1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)
11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
Religions
Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census)
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)
Languages
Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Exports
agricultural products, food products, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, skins and leather, wood and cork, wood pulp and paper, textile materials, clothing, footwear, minerals and mineral products, base metals, machinery and tools, vehicles and other transport material, and optical and precision
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
External Debt
$548,300,000,000 $
$31,030,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.300%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
5
Location
Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Area
92,090 km sq
65,300 km sq
Coastline
1,793 km
90 km
Climate
maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers