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Տող 1.
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Country in Northeastern Europe}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Litwa}}
{{pp-pc1}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Very long|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Lithuania
| native_name = {{native name|lt|Lietuvos Respublika}}
| common_name = Lithuania
| image_flag = Flag of Lithuania.svg
| alt_flag = Flag of Lithuania
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Lithuania.svg
| alt_coat = Coat of arms of Lithuania
| national_anthem = <br/>{{lang|lt|[[Tautiška giesmė]]}}<br />"National Hymn"<div style="padding-top:0.5em;">{{center|[[File:Tautiška giesme instumental.ogg]]}}</div>
| image_map = {{Switcher|[[File:EU-Lithuania.svg|frameless]]|Show map of Europe|[[File:Lithuania in the world (W3).svg|frameless]]|Show globe}}
| map_caption = {{map_caption |location_color=dark green |region=Europe |region_color=dark grey |subregion=the European Union |subregion_color=green |legend=EU-Lithuania.svg}}
| capital = [[Vilnius]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|54|41|N|25|19|E|type:city}}
| largest_city = capital
| official_languages = [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2019 |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Lithuania_2006.pdf |website=Constitute Project}}</ref>
| ethnic_groups = {{unbulleted list
|84.6% [[Lithuanians]]
|6.5% [[Poles in Lithuania|Poles]]
|5.0% [[Russians in Lithuania|Russians]]
|1.0% [[Belarusians in Lithuania|Belarusians]]
|0.5% [[Ukrainians in Lithuania|Ukrainians]]
|2.3% [[Ethnic minorities in Lithuania|Others]]
}}
| ethnic_groups_year = 2021<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=eb0fae4e-f7de-43b0-a727-f61ac012beee#/|title=Rodiklių duomenų bazė - Oficialiosios statistikos portalas|website=osp.stat.gov.lt}}</ref>
| religion_year = 2021<ref name="religion-stats">{{cite web|title=Population by religious community indicated, municipalities (2021)|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=dadee47b-9204-48d2-a55e-e125d581f1b6#/|publisher=[[Department of Statistics (Lithuania)|Statistics Lithuania]]|language=lt|access-date=2 January 2022}}</ref>
| religion = {{unbulleted list |
{{Tree list}}
* 79.4% [[Christianity]]
** 74.2% [[Catholic Church in Lithuania|Catholicism]]
** 5.2% Other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
* 6.1% [[Irreligion|No religion]]
* 0.8% [[Religion in Lithuania|Others]]
* 13.7% No answer}}
| demonym = [[Lithuanians|Lithuanian]]
| government_type = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[semi-presidential]] [[republic]]<ref name="Lina">{{cite book |last=Kulikauskienė |first=Lina |date=2002 |title=Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija |trans-title=The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania |language=lt |publisher=Native History, CD. |isbn=978-9986-9216-7-7 |quote=<!-- Please, provide a quotation if you have access to the book. -->}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Veser |first=Ernst |author-link=<!-- Ernst Veser --> |date=23 September 1997 |title=Semi-Presidentialism-Duverger's Concept – A New Political System Model |url=http://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/publication/ebook/journal/11-01-1999/11_1_2.pdf |publisher=Department of Education, School of Education, [[University of Cologne]] |language=en, zh |pages=39–60 |access-date=23 August 2017 |quote=Duhamel has developed the approach further: He stresses that the French construction does not correspond to either parliamentary or the presidential form of government, and then develops the distinction of 'système politique' and 'régime constitutionnel'. While the former comprises the exercise of power that results from the dominant institutional practice, the latter is the totality of the rules for the dominant institutional practice of the power. In this way, France appears as 'presidentialist system' endowed with a 'semi-presidential regime' (1983: 587). By this standard he recognizes Duverger's ''pléiade'' as semi-presidential regimes, as well as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania (1993: 87). |archive-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424202059/https://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/publication/ebook/journal/11-01-1999/11_1_2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Draft">{{Cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |author-link=Matthew Søberg Shugart |date=September 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns |url=http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies |location=United States |publisher=University of California, San Diego |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819200307/http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2008 |access-date=23 August 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Dual">{{Cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |author-link=Matthew Søberg Shugart |date=December 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns |journal=French Politics |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] Journals |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=323–351 |doi=10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087 |doi-access=free |quote=A pattern similar to the French case of compatible majorities alternating with periods of cohabitation emerged in Lithuania, where Talat-Kelpsa (2001) notes that the ability of the Lithuanian president to influence government formation and policy declined abruptly when he lost the sympathetic majority in parliament. }}</ref>
| leader_title1 = [[President of Lithuania|President]]
| leader_name1 = [[Gitanas Nausėda]]
| leader_title2 = [[Prime Minister of Lithuania|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2 = [[Ingrida Šimonytė]]
| leader_title3 = [[Seimas|Seimas Speaker]]
| leader_name3 = [[Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen]]
| legislature = [[Seimas]]
| sovereignty_type = [[History of Lithuania|Formation]]
| established_event1 = [[Name of Lithuania|First mentioned]]
| established_date1 = 9 March 1009
| established_event2 = [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Grand Duchy]]
| established_date2 = 1236
| established_event3 = Coronation of [[Mindaugas]]
| established_date3 = 6 July 1253
| established_event4 = [[Union of Krewo|Union with Poland]]
| established_date4 = 2 February 1386
| established_event5 = [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] created
| established_date5 = 1 July 1569
| established_event6 = [[Partitions of Poland|Partitioned]]
| established_date6 = 24 October 1795
| established_event7 = [[Act of Independence of Lithuania|Independence reinstated]]
| established_date7 = 16 February 1918
| established_event8 = [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania|Independence restored]]
| established_date8 = 11 March 1990
| established_event9 = [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|Joined]] the [[European Union|EU]]
| established_date9 = 1 May 2004
| area_rank = 121st <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_km2 = 65,300
| area_sq_mi = 25,212 <!-- Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| percent_water = 1.98 (2015)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surface water and surface water change |access-date=2020-10-11 |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD) |url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER#}}</ref>
| population_estimate = {{increase}} 2,862,380<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=88f10685-cd22-44df-a087-d76dd5d5f892#/ |title=Pradžia – Oficialiosios statistikos portalas |website=osp.stat.gov.lt}}</ref>
| population_estimate_rank = 135th
| population_estimate_year = 2023
| population_density_km2 = 43
| population_density_sq_mi = 111 <!-- Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| population_density_rank = 138th
| GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $137,389 billion<ref name="imf2">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=946,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2021&ey=2023&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023|date=April 2023|website=IMF.org|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_rank = 88th
| GDP_PPP_year = 2023
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $49,266<ref name="imf2" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 39th
| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $78,346 billion<ref name="imf2" />
| GDP_nominal_rank = 78th
| GDP_nominal_year = 2023
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $28,094<ref name="imf2" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 40th
| Gini = 35.1 <!-- number only -->
| Gini_ref = <ref name="eurogini">{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en|title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income|publisher=[[Eurostat]]|access-date=22 June 2022|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009091832/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref>
| Gini_rank =
| Gini_year = 2020 <!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| Gini_change = decrease <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| HDI = 0.875 <!-- number only -->
| HDI_ref = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2021/2022|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022}}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 35th
| HDI_year = 2021
| HDI_change = increase <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| currency = [[Euro]] ([[Euro sign|€]])
| currency_code = EUR
| time_zone = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| utc_offset = +2
| time_zone_DST = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +3
| date_format = {{abbr|yyyy|year}}-{{abbr|mm|month}}-{{abbr|dd|day}} ([[Common Era|CE]])
| drives_on = right
| cctld = [[.lt]]<sup>a</sup>
| calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in Lithuania|+370]]
| official_website = {{URL|https://lithuania.lt}}
| footnote_a = Also [[.eu]], shared with other European Union member states.
}}
'''Lithuania''' ({{IPAc-en| audio = Lithuania pronunciation RP.ogg|ˌ|l|ɪ|θj|u|ˈ|eɪ|n|i|ə}};<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Jones (phonetician) |editor1-last=Roach |editor1-first=Peter |editor2-last=Setter |editor2-first=Jane |editor2-link=Jane Setter |editor3-last=Esling |editor3-first=John |year=2011 |title=Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary |edition=18th |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-15253-2 |title-link=Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary}}</ref> {{lang-lt|Lietuva}} {{IPA-lt|lʲɪɛtʊˈvɐ|}}), officially the '''Republic of Lithuania''' ({{lang-lt|Lietuvos Respublika|links=no}} {{IPA-lt|lʲɪɛtʊˈvoːs rʲɛsˈpʊblʲɪkɐ|}}), is a country in the [[Baltic region]] of [[Europe]].{{efn|name=location|Various sources classify Lithuania differently for statistical and other purposes. For example, United Nations,<ref name="UN">{{cite web|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/#geo-regions|title=United Nations Statistics Division- Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49)-Geographic Regions|website=Unstats.un.org}}</ref> and [[Eurovoc]] (which additionally classifies Lithuania as central and eastern European country),<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania - EU Vocabularies - Publications Office of the EU |url=https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/concept/-/resource?uri=http://eurovoc.europa.eu/5709&lang=en |website=op.europa.eu |access-date=9 March 2023}}</ref> among others, classify it as northern Europe, the [[CIA World Factbook]]<ref name="CIA">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/lithuania/|publisher=[[CIA World Factbook]]|title=Lithuania|date=22 September 2021}}</ref> classifies it as eastern Europe, and ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' locates it in northeastern Europe.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Lithuania|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lithuania|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> Usage varies greatly, and controversially,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bershidsky|first1=Leonid|title=Why the Baltics Want to Move to Another Part of Europe|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-10/why-the-baltics-want-to-move-to-another-part-of-europe|access-date=1 September 2017|work=Bloomberg |date=10 January 2017|url-access=subscription}}</ref> in press sources.}} It is one of three [[Baltic states]] and lies on the eastern shore of the [[Baltic Sea]]. Lithuania shares land borders with [[Latvia]] to the north, [[Belarus]] to the east and south, [[Poland]] to the south, and [[Russia]] to the southwest.{{efn|Lithuania borders [[Kaliningrad Oblast]], an [[exclave]] of Russia sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, on the coast of the Baltic Sea.}} It has a [[Maritime boundary|maritime border]] with [[Sweden]] to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of {{convert|65300|km2|sqmi|abbr= on}}, with a population of 2.8 million. Its capital and largest city is [[Vilnius]]; other major cities are [[Kaunas]], [[Klaipėda]], [[Šiauliai]] and [[Panevėžys]]. [[Lithuanians]] belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the [[Balts]] and speak [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], one of only a few living [[Baltic languages]].
