Northern Europe.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

65,300 sq km (25,212 sq miles).

3.43 million (Census, 2005).

52.5 per sq km.

Vilnius. Population: 541,300 (Census, 2005).

Lithuania is situated on the eastern Baltic coast and borders Latvia in the north, the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation and Poland in the southwest, and Belarus in the southwest and east. The geometrical centre of Europe lies in eastern Lithuania near the village of Bernotai, 25km (16 miles) north of Vilnius. The landscape alternates between lowland plains and hilly uplands and has a dense, intricate network of rivers, including the Nemunas and the Neris. 1.5 per cent of the country’s territory is made up of lakes, of which there are over 2800. The majority of these lie in the east of the country and include Lake Druksiai and Lake Tauragnas.

Republic. Gained independence from Russia/Germany 1918-1940, and then from the Soviet Union in 1990. Head of State: President Valdas Adamkus since 2004. Head of Government: Prime Minister Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas since 2001. Recent history: Domestic politics in the immediate post-Soviet era were dominated by the struggle between the Democratic Labour Party – which grew out of the former Lithuanian Communist Party – and centre-right, liberal and nationalist groupings based around Sajudis, the Lithuanian Reform Movement, which put forward a programme of democratic and national rights coupled with support for an independent Lithuania in the mid-1980s. More recently, new political formations have tended to organise around a prominent individual, such as Algirdas Brazauskas who has given his name to the four-party social democratic coalition which won the most recent Seimas (Parliament) Election in October 2000. In 2001, Brazauskas recovered the Premiership personally and has since held onto the post. The Presidency was most recently contested in December 2002. The incumbent Valdas Adamkus, a recent returnee from the United States who was the surprise winner in 1998, was the clear leader after the first round. However, at the second stage run-off the following month, he was surprisingly defeated by a former Soviet aerobatics champion, Rolandas Paksas.
Under the constitution adopted in October 1992, legislative authority rests with the popularly elected Seimas, the Parliament, with 141 Government members. The President is the Head of State and is elected for a five-year term by universal adult suffrage. Executive power is vested in the Government, consisting of the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President with approval of the Seimas and his cabinet.

Lithuanian is the official language. Lithuania has a large number of dialects for such a small territory, including High Lithuanian (Aukstaiciai) and Low Lithuanian (Zemaiciai).

Predominantly Roman Catholic with Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformist, Sunite, Baptist, Muslim, Judaic, Karaite and others.

220 volts AC, 50Hz. European two-pin plugs are in use.

Handshaking is customary. Normal courtesies should be observed. The Lithuanians are proud of their culture and their national heritage and visitors should take care to respect this sense of national identity.