Lithuania
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Vilnius
- Population
- 2,815,687 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 65,300 sq km
- Government
- semi-presidential republic
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 74.2%, Russian Orthodox 3.7%, Old Believer 0.6%, Evangelical Lutheran 0.6%, Evangelical Reformist 0.2%, other (including Sunni Muslim, Jewish, Greek Catholic, and Karaite) 0.9%, none 6.1%, unspecified 13.7% (2021 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Lithuanian 84.6%, Polish 6.5%, Russian 5%, Belarusian 1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.8% (2021 est.)
- Currency
- euros (EUR)
- Life Expectancy
- 76.1 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .lt
- Climate
- transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
- Terrain
- lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
- Natural Resources
- peat, arable land, amber
- Major Exports
- refined petroleum, furniture, plastic products, wheat, cars (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
Lithuanian lands were united under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, Lithuania extended its territory through alliances and conquest to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest state in Europe.