For millennia the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various [[Balts|Baltic tribes]]. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united by [[Mindaugas]], [[Monarchy of Lithuania|becoming king]] and founding the [[Kingdom of Lithuania]] on 6 July 1253. In the 14th century, the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] was the largest country in Europe;<ref name="Bideleux"/> present-day Lithuania, Belarus, most of Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were all lands of the Grand Duchy. The [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]] and the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] were in a ''[[de facto]]'' [[personal union]] from 1386 with the marriage of the Polish queen [[Jadwiga of Poland|Hedwig]] and Lithuania's Grand Duke [[Jogaila]], who was crowned King ''[[jure uxoris]]'' [[Władysław II Jagiełło]] of Poland. The Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania was established by the [[Union of Lublin]] in July 1569. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighbouring countries [[Partitions of Poland|dismantled]] it in 1772–1795, with the [[Russian Empire]] annexing most of Lithuania's territory. As [[World War I]] ended, Lithuania's [[Act of Independence of Lithuania|Act of Independence]] was signed on 16 February 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. In [[World War II]], Lithuania was occupied [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)|first by the Soviet Union]] and [[German occupation of Lithuania during World War II|then by Nazi Germany]]. Towards the end of the war in 1944, when the Germans were retreating, the Soviet Union [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1944)|reoccupied Lithuania]]. [[Lithuanian partisans|Lithuanian armed resistance]] to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], Lithuania passed the [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania]], becoming the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lithuania breaks away from the Soviet Union |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1990/mar/12/eu.politics |website=[[The Guardian]] |quote=Lithuania last night became the first republic to break away from the Soviet Union, by proclaiming the restoration of its pre-war independence. The newly-elected parliament, 'reflecting the people's will,' decreed the restoration of 'the sovereign rights of the Lithuanian state, infringed by alien forces in 1940,' and declared that from that moment Lithuania was again an independent state |location=London |date=12 March 1990 |access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref>
Lithuania is a [[developed country]], with a [[World Bank high-income economy|high income]] [[Economy of Lithuania|advanced economy]]; ranking very high 35th in the [[Human Development Index]]. Lithuania is a member of the [[European Union]], the [[Council of Europe]], [[eurozone]], the [[Nordic Investment Bank]], [[Schengen Agreement]], [[NATO]] and [[OECD]]. It also participates in the [[NB8|Nordic-Baltic Eight]] (NB8) regional co-operation format.
==Etymology==
{{Main|Name of Lithuania}}
[[File:Lietuvos vardas. The first name of Lithuania in writing 1009.jpg|thumb|left|Lithuania's name in writing, 1009]]
The first known record of the name of Lithuania ({{lang-lt|Lietuva}}) is in a 9 March 1009 story of [[Bruno of Querfurt|Saint Bruno]] in the [[Quedlinburg Chronicle]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=On the Origin of the Name of Lithuania | journal=Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences | volume=55 | issue=3 | date=Fall 2009 | first=Tomas | last=Baranauskas | issn=0024-5089}}</ref> The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the name Lietuva: ''Litua''<ref>Vilnius. [http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/index.php/en/39453/ Key dates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117201537/http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/index.php/en/39453/ |date=17 January 2007 }}. Retrieved on 18 January 2007.</ref> (pronounced {{IPA|[litua]}}). Due to the lack of reliable evidence, the true meaning of the name is unknown. Nowadays, scholars still debate the meaning of the word and there are a few plausible versions.<ref name="VardasVle">{{cite web |last1=Zinkevičius |first1=Zigmas |authorlink1=Zigmas Zinkevičius |title=Lietuvos vardas |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-vardas/ |website=[[Vle.lt]] |access-date=12 July 2021 |language=lt}}</ref>
Since ''Lietuva'' has a suffix (-''uva''), the original word should have no suffix.<ref name="VardasVle"/> A likely candidate is ''Lietā''. Because many [[Baltic language|Baltic]] [[ethnonym]]s originated from [[hydronym]]s, linguists have searched for its origin among local hydronyms. Usually, such names evolved through the following process: hydronym → toponym → [[ethnonym]].<ref name=Zigmas2>Zigmas Zinkevičius. Kelios mintys, kurios kyla skaitant Alfredo Bumblausko Senosios Lietuvos istoriją 1009-1795m. Voruta, 2005.</ref> [[Lietava River|Lietava]], a small river not far from [[Kernavė]], the core area of the [[Duchy of Lithuania|early Lithuanian state]] and a possible first capital of the eventual [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], is usually credited as the source of the name.<ref name=Zigmas2/> However, the river is very small and some find it improbable that such a small and local object could have lent its name to an entire nation. On the other hand, such naming is not unprecedented in world history.<ref name=Zigmas>{{cite journal |first=Zigmas |last=Zinkevičius |url=http://www.voruta.lt/archyvas/74/253 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510083828/https://www.voruta.lt/archyvas/74/253 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 May 2022 |title=Lietuvos vardo kilmė |journal=Voruta |issn=1392-0677 |date=30 November 1999 |volume=3 |issue=669 |language=lt}}</ref>
Artūras Dubonis proposed another hypothesis,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dubonis|first=Artūras|title=Lietuvos didžiojo kunigaikščio leičiai: iš Lietuvos ankstyvųjų valstybinių struktūrų praeities Leičiai of Grand Duke of Lithuania: from the past of Lithuanian stative structures|publisher=Lietuvos istorijos instituto leidykla|location=Vilnius|year=1998|language=lt}}</ref> that Lietuva relates to the word ''[[leičiai]]'' (plural of ''leitis''). From the middle of the 13th century, ''leičiai'' were a distinct warrior social group of the [[Lithuanians|Lithuanian]] society subordinate to the [[List of rulers of Lithuania|Lithuanian ruler]] or the state itself. The word ''leičiai'' is used in the 14–16th century historical sources as an [[ethnonym]] for Lithuanians (but not [[Samogitians]]) and is still used, usually poetically or in historical contexts, in the [[Latvian language]], which is closely related to Lithuanian.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dubonis |first1=Artūras |title=Leičiai {{!}} Orbis Lituaniae |url=https://ldkistorija.lt/pasakojimai/leiciai/ |publisher=[[Vilnius University]] |website=LDKistorija.lt |access-date=13 July 2021 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Čeponis |first1=Tomas |last2=Sakalauskas |first2=Mindaugas |title=Leičiai |publisher=[[Ministry of National Defence (Lithuania)|Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania]] |location=[[Vilnius]] |isbn=978-609-412-143-2 |url=https://kam.lt/download/63818/lei%C4%8Diai%20bro%C5%A1i%C5%ABra%2020x20%20lt%20internetui.pdf |access-date=13 July 2021 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Patackas|first1=Algirdas|title=Lietuva, Lieta, Leitis, arba ką reiškia žodis "Lietuva"|url=https://kultura.lrytas.lt/-12499654771249731456-lietuva-lieta-leitis-arba-k%C4%85-rei%C5%A1kia-%C5%BEodis-lietuva.htm|website=[[Lrytas.lt]]|access-date=11 August 2009|language=lt-LT|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702013521/https://kultura.lrytas.lt/-12499654771249731456-lietuva-lieta-leitis-arba-k%C4%85-rei%C5%A1kia-%C5%BEodis-lietuva.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==History==
{{Main|History of Lithuania}}
{{See also|Duchy of Lithuania}}
[[File:Baltic-amber-colours.JPG|thumb|right|[[Baltic amber]] was once a valuable trade resource. It was transported from the region of modern-day Lithuania to the [[Roman Empire]] and [[Egypt]] through the [[Amber Road]].]]
