LITHUANIA

Rolandas Paksas
President

(pronounced "role-AN-dass PAK-sass")

"Nobody has the right to steal and waste your money, those who want to work must have jobs, those who want to study must have the possibility, no one should be afraid of becoming ill and getting old."

The Republic of Lithuania borders the Baltic Sea, Latvia, Poland, Belarus, and Russia's Kaliningrad oblast. It has a total land area of 65,201 sq km (25,174 sq mi). The population was estimated in 2002 at 3.6 million, of whom 80% were ethnic Lithuanians, 8% Russians, and 7% Poles. The remainder consisted mostly of Belarussians and Ukrainians. The official language is Lithuanian. Most Lithuanians and Poles are Roman Catholics, while Russians typically ascribe to the Russian Orthodox faith.

The official currency is the litas (LTL). With the political upheavals of the late Soviet period and the dislocations resulting from the transition to capitalism, the economy suffered an initial decline. It has since rebounded, with per capita gross domestic product (GDP) estimated at US $8,400 (2002 estimate). Lithuania produces machine tools, electrical engines, hosiery, televisions, refrigerators, butter, and other agricultural products.