11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
28 February 1922 (from UK)
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)
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%
Languages
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Exports
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
External Debt
$31,370,000,000 $
$34,880,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
Egyptian pounds (EGP) per US dollar - 5.4 (2008 est.), 5.67 (2007), 5.725 (2006), 5.78 (2005), 6.1962 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
2.200%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
5
1
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
Area
65,300 km sq
1,001,450 km sq
Coastline
90 km
2,450 km
Climate
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