The first people settled in the territory of Lithuania after the [[last glacial period]] in the [[10th millennium BC]]: [[Kunda culture|Kunda]], [[Neman culture|Neman]] and [[Narva culture]]s.<ref name="PoloméWinter2011">{{cite book|author1=Edgar C. Polomé|author2=Werner Winter|title=Reconstructing Languages and Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DIj-nZWsX_0C&pg=PA298|year=2011|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-086792-3|page=298}}</ref> They were traveling hunters and did not form stable settlements. In the 8th millennium BC, the climate became much warmer, and forests developed. The inhabitants of what is now Lithuania then travelled less and engaged in local hunting, gathering and fresh-water fishing. Agriculture did not emerge until the [[3rd millennium BC]] due to a harsh climate and terrain and a lack of suitable tools to cultivate the land. Crafts and trade also started to form at this time. Over a millennium, the [[Indo-European migrations|Indo-Europeans]], who arrived in the 3rd – 2nd millennium BC, mixed with the local population and formed various [[Baltic tribes]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Šapoka|first1=Adolfas|title=Lietuvos istorija|date=1936|publisher=[[Šviesa]]|location=Kaunas|pages=13–17|url=http://www.partizanai.org/failai/pdf/sapokos-istorija.pdf}}</ref>
The [[Baltic tribes]] did not maintain close cultural or political contacts with the [[Roman Empire]],<ref name="MacDonald1996">{{cite book|author=Michael H. MacDonald|title=Europe, a Tantalizing Romance: Past and Present Europe for Students and the Serious Traveler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BQyk0nJNsxUC&pg=PA174|year=1996|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-7618-0411-6|page=174}}</ref> but they did maintain trade contacts (see [[Amber Road]]). [[Tacitus]], in his study ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'', described the [[Aesti]] people, inhabitants of the south-eastern [[Baltic Sea]] shores who were probably Balts, around the year 97 AD. The Western Balts differentiated and became known to outside chroniclers first. [[Ptolemy]] in the [[2nd Century AD|2nd century AD]] knew of the [[Galindians]] and [[Yotvingians]], and [[Early Middle Ages|early medieval]] chroniclers mentioned [[Old Prussians]], [[Curonians]] and [[Semigallians]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Alfonsas |last1=Eidintas |first2=Alfredas |last2=Bumblauskas |first3=Antanas |last3=Kulakauskas |first4=Mindaugas |last4=Tamošaitis |title=The History of Lithuania |year=2013 |url=http://static.eu2013.lt/uploads/documents/Liet_istorija_knygos/EN_lt.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215231241/http://static.eu2013.lt/uploads/documents/Liet_istorija_knygos/EN_lt.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2013 |publisher=Eugrimas |isbn=978-609-437-204-9 |pages=22–26}}</ref>
The [[Lithuanian language]] is considered to be very [[Conservative (language)|conservative]] for its close connection to Indo-European roots. It is believed to have differentiated from the [[Latvian language]], the most closely related existing language, around the 7th century.<ref name="Bumblauskas 13">Eidintas et al. (2013), p. 13</ref> Traditional [[Lithuanian mythology|Lithuanian pagan customs and mythology]], with many archaic elements, were long preserved. Rulers' bodies were cremated up until the conversion to [[Christianity]]: the descriptions of the cremation ceremonies of the grand dukes [[Algirdas]] and [[Kęstutis]] have survived.<ref name="Bumblauskas 24-25">Eidintas et al. (2013), pp. 24–25</ref>
===Grand Duchy of Lithuania===
{{Main|Kingdom of Lithuania}}
{{See also|Grand Duchy of Lithuania}}
[[File:Lithuanian state in 13-15th centuries.png|thumb|upright=1.0|Changes in the territory of Lithuania from the 13th to 15th century. At its peak, Lithuania was the largest state in [[Europe]].<ref name="Bideleux">{{cite book |last1=Bideleux |first1=Robert |last2=Jeffries |first2=Ian |title=A history of Eastern Europe: crisis and change |date=1998 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-16111-4 |page=122}}</ref> Lithuania's strength was its [[toleration]] of various [[culture]]s and [[religion]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tautinė ir religinė įvairovė / XVI vidurio – XVII a.|url=http://m.ldkistorija.lt/index.php/istoriniai-faktai/religiniai-konfliktai-vilniuje-xvi-a-pabaigoje/471|website=LDKistorija.lt|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127004414/http://m.ldkistorija.lt/index.php/istoriniai-faktai/religiniai-konfliktai-vilniuje-xvi-a-pabaigoje/471|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
From the 9th to the 11th centuries, coastal Balts were subjected to raids by the [[Vikings]],<ref name="Kasekamp2017">{{cite book|author=Andres Kasekamp|title=A History of the Baltic States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDA5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|year=2017|publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education|isbn=978-1-137-57366-7|page=9}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and the kings of [[Denmark]] collected tribute at times.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} During the 10–11th centuries, Lithuanian territories were among the lands paying tribute to [[Kievan Rus']], and [[Yaroslav the Wise]] was among the [[Ruthenia]]n rulers who invaded Lithuania (from 1040).{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} From the mid-12th century, it was the Lithuanians who were invading Ruthenian territories. In 1183, [[Polotsk]] and [[Pskov]] were ravaged, and even the distant and powerful [[Novgorod Republic]] was repeatedly threatened by the excursions from the emerging Lithuanian war machine toward the end of the [[12th century]].<ref>{{cite book| first=Jerzy |last=Ochmański |title=Historia Litwy [The History of Lithuania]|year=1982 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-83-04-00886-1 |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |language=pl |pages=39–42}}</ref>
From the late 12th century, an organized Lithuanian military force existed; it was used for external raids, plundering and the gathering of slaves. Such military and pecuniary activities fostered social differentiation and triggered a struggle for power in Lithuania. This initiated the formation of early statehood, from which the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] developed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Baczkowski|first1=Krzysztof|title=''Dzieje Polski późnośredniowiecznej (1370–1506)'' [History of Late Medieval Poland (1370–1506)]|date=1999|publisher=Fogra|location=Kraków|isbn=978-83-85719-40-3|pages=55–61}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania - History |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lithuania/History#ref37336 |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |access-date=1 July 2021}}</ref> The disparate Lithuanian tribes along the Nemunas were united into the Lithuanian state by 1219, at the latest.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boswell|first=A. Bruce|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.91050/page/61/mode/2up?q=Lithuanian|title=Poland and the Poles|publisher=Methuen & Co.|year=1919|location=London|pages=61}}</ref> The only Lithuanian [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[king]], [[Mindaugas]], was baptised as a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] in 1251 and crowned as [[King of Lithuania]] on 6 July 1253.<ref name="voruta2001">{{in lang|lt}} Tomas Baranauskas (2001). [http://www.voruta.lt/lietuvos-karalystei-%E2%80%93-750/ ''Lietuvos karalystei – 750''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601052806/http://www.voruta.lt/lietuvos-karalystei-%E2%80%93-750/|date=1 June 2012}}. voruta.lt.</ref>
After his assassination in 1263, [[Lithuanian mythology|pagan Lithuania]] was a target of the [[Lithuanian Crusade|Christian crusades]] of the [[Teutonic Knights]] and the [[Livonian Order]]. The [[siege of Pilėnai]] is noted for the Lithuanians' defense against the intruders. Despite the devastating century-long struggle with the Orders, the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] expanded rapidly, overtaking former Ruthenian principalities of [[Kievan Rus']].<ref name="Swanson2015">{{cite book|author=R. N. Swanson|title=The Routledge History of Medieval Christianity: 1050–1500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gn8GCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-50809-0|page=193}}</ref>
On 22 September 1236, the [[Battle of Saulė]] between [[Samogitians]] and the [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]] took place close to [[Šiauliai]]. The Livonian Brothers were defeated during it and their further conquest of the [[Balts]] lands were stopped.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zikaras|first1=Karolis|title=Battle of Saulė 1236|date=2014|publisher=[[Ministry of National Defence (Lithuania)|Military Cartography Centre of Lithuanian Armed Forces]]|location=Domeikava, Kaunas District|isbn=978-609-412-017-6|url=https://kam.lt/download/30977/saules%20musis%20angliskai%201.pdf|access-date=28 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808020815/https://kam.lt/download/30977/saules%20musis%20angliskai%201.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The battle inspired rebellions among the [[Curonians]], [[Semigallians]], [[Selonians]], [[Oeselians]], tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers. Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of [[Daugava]] were lost.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor=Jonas Zinkus |encyclopedia=Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija |title=Saulės mūšis |year=1987 |publisher=Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija |volume=3 |location=Vilnius |page=633|language=lt|display-editors=etal}}</ref> In 2000, the Lithuanian and Latvian parliaments declared 22 September to be the Day of Baltic Unity.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Battle of Saule|url=http://visitlithuania.net/lithuania/history/major-battle/1661-the-battle-of-saule|website=VisitLithuania.net|access-date=28 December 2017|archive-date=25 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625113823/http://visitlithuania.net/lithuania/history/major-battle/1661-the-battle-of-saule|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Traku pilis by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg|thumb|left|[[Trakai Island Castle]], the former residence of the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania|Grand Dukes]] and capital city of the medieval state]]
According to the legend, Grand Duke [[Gediminas]] was once hunting near the [[Vilnia River]]; tired after the successful hunt, he settled in for the night and dreamed of a huge [[Iron Wolf (character)|Iron Wolf]] standing on top a hill and howling as strong and loud as a hundred wolves. ''[[Krivis]]'' (pagan priest) [[Lizdeika]] interpreted the dream that the Iron Wolf represents [[Vilnius Castles]]. Gediminas, obeying the will of the gods, built the city and gave it the name [[Vilnius]] – from the stream of the Vilnia River.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Legend of the Founding of Vilnius – Gediminas Dream|url=https://ironwolf.lt/the-legend-of-the-founding-of-vilnius/|website=ironwolf.lt|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>
