Area

64,800 sq. km.

Population

3,689,000. ..86% Lithuanian. .. 8.7% Russian.... 7% Polish.... 1.6% Belarussian

Density

57 per sq. km.

Urban Population

69%

Head of State

President of the Republic of Lthuania elected for five years which can only be renewed once. The President appoints the Prime Minister

Government

Unicamaral parliament (Seimas) with 71 members elected by the first past the post constituencies and 70 by proportional representation

National Flag

Three horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red

Joined EU

1 May 2004

Capital

Vilnius with a population of 542, 287.

Language

Lithuanian

Education

Free and compulsory from 7 - 16. There are 65 colleges and 8 universities. Vilnius university founded in 1579 is one of the oldest universities in eastern Europe.

Religion

Lithuania kept its Pagan traditions for far longer than any other European country and only became fully Chrisyian in thr 15th century

79% Roman Catholic with 4.1% Russian Orodox and some Lutheran minorities.

Currency

Litas of 100 centas. Currency is pegged to the Euro - €1 = 3.45 litas

Landscape

Lithunania is a country of over 2,000 lakes, many of which lie in the east of the country. Elevatuon ranges from 292 m (Kalnas) at the highest point to 0 m (Baltic Sea) at the lowest. The climate is mainly continental. Average annual temoeratures range from -3 degrees C in January to 17 degress C in Jukly

Agriculture

The Ardennes in the north of the country form part of the natural Germano-Luxenburg Park, which extends east into Germany. The south of the country is fertule land and in the east is the wine growing region of the Moselle Valley.

Resources

Coal, iron ore and amber

Industry

Industries include mining and the cutting of amber, metal-cutting, machine tools, electric motors, shipbuilding, furniture making, textiles, food processing and fertilizers.