11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
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)
Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census)
Languages
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)
Exports
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
machinery and transport equipment 52%, raw materials and fuel 9%, chemicals 5% (2003)
External Debt
$31,030,000,000 $
$101,600,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
koruny (CZK) per US dollar - 17.037 (2008 est.), 20.53 (2007), 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
1.150%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
5
6
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Area
65,300 km sq
78,867 km sq
Coastline
90 km
0 km
Climate
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