In 1362 or 1363, Grand Duke [[Algirdas]] achieved a decisive victory in the [[Battle of Blue Waters]] against the [[Golden Horde]] and stopped its further expansion in the present-day [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345 | first=C. S. | last=Rowell | pages=97, 100 | year=1994 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series| isbn=978-0-521-45011-9 }}</ref> The victory brought the city of [[Kyiv]] and a large part of present-day Ukraine, including sparsely populated [[Podolia]] and [[Dykra]], under the control of the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania.<ref name=baran>{{cite journal| first=Tomas |last=Baranauskas |author-link=Tomas Baranauskas |title=Mėlynųjų Vandenų mūšis: atminties sugrįžimas po 650 metų |url=http://www.veidas.lt/melynuju-vandenu-musis-atminties-sugrizimas-po-650-metu |journal=[[Veidas]] |issn=1392-5156 |issue=25 |pages=30–32 |date=23 June 2012|language=lt}}</ref> After taking Kyiv, Lithuania became a direct neighbor and rival of the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]].<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xxREnBcMFcEC&pg=PA88 |title=A Companion to Russian Studies: An Introduction to Russian History |first1=Robert |last1=Auty |first2=Dimitri |last2=Obolensky | publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1981 |page=86 | isbn=978-0-521-28038-9}}</ref>
By the end of the 14th century, Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe and included present-day [[Belarus]], [[Ukraine]], and parts of [[Poland]] and [[Russia]].<ref>Paul Magocsi (1996). ''History of the Ukraine''. University of Toronto Press. p. 128. {{ISBN|978-0-8020-7820-9}}.</ref> The geopolitical situation between the west and the east determined the multicultural and multi-confessional character of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The ruling elite practised religious tolerance and the [[Chancery Slavonic]] language was used as an auxiliary language to [[Latin]] for official documents.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Babinskas |first1=Nerijus |title=Etninė ir konfesinė LDK įvairovė. Reformacija |url=http://www.xn--altiniai-4wb.info/index/details/86 |website=šaltiniai.info |access-date=20 May 2019 |language=lt}}</ref>
In 1385, the Grand Duke [[Jogaila]] accepted Poland's offer to become its king. [[Jogaila]] embarked on gradual [[Christianization of Lithuania]] and established a [[personal union]] between Poland and Lithuania. Lithuania was one of the last [[Romuva (religion)|pagan]] areas of Europe to adopt Christianity. While territories to the north had been Christianized in 1186 by [[Western world|Western]] merchants and missionaries who formed the Order of the Brothers and the Sword to spread Christianity through military organization, the Lithuanians had defeated the Order's militant efforts in 1236.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blomkvist|first=Nils|title=Culture clash or compromise?: the europeanisation of the Baltic Sea area 1100-1400 AD|publisher=Gotland Centre of Baltic Studies|year=1998|isbn=978-91-630-7439-4|location=Gotland University College|pages=240}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Broderick|first=Kristin J.|title=The Economy and Political Culture in New Democracies: An Analysis of Democratic Support in Central and Eastern Europe: An Analysis of Democratic Support in Central and Eastern Europe|publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=978-1-351-73292-5|chapter=Lithuania}}</ref>
[[File:Jan Matejko, Bitwa pod Grunwaldem.jpg|thumb|left|[[Battle of Grunwald]] and [[Vytautas the Great]] in the centre]]
After two civil wars, [[Vytautas the Great]] became the Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1392. During his reign, Lithuania reached the peak of its territorial expansion, centralization of the state began, and the [[Lithuanian nobility]] became increasingly prominent in state politics. In the great [[Battle of the Vorskla River]] in 1399, the combined forces of [[Tokhtamysh]] and Vytautas were defeated by the [[Golden Horde|Mongols]]. Thanks to close cooperation, the armies of Lithuania and Poland achieved a victory over the [[Teutonic Knights]] in 1410 at the [[Battle of Grunwald]], one of the largest battles of medieval Europe.<ref name="Lane">{{cite book | author = Thomas Lane| title = Lithuania: Stepping Westward | publisher = Routledge | year = 2001 | pages = ix, xxi | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fecMC0LXU-sC | isbn = 978-0-415-26731-1}}</ref><ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'' v. 17 (1998) p. 545</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Rick Fawn|title=Ideology and national identity in post-communist foreign policies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBtYrTANgvUC&pg=PA186|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7146-5517-8|pages=186–}}</ref>
During the [[inauguration]]s of [[List of Lithuanian monarchs|Lithuanian monarchs]] until 1569, [[Gediminas' Cap]] was placed on the monarch's head by the [[Bishop of Vilnius]] in [[Vilnius Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gudavičius |first1=Edvardas |author-link=Edvardas Gudavičius |title=Gedimino kepurė |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/gedimino-kepure/ |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija]] |access-date=23 March 2023 |lang=lt}}</ref>
In January 1429, at the [[Congress of Lutsk]] Vytautas received the title of [[King of Lithuania]] with the backing of [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor]], but the envoys who were transporting the crown were stopped by Polish [[magnate]]s in autumn of 1430. Another crown was sent, but Vytautas died in the [[Trakai Island Castle]] several days before it reached Lithuania. He was buried in the [[Cathedral of Vilnius]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lucko suvažiavimas|url=http://www.partizanai.org/karys-1955m-8/4611-lucko-suvaziavimas|website=Partizanai.org|access-date=22 December 2017|language=lt-lt}}</ref>
After the deaths of Jogaila and Vytautas, the Lithuanian nobility attempted to break the union between [[Poland]] and Lithuania, independently selecting Grand Dukes from the [[Jagiellon dynasty]]. But, at the end of the 15th century, Lithuania was forced to seek a closer alliance with Poland when the growing power of the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]] threatened Lithuania's Russian principalities and sparked the [[Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars]] and the [[Livonian War]].
[[File:Autor nieznany (malarz z kręgu Lukasa Cranacha Starszego), Bitwa pod Orszą.jpg|thumb|right|The victory of the [[Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars|Polish-Lithuanian]] forces over the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Muscovites]] at the [[Battle of Orsha]] in 1514]]
On 8 September 1514, the [[Battle of Orsha]] between Lithuanians, commanded by the [[Hetmans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Grand Hetman]] [[Konstanty Ostrogski]], and Muscovites was fought. According to ''[[Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii]]'' by [[Sigismund von Herberstein]], the primary source for information on the battle, the much smaller army of Poland–Lithuania (under 30,000 men) defeated a force of 80,000 Muscovite soldiers, capturing their camp and commander.<ref>{{cite book|title=Prieš 500 metų – Oršos mūšis|date=November 2014|publisher=[[Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters]]|url=http://www.llks.lt/Varpas/Varpo%20archyvas/Varpas%202014/2014%20lapkritis.pdf|access-date=16 January 2018|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808020734/http://www.llks.lt/Varpas/Varpo%20archyvas/Varpas%202014/2014%20lapkritis.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The battle destroyed a military alliance against Lithuania and Poland. Thousands of Muscovites were captured as prisoners and used as labourers in the [[List of palaces and manor houses in Lithuania|Lithuanian manors]], while Konstanty Ostrogski delivered the captured Muscovite flags to the Cathedral of Vilnius.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sruogienė |first1=V. |title=Kunigaikštis Konstantinas Ostrogiškis ir Oršos mūšis 1514 metais |url=http://partizanai.org/karys-1955m-10/4643-kunigaikstis-konstantinas-ostrogiskis-ir-orsos-musis-1514-metais |website=partizanai.org |access-date=16 January 2018 |language=lt-lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pociecha |first1=Władysław |title=Królowa Bona (1494–1557), czasy i ludzie odrodzeniaie odrodzenia |date=1949 |publisher=Nakł. Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk |location=Poznań |page=253 |edition= I tome |language=pl}}</ref>
The Livonian War was ceased for ten years with a [[Truce of Yam-Zapolsky]] signed on 15 January 1582 according to which the already [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] recovered [[Livonia]], [[Polotsk]] and [[Velizh]], but transferred [[Velikiye Luki]] to the [[Tsardom of Russia]]. The [[truce]] was extended for twenty years in 1600, when a [[diplomatic mission]] to Moscow led by [[Lew Sapieha]] concluded negotiations with Tsar [[Boris Godunov]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Baliulis|first1=Algirdas|title=Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės ir Maskvos valstybės diplomatiniai santykiai XVI a. pabaigoje|publisher=Lietuvos istorijos institutas|location=Vilnius|url=http://mokslozurnalai.lmaleidykla.lt/publ/0235-716X/2002/3/L-03.pdf}}</ref> The truce was broken when [[Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18)|the Poles invaded Muscovy in 1605]].
===Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth===
{{Main|Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth}}
[[File:Vilenskija zamki. Віленскія замкі (T. Makoŭski, 1600).jpg|thumb|left|[[Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania]] in Vilnius, marked 6, in 1600]]
The [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] was created in 1569 by the Union of Lublin. As a member of the Commonwealth, Lithuania retained its institutions, including a separate army, currency, and statutory laws – [[Statutes of Lithuania|the Statute of Lithuania]].<ref>Stone, Daniel. ''The Polish–Lithuanian State: 1386–1795''. University of Washington Press, 2001. p. 63</ref> Eventually [[Polonization]] affected all aspects of Lithuanian life: politics, language, culture, and national identity. From the mid-16th to the mid-17th centuries, culture, arts, and education flourished, fueled by the [[Renaissance]] and the [[Protestant Reformation]]. From 1573, the Kings of Poland and Grand Dukes of Lithuania were [[free election (Polish throne)|elected by the nobility]], who were granted ever-increasing [[Golden Liberty|Golden Liberties]]. These liberties, especially the ''[[liberum veto]]'', led to anarchy and the eventual dissolution of the state.
