Statistical information Lithuania 1992

Lithuania in the World
top of pageBackground: Independent between the two World Wars Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. In March of 1990 Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence but this proclamation was not generally recognized until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow).
top of pageLocationGeographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaTotal: 65,200 km²
Land: 65,200 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
1,273 km; Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km,
Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km
Coastline: 108 km
Maritime claimsContiguous zone: NA nm
Continental shelf: NA meter depth
Exclusive economic zone: NA nm
Exclusive fishing zone: NA nm
Territorial sea: NA nm
Disputes: dispute with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) over the position of the Neman River border presently located on the Lithuanian bank and not in midriver as by international standards
Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters
Terrain: lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
ElevationNatural resources: peat
Land use: 49.1% arable land; NA% permanent crops; 22.2% meadows and pastures; 16.3% forest and woodland; 12.4% other; includes NA% irrigated
Irrigated landMajor riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographytop of pagePopulation: 3,788,542 (July 1992), growth rate 0.8% (1992)
Nationality: noun - Lithuanian(s; adjective - Lithuanian
Ethnic groups:
Lithuanian 80.1%, Russian 8.6%, Poles 7.7%,
Byelorussian 1.5%, other 2.1%
Languages: Lithuanian (official), Polish NA%, Russian NA%
Religions: Catholic NA%, Lutheran NA%, unknown NA%, none NA%, other NA%
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rateBirth rate: 15 births/1000 population (1992)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1000 population (1992)
Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1000 population (1992)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: NA
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 76 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1992)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
Government type: republic
Capital: Vilnius
Administrative divisions: none - all rayons are under direct republic jurisdiction
Dependent areasIndependence:
1918; annexed by the Soviet Union 3 August 1940; restored independence 11 March 1990; and regained indpendence from the USSR 6
September 1991
National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 February; Defenders of Freedom
Day, 13 January
Constitution: NA; Constitutional Commission has drafted a new constitution that will be sent to Parliament for ratification
Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: universal at age 18
President:last held March 1990 (elected by Parliament); results -
LANDSBERGIS, BRAZAUSKAS
Supreme Council: last held 24 February 1990; results - Sajudis (nationalist movement won a large majority) (90) 63%; seats - (141 total)
Executive branch: prime minister, Council of Ministers, Government,
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council, Parliament
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; district and city courts; Procurator General of Lithuania
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: CSCE, IAEA, ILO, NACC, UN, UNCTAD
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Stasys LOZORAITIS, Jr.; Embassy at 2,622 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20,009; telephone (202) 234-5,860, 2,639
US: Ambassador Darryl JOHNSON; Embassy at Mykolaicio putino 4, Vilnius; (mailing address is APO AE 9,862); telephone 7 (01-22) 628-049
Diplomatic representationFlag description
: yellow, green, and red horizontal stripes
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview:
Lithuania is striving to become a small, independent, largely privatized economy rather than a segment of a huge, centrally planned economy. Although substantially above average in living standards and technology in the old USSR, Lithuania historically lagged behind Latvia and
Estonia in economic development. It is ahead of its Baltic neighbors, however, in implementing market reform. The country has no important natural resources aside from its arable land: and strategic location. Industry depends entirely on imported materials that have come from the republics of the former USSR. Lithuania benefits from its ice-free port at Klaipeda on the Baltic Sea and its rail and highway hub at Vilnius, which provides land communication between Eastern Europe and Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and
Belarus. Industry produces a small assortment of high-quality products, ranging from complex machine tools to sophisticated consumer electronics.
Thanks to nuclear power, Lithuania is presently self-sufficient in electricity, exporting its surplus to Latvia and Belarus; the nuclear facilities inherited from the USSR, however, have come under world scrutiny as seriously deficient in safety standards. Agriculture is efficient compared with most of the former Soviet Union. Lithuania holds first place in per capita consumption of meat, second place for eggs and potatoes, and fourth place for milk and dairy products. Grain must be imported to support the meat and dairy industries. As to economic reforms, Lithuania is pressing ahead with plans to privatize at least 60% of state-owned property (industry, agriculture, and housing) having already sold many small enterprises using a voucher system. Other government priorities include stimulating foreign investment by protecting the property rights of foreign firms and redirecting foreign trade away from Eastern markets to the more competitive Western markets. For the moment, Lithuania will remain highly dependent on Russia for energy, raw materials, grains, and markets for its products.
GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $NA; per capita NA; real growth rate - 13% (1991)
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capitaGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: employs 29% of labor force; sugar, grain, potatoes, sugarbeets, vegetables, meat, milk, dairy products, eggs, and fish; most developed are the livestock and dairy branches - these depend on imported grain; Lithuania is a net exporter of meat, milk, and eggs
Industries: employs 25% of the labor force; its shares in the total production of the former USSR are metal-cutting machine tools 6.6%; electric motors 4.6%; television sets 6.2%; refrigerators and freezers 5.4%; other production includes petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, and amber
Industrial production growth rate: growth rate - 1.3% (1991)
Labor force: 1,836,000; industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 18%, other 40% (1990)
Organized labor:Lithuanian Trade Union Association; Labor Federation of
Lithuania; Union of Workers
Unemployment rate: NA%
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues 4.8 billion rubles; expenditures 4.7 billion rubles (1989 economic survey; note - budget revenues and expenditures are not given for other former Soviet republics; implied deficit from these figures does not have a clear interpretation
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: 700 million rubles (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: electronics 18%, petroleum products 16%, food 10%, chemicals 6% (1989)
Partners:Russia 60%, Ukraine 15%, other former Soviet republics 20%,
West 5%
Imports: 2.2 billion rubles (c.i.f., 1990)
Commodoties: oil 24%, machinery 14%, chemicals 8%, grain NA%
Partners: NA
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt externalStock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: NA
top of pageElectricityProduction: 5,875,000 kW capacity; 25,500 million kWh produced, NA kWh per capita (1991)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresMilitary and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: NA
HeliportsPipelines: NA
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: 600 km perennially navigable
Merchant marine:
66 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,854
GRT/315,690 DWT; includes 27 cargo, 24 timber carrier, 1 container, 3 railcar carrier, 11 combination bulk
Civil air: NA
Ports and terminalstop of pageDisputes internationalRefugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs:
transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and
Southwest Asia to Western Europe