11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
5 July 1962 (from France)
Religions
Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census)
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Exports
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%
External Debt
$31,030,000,000 $
$4,699,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar - 63.25 (2008 est.), 69.9 (2007), 72.647 (2006), 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
3.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
5
2
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Area
65,300 km sq
2,381,741 km sq
Coastline
90 km
998 km
Climate
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