The Commonwealth reached its [[Polish Golden Age|Golden Age]] in the early 17th century. Its powerful [[Sejm|parliament]] was dominated by nobles who were reluctant to get involved in the [[Thirty Years' War]]; this neutrality spared the country from the ravages of a political-religious conflict that devastated most of contemporary Europe. The Commonwealth held its own against [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]], the [[Tsardom of Russia]], and vassals of the [[Ottoman Empire]], and even launched successful [[expansionism|expansionist]] offensives against its neighbours. In [[Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18)|several invasions]] during the [[Time of Troubles]], Commonwealth troops entered Russia and managed to take [[Moscow]] and hold it from 27 September 1610 to 4 November 1612, when they were driven out [[Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18)#The war resumes (1611)|after a siege]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos aukso amžius – vienas sprendimas galėjo pakeisti visą istoriją|url=https://www.delfi.lt/multimedija/musu-lietuva/lietuvos-aukso-amzius-vienas-sprendimas-galejo-pakeisti-visa-istorija.d?id=74961334|website=DELFI|access-date=24 February 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Emila Plater conducting Polish scythemen in 1831.jpg|thumb|right|[[Emilia Plater]], often nicknamed as a Lithuanian [[Joan of Arc]], leading peasant [[Kosynierzy|scythemen]] during the 1831 uprising]]
In 1655, after the extinguishing [[Battle of Vilnius (1655)|battle]], for the first time in history the Lithuanian capital Vilnius was taken by a foreign army.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Šapoka |editor-first= Adolfas |title=Lietuvos istorija |url=http://www.partizanai.org/failai/pdf/sapokos-istorija.pdf |year=1936 |location=Kaunas |page=326 |language=lt |publisher=Švietimo ministerijos Knygų leidimo komisijos leidinys}}</ref> The Russian army looted the city, splendid churches, and manors. Between 8,000 and 10,000 citizens were killed; the city burned for 17 days. Those who returned after the catastrophe could not recognise the city. The Russian occupation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lasted up to 1661. Many artefacts and cultural heritage were either lost or looted, significant parts of the state archive – [[Lithuanian Metrica]], collected since the 13th century, were lost and the rest was moved out of the country. During the [[Second Northern War|Northern Wars]] (1655–1661), the Lithuanian territory and economy were devastated by the [[Swedish Empire|Swedish]] army. Almost all territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was occupied by Swedish and Russian armies. This period is known as ''Tvanas'' ([[Deluge (history)|The Deluge]]).
Before it could fully recover, Lithuania was ravaged during the [[Great Northern War]] (1700–1721). The war, [[Great Northern War plague outbreak|a plague]], and [[Great Frost of 1709|a famine]] caused the deaths of approximately 40% of the country's population.<ref>{{cite journal |volume= 16 |issue=2 |year= 2008 |url=http://www.liw.lt/archive_vid.php?shid=1211283347&id=1211283055 |title=The Roads to Independence |journal=Lithuania in the World |issn=1392-0901 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512014106/http://www.liw.lt/archive_vid.php?shid=1211283347&id=1211283055 |archive-date=12 May 2011}}</ref> Foreign powers, especially Russia, became dominant in the domestic politics of the Commonwealth.<ref name="Konstitucija1791"/> Numerous fractions among the nobility used the Golden Liberties to prevent any reforms.<ref name="Konstitucija1791"/>
The [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]] was adopted by the [[Great Sejm]] (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth trying to save the state. The legislation was designed to redress the Commonwealth's political defects due to the system of Golden Liberties, also known as the "Nobles' Democracy," which had conferred disproportionate rights on the nobility (Szlachta) and over time had corrupted politics. The constitution sought to supplant the prevailing anarchy fostered by some of the country's [[Magnates of Poland and Lithuania|magnates]] with a more democratic [[constitutional monarchy]]. It introduced elements of political equality between townspeople and nobility, and placed the peasants under the protection of the government, thus mitigating the worst abuses of [[serfdom]]. It banned parliamentary institutions such as the ''liberum veto'', which had put the Sejm at the mercy of any deputy who could revoke all the legislation that had been passed by that Sejm. It was drafted in relation to a copy of the [[United States Constitution]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of May 3, 1791|url=http://www3.lrs.lt/pdf/konstitucija_angliska_1.pdf|website=LRS.lt|access-date=22 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1791 m. gegužės 3 d. Konstitucija|url=http://www3.lrs.lt/pdf/Konstitucija_1791.pdf|website=LRS.lt|access-date=22 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History of the 3 May 1791 Constitution|url=http://pmc.usc.edu/3May1791Constitution.htm|website=pmc.usc.edu|access-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129073353/http://pmc.usc.edu/3May1791Constitution.htm|archive-date=29 November 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is regarded as the world's second-oldest codified national governmental constitution after the 1787 U.S. Constitution.<ref name="Konstitucija1791">{{cite web |last1=Mačiukas |first1=Žydrūnas |title=1791 m. Gegužės 3-iosios Konstitucija |url=https://www.lrs.lt/sip/portal.show?p_r=39296&p_k=1 |website=[[Seimas]] |access-date=7 July 2021 |language=lt}}</ref>
===Russian Empire===
[[File:Valancius.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Bishop [[Motiejus Valančius]] resisted Russification. He urged protest against the closing of Catholic churches and organised book printing in Lithuanian in [[Lithuania Minor]].]]
Eventually, [[Partitions of Poland|the Commonwealth was partitioned]] in 1772, 1793, and 1795 by the [[Russian Empire]], [[Prussia]], and the [[Habsburg monarchy]].
The largest area of Lithuanian territory became part of the Russian Empire. After the unsuccessful [[November Uprising|uprisings in 1831]] and [[January Uprising|1863]], the Tsarist authorities implemented a number of [[Russification]] policies. In 1840 the [[Statutes of Lithuania#Third Statute|Third Statute of Lithuania]] was abolished. They [[Lithuanian press ban|banned the Lithuanian press]], closed cultural and educational institutions and made Lithuania part of a new administrative region called [[Northwestern Krai]]. The Russification failed, owing to an extensive network of [[Lithuanian book smugglers]] and secret Lithuanian homeschooling.<ref>{{cite web |title=XX a. pradžioje rusus suerzino paviešinti lietuvių knygnešystės mastai |url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/tavo-lrt/15/22153/xx-a-pradzioje-rusus-suerzino-paviesinti-lietuviu-knygnesystes-mastai |website=[[Lrt.lt]] |access-date=29 July 2013 |language=lt |date=28 July 2013}}</ref>
After the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)]], when German diplomats assigned what were seen as Russian spoils of war to Turkey, the relationship between Russia and the [[German Empire]] became complicated. The Russian Empire resumed the construction of fortresses at its western borders for defence against a potential invasion from Germany in the West. On 7 July 1879 the [[Alexander II of Russia|Russian Emperor Alexander II]] approved a proposal from the Russian military leadership to build the largest "first-class" defensive structure in the entire state – the {{convert|65|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} [[Kaunas Fortress]].<ref name="Kauno tvirtovė">{{Cite journal|title=Kauno tvirtovės istorija |publisher=Gintaras Česonis |url=http://tvirtove.kaunas.lt/ |year=2004 |access-date=12 June 2008 |language=lt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510074436/http://tvirtove.kaunas.lt/ |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref> Large numbers of Lithuanians went to the United States in 1867–1868 after a [[famine]].<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Lithuanians in the United States}}</ref>
[[Simonas Daukantas]] promoted a return to Lithuania's pre-[[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] traditions, which he depicted as a Golden Age of Lithuania and a renewal of the native culture, based on the [[Lithuanian language]] and customs. With those ideas in mind, he wrote already in 1822 a history of Lithuania in Lithuanian – ''Darbai senųjų lietuvių ir žemaičių'' (''The Deeds of Ancient Lithuanians and Samogitians''), though it was not published at that time. A colleague of S. Daukantas, [[Teodor Narbutt]] wrote in Polish a voluminous ''Ancient History of the Lithuanian Nation'' (1835–1841), where he likewise expounded and expanded further on the concept of historic Lithuania, whose days of glory had ended with the Union of Lublin in 1569. Narbutt, invoking German scholarship, pointed out the relationship between the Lithuanian and [[Sanskrit]] languages. A [[Lithuanian National Revival]], inspired by the ancient Lithuanian history, language and culture, laid the foundations of the modern Lithuanian nation and independent Lithuania.
===20th and 21st centuries===
====1918–1939====
[[File:Signatarai.Signatories of Lithuania.jpg|thumb|The original 20 members of the [[Council of Lithuania]] after signing the [[Act of Independence of Lithuania]], 16 February 1918]]
As a result of the [[Great Retreat (Russian)|Great Retreat]] during [[World War I]], Germany occupied the entire territory of Lithuania and [[Courland]] by the end of 1915.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.draugas.org/news/the-great-war-in-lithuania-1914-1918/|title=The Great war in Lithuania 1914 -1918|website=Draugas.org}}</ref> A new administrative entity, [[Ober Ost]], was established. Lithuanians lost all political rights they had gained: personal freedom was restricted, and at the beginning, the Lithuanian press was banned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bdcol.ee/files/docs/bdreview/bdr-2002-8-11.pdf|title=The Baltic States from 1914 to 1923: The First World War and the Wars of Independence|website=Bdcol.ee|access-date=18 October 2018|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808020728/http://www.bdcol.ee/files/docs/bdreview/bdr-2002-8-11.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the Lithuanian intelligentsia tried to take advantage of the existing geopolitical situation and began to look for opportunities to restore Lithuania's independence. On 18–22 September 1917, the [[Vilnius Conference]] elected the 20-member [[Council of Lithuania]]. The council adopted the [[Act of Independence of Lithuania]] on 16 February 1918 which proclaimed the restoration of the independent state of Lithuania governed by [[Democracy|democratic]] principles, with [[Vilnius]] as its capital. The state of Lithuania which had been built within the framework of the Act lasted from 1918 until 1940.
