the U S S R in 1940 when it annexed Lithuania as the result of a pact between Stalin and Hitler Laurinavicius Ceslovas Lietuvos Respublika po 1990 Visuotine lietuviu enciklopedija in Lithuanian 10 svarbiausiu 1991 uju sausio įvykiu kuriuos privalote 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