[[File:Lietuvos šarvuotas traukinys Gediminas.jpg|thumb|left|Lithuanian [[armoured train]] ''Gediminas 3'', used in [[Lithuanian Wars of Independence]] and Lithuanian soldiers]]
Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, the first Provisional [[Constitution of Lithuania]] was adopted and the first government of Prime Minister [[Augustinas Voldemaras]] was organized. At the same time, the army and other state institutions began to be organized. Lithuania fought [[Lithuanian Wars of Independence|three wars of independence]]: [[Lithuanian–Soviet War|against the Bolsheviks]] who proclaimed the [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–1919)|Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic]], against the [[West Russian Volunteer Army|Bermontians]], and [[Polish–Lithuanian War|against Poland]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Pirmosios Lietuvos nepriklausomybės kovos|url=http://www.partizanai.org/index.php/karys-4-5-1951m/4055-pirmosios-lietuvos-nepriklausomybes-kovos|website=Partizanai.org|access-date=23 December 2017|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lesčius|first1=Vytautas|title=Lietuvos kariuomenė nepriklausomybės kovose 1918–1920. Monografija|url=http://www.lka.lt/download/7665/lietuvos_kariuomene_1.pdf|website=LKA.lt|access-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102043921/http://www.lka.lt/download/7665/lietuvos_kariuomene_1.pdf|archive-date=2 January 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result of the staged [[Żeligowski's Mutiny]] in October 1920, [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]] took control of [[Vilnius Region]] and annexed it as [[Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939)|Wilno Voivodeship]] in 1922.<ref name="Iskauskas">{{cite web|last1=Iškauskas|first1=Česlovas|title=Č.Iškauskas. Vidurio Lietuva: lenkų okupacijos aidai...|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/ringas/lit/ciskauskas-vidurio-lietuva-lenku-okupacijos-aidai.d?id=53879817|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=8 January 2012}}</ref> Lithuania continued to claim Vilnius as its ''[[de jure]]'' capital (the ''[[de facto]]'', provisional capital being [[Kaunas]]) and relations with Poland remained particularly tense and hostile for the entire interwar period. In January 1923, Lithuania staged the [[Klaipėda Revolt]] and captured [[Klaipėda Region]] (Memel territory) which was detached from [[East Prussia]] by the [[Treaty of Versailles]]. The region became an autonomous region of Lithuania.
[[File:Antanas Smetona 2.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Antanas Smetona]] was the first and last president of ''[[interbellum]]'' Lithuania (1919–1920, 1926–1940).]]
On 15 May 1920, the first meeting of the democratically elected [[Constituent Assembly of Lithuania|constituent assembly]] took place. The documents it adopted, i. e. the temporary (1920) and permanent (1922) constitutions of Lithuania, strove to regulate the life of the new state. Land, finance, and educational reforms started to be implemented. The currency of Lithuania, the [[Lithuanian litas]], was introduced. The [[Vytautas Magnus University|University of Lithuania]] was opened.<ref>{{cite web|title=VMU Now and Before|url=http://www.vdu.lt/en/about-vmu/vmu-now-and-before/|website=[[Vytautas Magnus University]]|access-date=23 December 2017|date=10 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224101656/http://www.vdu.lt/en/about-vmu/vmu-now-and-before/|archive-date=24 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> All major public institutions had been established. As Lithuania began to gain stability, foreign countries started to recognize it. In 1921 Lithuania was admitted to the [[League of Nations]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kantautas|first1=Adam|last2=Kantautas|first2=Filomena|title=A Lithuanian Bibliography: A Check-list of Books and Articles Held by the Major Libraries of Canada and the United States|date=1975|publisher=University of Alberta|isbn=978-0-88864-010-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lithuanianbiblio0000kant/page/295 295]–296|url=https://archive.org/details/lithuanianbiblio0000kant|url-access=registration}}</ref>
On 17 December 1926, a military [[1926 Lithuanian coup d'état|coup d'état]] took place, resulting in the replacement of the democratically elected government with a conservative authoritarian government led by Antanas Smetona. [[Augustinas Voldemaras]] was appointed to form a government. The so-called authoritarian phase had begun strengthening the influence of one party, the [[Lithuanian Nationalist Union]], in the country. In 1927, the Seimas was dissolved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrs.lt/sip/portal.show?p_r=16275&p_k=1|website=LRS.lt|title=III Seimas (1926–1927 m.)|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref> A new constitution was adopted in 1928, which consolidated presidential powers. Gradually, opposition parties were banned, censorship was tightened, and the rights of national minorities were narrowed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Karinis perversmas Lietuvoje: kas ir kodėl nuvertė valstiečių valdžią?|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/karinis-perversmas-lietuvoje-kas-ir-kodel-nuverte-valstieciu-valdzia.d?id=73190690|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=17 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Katinas|first1=Petras|title=Perversmas ar išgelbėjimas?|url=http://www.xxiamzius.lt/numeriai/2007/01/04/istving_01.html|website=xxiamzius.lt|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref> The only democratically elected body that continued to exist at the time was a [[Parliament of the Klaipėda Region]].
[[File:Lituanica Above New York.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Lituanica]]'' above [[New York City|New York]] in 1933. The transatlantic flight was one of the most precise in aviation history. It equaled, and in some aspects surpassed, [[Charles Lindbergh]]'s classic flight.]]
On 15 July 1933, [[Steponas Darius]] and [[Stasys Girėnas]], Lithuanian pilots, emigrants to the United States, made a significant flight in the [[Aviation history|history of world aviation]]. They flew across the Atlantic Ocean, covering a distance of {{convert|6411|km|mi|abbr=on}} without landing, in 37 hours and 11 minutes ({{convert|107.1|mph|km/h|abbr=on|order=flip}}). In terms of comparison, as far as the distance of non-stop flights was concerned, their result ranked second only to that of [[Russell Boardman]] and [[John Polando]].
The provisional capital Kaunas, which was nicknamed ''Little Paris'', and the country itself had a [[Western world|Western]] standard of living with sufficiently high salaries and low prices. At the time, qualified workers there were earning very similar [[real wages]] as workers in [[Germany]], [[Italy]], [[Switzerland]] and [[France]], the country also had a surprisingly high [[Rate of natural increase|natural increase in population]] of 9.7 and the [[industrial production]] of Lithuania increased by 160% from 1913 to 1940.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kodėl Kaunas buvo vadinamas mažuoju Paryžiumi?|url=https://kultura.lrytas.lt/istorija/kodel-kaunas-buvo-vadinamas-mazuoju-paryziumi.htm|website=lrytas.lt|access-date=3 January 2013|language=lt-LT|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702014111/https://kultura.lrytas.lt/istorija/kodel-kaunas-buvo-vadinamas-mazuoju-paryziumi.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lapinskas|first1=Anatolijus|title=Lietuva tarpukariu nebuvo atsilikėlė|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/lietuva-tarpukariu-nebuvo-atsilikele.d?id=61355765|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=29 September 2013}}</ref>
The situation was aggravated by the global economic crisis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thebalance.com/the-great-depression-of-1929-3306033|title=What Happened During the Great Depression?|website=Thebalance.com}}</ref> The purchase price of agricultural products had declined significantly. In 1935, farmers began strikes in [[Suvalkija]] and [[Dzūkija]]. In addition to economic ones, political demands were made. The government cruelly suppressed the unrest. In the spring of 1936, four peasants were sentenced to death for starting the riots.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globallabour.info/en/2009/03/trade_unions_in_lithuania_a_br.html|title=Trade Unions in Lithuania – A Brief History – Sergejus Glovackas (2009) (Global Labour Institute – English)|website=Globallabour.info|access-date=29 November 2017|archive-date=5 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505021533/http://www.globallabour.info/en/2009/03/trade_unions_in_lithuania_a_br.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
====1939–1944====
{{main|Occupation of the Baltic states|June Uprising in Lithuania|German occupation of Lithuania during World War II}}
On 20 March 1939, after years of rising tensions, Lithuania was handed an ultimatum by [[Nazi Germany]] demanding it relinquish the [[Klaipėda Region]]. Two days later, the Lithuanian government accepted the ultimatum.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vareikis|first1=Vygantas|title=Politiniai ir kariniai Klaipėdos krašto praradimo aspektai 1938–1939 metais|url=http://briai.ku.lt/downloads/AHUK_21/21_069-084_Vareikis.pdf|website=[[Klaipėda University]]|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref> When Nazi Germany and Soviet Union concluded the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], Lithuania was initially assigned to the German [[sphere of influence]] but was later transferred to the Soviet sphere. At the outbreak of [[World War II]], Lithuania declared [[Neutral powers during World War II|neutrality]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Liekis|first1=Šarūnas|title=1939: The Year that Changed Everything in Lithuania's History|date=2010|publisher=Rodopi|location=New York|isbn=978-90-420-2762-6|pages=119–122|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ST3LrBPOM4gC&pg=PA120}}</ref>
[[File:Red Army enters the territory of Lithuania during its occupation, 1940.jpg|thumb|right|Soldiers of the [[Red Army]] enter the territory of Lithuania during the first [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)|Soviet occupation]] in 1940.]]
In October 1939, Lithuania was forced to sign the [[Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty]]: five Soviet military bases with 20,000 troops were established in Lithuania in exchange for [[Vilnius]], which the [[Soviet invasion of Poland|Soviets had captured from Poland]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gureckas|first1=Algimantas|title=Ar Lietuva galėjo išsigelbėti 1939–1940 metais?|url=https://kultura.lrytas.lt/-12778267981275752223-ar-lietuva-gal%C4%97jo-i%C5%A1sigelb%C4%97ti-1939-1940-metais.htm|website=lrytas.lt|access-date=30 June 2010|language=lt-LT|archive-date=15 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115200746/https://kultura.lrytas.lt/-12778267981275752223-ar-lietuva-gal%C4%97jo-i%C5%A1sigelb%C4%97ti-1939-1940-metais.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Delayed by the [[Winter War]] with Finland, the [[1940 Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania|Soviets issued an ultimatum to Lithuania]] on 14 June 1940. They demanded the replacement of the Lithuanian government and that the [[Red Army]] be allowed into the country. The government decided that, with Soviet bases already in Lithuania, armed resistance was impossible and accepted the ultimatum.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Musteikis|first1=Kazys|title=Prisiminimų fragmentai|date=1989|publisher=Mintis|location=Vilnius|pages=56–57|url=http://www.šaltiniai.info/files/istorija/II00/Ultimatumas_ir_paskutinis_vyriausyb%C4%97s_pos%C4%97dis.II0300.pdf|access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref> President Smetona left the country, hoping to form a [[government in exile]], while more than 200,000 Soviet Red Army soldiers crossed the [[Belarus–Lithuania border]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Senn|first1=Alfred Erich|title=Lithuania 1940: Revolution from Above|date=2007|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-90-420-2225-6|page=99}}</ref> The next day, identical ultimatums were presented to Latvia and Estonia. The [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)|Baltic states were occupied]]. The Soviets followed semi-constitutional procedures for transforming the independent countries into soviet republics and incorporating them into the Soviet Union.
[[Vladimir Dekanozov]] was sent to supervise the formation of the puppet [[People's Government of Lithuania|People's Government]] and the rigged election to the [[People's Seimas]]. The [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic]] was proclaimed on 21 July and accepted into the Soviet Union on 3 August. Lithuania [[Sovietization of the Baltic states|was rapidly Sovietized]]: political parties and various organizations (except the [[Communist Party of Lithuania]]) were outlawed, some 12,000 people, including many prominent figures, were arrested and imprisoned in [[Gulag]] as "enemies of the people", larger private property was nationalized, the [[Lithuanian litas]] was replaced by the [[Soviet rouble]], farm taxes were increased by 50–200%, the Lithuanian Army was transformed into the [[29th Rifle Corps (Soviet Union)|29th Rifle Corps of the Red Army]].<ref name="ArmyDestruction">{{cite web|last1=Knezys|first1=Stasys|title=Lietuvos kariuomenės naikinimas (1940 m. birželio 15 d.–1941 m.)|url=http://genocid.lt/GRTD/Tremtis/stasys.htm|website=Genocid.lt|access-date=14 December 2017}}</ref> On 14–18 June 1941, less than a week before the Nazi invasion, some 17,000 Lithuanians were deported to [[Siberia]], where many perished due to inhumane living conditions (see the [[June deportation]]).<ref>Anušauskas (2005), p. 140</ref><ref>{{cite journal| first=Aleksandras|last=Gurjanovas|title=Gyventojų trėmimo į SSRS gilumą mastas (1941 m. gegužės–birželio mėn.)|journal=Genocidas Ir Resistencija|url=http://www.genocid.lt/Leidyba/2/aleksand1.htm |year=1997|issue=2|volume=2|issn=1392-3463|language=lt}}</ref> The occupation was not recognized by Western powers and the [[Lithuanian Diplomatic Service]], based on pre-war consulates and legations, continued to represent independent Lithuania until 1990.
[[File:Lithuanian partisans from the district of Dainava (Southern Lithuania).jpg|thumb|right|[[Lithuanian partisans|Lithuanian resistance fighters]]. The armed resistance was 50,000 strong at its peak.]]
When Nazi Germany [[Operation Barbarossa|attacked the Soviet Union]] on 22 June 1941, Lithuanians began the anti-Soviet [[June Uprising in Lithuania|June Uprising]], organized by the [[Lithuanian Activist Front]]. Lithuanians proclaimed independence and organized the [[Provisional Government of Lithuania]]. This government quickly self-disbanded.<ref name="mi47">{{cite book |title=The Baltic States: Years of Dependence 1940–1990 |first=Romuald J. |last=Misiunas |author2=Rein Taagepera |publisher=University of California Press |edition=expanded |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-520-08228-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/balticstatesyear00misi/page/47 47] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/balticstatesyear00misi/page/47 }}</ref> Lithuania became part of the [[Reichskommissariat Ostland]], German civil administration.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Anušauskas, Arvydas|title=Lietuva, 1940–1990 |year=2005 |publisher= [[Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania]] |location=Vilnius |isbn=978-9986-757-65-8|language=lt|display-editors=etal |page=177}}</ref>
[[File:Ponar Forest Memorial.JPG|thumb|left|Site of the [[Ponary massacre|Paneriai massacre]], where the [[German Nazi]]s and their collaborators executed up to 100,000 people of various nationalities. About 70,000 of them were [[Jews]].]]
By 1 December 1941, over 120,000 [[Lithuanian Jews]], or 91–95% of Lithuania's pre-war Jewish community, had been killed.<ref name="PBBG">{{cite book |author=Prit Buttar |title=Between Giants |isbn=978-1-78096-163-7|date=21 May 2013}}</ref>{{rp|110}} Nearly 100,000 Jews, Poles, Russians and Lithuanians were [[Ponary massacre|murdered at Paneriai]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Michalski|first1=Czesław|title=Ponary - Golgota Wileńszczyzny (Ponary – the Golgotha of Wilno)|url=http://www.wsp.krakow.pl/konspekt/konspekt5/ponary.html|publisher=Konspekt nº 5, Winter 2000–01, [[Pedagogical University of Cracow|Academy of Pedagogy in Kraków]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224124407/http://www.wsp.krakow.pl/konspekt/konspekt5/ponary.html|archive-date=24 December 2008|language=pl}}</ref> However, thousands of Lithuanian families risking their lives also protected Jews from the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sakaitė |first1=Viktorija |title=Žydų gelbėjimas |url=http://genocid.lt/Leidyba/4/viktorij.htm |website=genocid.lt |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref> [[Israel]] has recognized 918 Lithuanians (as of 1 January 2021) as [[Righteous Among the Nations]] for risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/statistics|title=Names of Righteous by Country|date=2017}}</ref>
Approximately 13,000 men served in the [[Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions]].<ref>Anušauskas, et al. (2005), p. 232</ref> 10 of the 26 Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions working with the Nazi [[Einsatzkommando]], were involved in the mass killings. Rogue units organised by [[Algirdas Klimaitis]] and supervised by [[SS]] ''Brigadeführer'' Walter Stahlecker started the [[Kaunas pogrom]] in and around [[Kaunas]] on 25 June 1941.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.genocid.lt/Leidyba/13/bubnys.htm|website=Genocid.lt|title=Arūnas Bubnys. Lietuvių saugumo policija ir holokaustas (1941–1944) | ''Lithuanian Security Police and the Holocaust (1941–1944)''}}</ref><ref>Oshry, Ephraim, ''Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry'', Judaica Press, Inc., New York, 1995</ref> In 1941, the [[Lithuanian Security Police]] (''Lietuvos saugumo policija''), subordinate to Nazi Germany's Security Police and Nazi Germany's Criminal Police, was created. The ''Lietuvos saugumo policija'' targeted the communist underground.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bubnys|first=Arūnas|author-link=Arūnas Bubnys|title=Vokiečių okupuota Lietuva (1941–1944)|publisher=[[Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania]]|year=1998| location=Vilnius|isbn=978-9986-757-12-2}}</ref>
A new occupation had begun. Nationalized assets were not returned to the residents. Some of them were forced to fight for Nazi Germany or were taken to German territories as forced labourers. [[Jews|Jewish]] people were herded into ghettos and gradually killed by shooting or sending them out to concentration camps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travel-earth.com/lithuania/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823064325/http://www.travel-earth.com/lithuania/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 August 2006 |title=Lithuania: Back to the Future |website=Travel-earth.com |date=1 May 2004 |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Michalski|first1=Czesław|title=Ponary – Golgota Wileńszczyzny (Ponary – the Golgotha of Wilno)|url=http://www.wsp.krakow.pl/konspekt/konspekt5/ponary.html|publisher=Konspekt nº 5, Winter 2000–01, [[Academy of Pedagogy in Kraków]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224124407/http://www.wsp.krakow.pl/konspekt/konspekt5/ponary.html|archive-date=24 December 2008|language=pl|url-status=dead}}</ref>
====1944–1990====
{{Main|Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuanian partisans|Guerrilla war in the Baltic states}}
[[File:Naujoji Vilnia train station 4.JPG|thumb|Monument in [[Naujoji Vilnia]] in memory of the [[Soviet deportations from Lithuania]]]]
After the retreat of the [[Wehrmacht|German armed forces]], the [[Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1944)|Soviets reestablished their control of Lithuania]] in July–October 1944. The [[Deportation|massive deportations]] to [[Siberia]] were resumed and lasted until the death of [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] in 1953. [[Antanas Sniečkus]], the leader of the [[Communist Party of Lithuania]] from 1940 to 1974,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Motyl |first1=Alexander J. |title=Encyclopedia of Nationalism, Two-Volume Set |date=2000 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-054524-0 |pages=494–495 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pvHRNNk9hHEC&pg=PA494}}</ref> supervised the arrests and deportations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roszkowski |first1=Wojciech |title=Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47593-4 |page=2549 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RnKlDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2549}}</ref> All Lithuanian national symbols were banned. Under the pretext of Lithuania's economic recovery, the [[Moscow]] authorities encouraged the migration of workers and other specialists to Lithuania with the intention to further integrate Lithuania into the [[Soviet Union]] and to develop the country's industry. At the same time, Lithuanians were lured to work in the [[USSR]] by promising them all the privileges of settling in a new place.
The second Soviet occupation was accompanied by the [[Lithuanian partisans|guerrilla warfare]] of the Lithuanian population, which took place in 1944–1953. It sought to restore an independent state of Lithuania, to consolidate democracy by destroying communism in the country, returning national values and the freedom of religion. About 50,000 Lithuanians took to the forests and fought Soviet occupants with a gun in their hands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5379.htm |title=US Department of State Bureau of Public Affairs|website=State.gov |date=August 2006 |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.partizanai.org/failai/html/fighters-for-freedom.htm|title=Fighters for Freedom. Lithuanian partisans versus the U.S.S.R.|author=Juozas Daumantas|access-date=13 May 2018}}</ref> In the later stages of the partisan war, Lithuanians formed the [[Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters]] and its leader [[Jonas Žemaitis]] (codename Vytautas) was posthumously recognized as the president of Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_1_02.htm|title=The Partisan Movement in Postwar Lithuania – V. Stanley Vardys|website=Lituanus.org|access-date=2 December 2017|archive-date=2 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302085809/http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_1_02.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite the fact that the guerrilla warfare did not achieve its goal of liberating Lithuania and that it resulted in more than 20,000 deaths, the armed resistance ''de facto'' demonstrated that Lithuania did not voluntarily join the USSR and it also legitimized the will of the people of Lithuania to be independent.<ref name="küng1999">{{cite web |author=Küng, Andres |author-link=Andres Küng |date=13 April 1999 |url=http://www.rel.ee/eng/communism_crimes.htm |title=Communism and Crimes against Humanity in the Baltic states |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 March 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010301223347/http://www.rel.ee/eng/communism_crimes.htm |quote=A Report to the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation seminar}}</ref> Lithuanian courts and the [[European Court of Human Rights|ECHR]] both treat the Soviets' annihilation of the Lithuanian partisans as a [[genocide]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beniušis |first1=Vaidotas |title=EŽTT: sovietų represijos prieš Lietuvos partizanus gali būti laikomos genocidu |url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/eztt-sovietu-represijos-pries-lietuvos-partizanus-gali-buti-laikomos-genocidu.d?id=80586003 |website=[[DELFI]] |access-date=12 March 2019}}</ref>
[[File:1989 08 23 Baltijoskelias14.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Baltic Way]] was a mass anti-Soviet demonstration where approx. 25% of the population of the Baltic states participated.]]
Even with the suppression of partisan resistance, the Soviet government failed to stop the movement for the independence of Lithuania. The underground dissident groups were active publishing the underground press and Catholic literature. The most active participants of the movement included [[Vincentas Sladkevičius]], [[Sigitas Tamkevičius]] and [[Nijolė Sadūnaitė]]. In 1972, after [[Romas Kalanta|Romas Kalanta's]] public self-immolation, the [[1972 unrest in Lithuania|unrest in Kaunas]] lasted for several days.<ref>{{cite web|title=Romas Kalanta|url=http://genocid.lt/UserFiles/File/Atmintinos_datos/2012/20120511_kalanta.pdf|website=genocid.lt|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>
[[File:A rally in Lithuania commemorate and condemn the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, August 23, 1988, Vilnius, Vingis Park.jpg|thumb|right|An [[Anti-Soviet]] rally in [[Vingis Park]] of about 250,000 people. [[Sąjūdis]] was a movement which led to the restoration of an Independent State of Lithuania.]]
The [[Lithuanian Helsinki Group|Helsinki Group]], which was founded in Lithuania after the international conference in Helsinki (Finland), where the post-WWII borders were acknowledged, announced a declaration for Lithuania's independence on foreign radio station.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1984_2/84_2_05.htm|title=The Demise of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group|website=Lituanus.org|access-date=2 December 2017|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227090438/http://www.lituanus.org/1984_2/84_2_05.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Helsinki Group informed the Western world about the situation in the Soviet Lithuania and violations of human rights. With the beginning of the increased openness and transparency in government institutions and activities (''[[glasnost]]'') in the Soviet Union, on 3 June 1988, the [[Sąjūdis]] was established in Lithuania with [[Romualdas Ozolas]] acting as the key figure of the movement. Very soon it began to seek the country's independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lokashakti.org/encyclopedia/movements/722-lithuanias-independence-movement|title=Lithuania's Independence Movement – Lokashakti Encyclopedia|website=Lokashakti.org|access-date=2 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153801/http://www.lokashakti.org/encyclopedia/movements/722-lithuanias-independence-movement|archive-date=3 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Eventually, [[Vytautas Landsbergis]] became the movement's leader.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltictimes.com/landsbergis_has_always_been_lithuania_s_first_head-of-state/|title=Landsbergis has always been Lithuania's first head-of-state|website=Baltictimes.com|access-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203013745/https://www.baltictimes.com/landsbergis_has_always_been_lithuania_s_first_head-of-state/|archive-date=3 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The supporters of Sąjūdis joined movement's groups all over Lithuania. On 23 August 1988 a big rally took place at the [[Vingis Park]] in Vilnius. It was attended by approx. 250,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sąjūdžio mitingas 1988 – 08 – 23 Vingio parke|url=https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/7220/sajudzio-mitingas-1988-08-23-vingio-parke-molotovo-ribentropo-paktui-39-eri|website=LRT|date=23 August 1988|access-date=12 May 2018|language=lt}}</ref> A year later, on 23 August 1989 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]] and aiming to draw the attention of the whole world to the occupation of the [[Baltic states]], a political demonstration, the [[Baltic Way]], was organized.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebalticway.eu/lt/istorija/|title=Istorija|website=Thebalticway.eu}}</ref> The event, led by [[Sąjūdis]], was a human chain spanning {{convert|600|km}} across [[Vilnius]], [[Riga]] and [[Tallinn]], indicating the desire of the people of Lithuania, [[Latvia]], and [[Estonia]] to break away from the [[Soviet Union]].
====1990–present====
{{multiple image
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| footer = On 11 March 1990, the [[Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas|Supreme Council]] announced the [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania|restoration of Lithuania's independence]].<ref name="Bell2002">{{cite book|author=Imogen Bell|title=Central and South-Eastern Europe 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CrpzRJCbckC&pg=PA376|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85743-136-0|page=376}}</ref> After refusal to revoke the Act, the [[Soviet Army|Soviet forces]] stormed the [[Seimas Palace]], while Lithuanians defended their [[Democracy|democratically]] elected Council. The Act was the first such declaration in the USSR and later served as a model, inspiration to other [[Soviet republics]], and strongly influenced the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]].
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On 11 March 1990, the [[Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas|Supreme Council]] announced the restoration of Lithuania's independence. Lithuania became the first Soviet-occupied state to announce the restitution of independence. On 20 April 1990, the Soviets [[Soviet economic blockade of Lithuania|imposed an economic blockade]] by ceasing to deliver supplies of raw materials (primarily oil) to Lithuania.<ref>{{cite magazine |author1=Martha Brill Olcott |title=The Lithuanian Crisis |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russian-federation/1990-06-01/lithuanian-crisis |website=www.foreignaffairs.com |access-date=18 November 2018 |date=1990 |quote=For over two years Lithuania has been moving toward reclaiming its independence. This drive reached a crescendo on 11 March 1990, when the Supreme Soviet of Lithuania declared the republic no longer bound by Soviet law. The act reasserted the independence Lithuania had declared more than seventy years before, a declaration unilaterally annulled by the U.S.S.R. in 1940 when it annexed Lithuania as the result of a pact between Stalin and Hitler.}}</ref> Not only the domestic industry, but also the population started feeling the lack of fuel, essential goods, and even hot water. Although the blockade lasted for 74 days, Lithuania did not renounce the declaration of independence.
Gradually, economic relations had been restored. However, tensions had peaked again in January 1991. At that time, attempts were made to carry out a coup using the [[Soviet Armed Forces]], the Internal Army of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the USSR Committee for State Security ([[KGB]]). Because of the poor economic situation in Lithuania, the forces in Moscow thought the [[coup d'état]] would receive strong public support.<ref>{{cite web |title=10 svarbiausių 1991–ųjų sausio įvykių, kuriuos privalote žinoti |url= https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/10-svarbiausiu-1991-uju-sausio-ivykiu-kuriuos-privalote-zinoti-56-565845 |website=15min.lt|access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref>
[[File:January 13 events in Vilnius Lithuania.jpg|thumb|right|On [[January Events (Lithuania)|13 January 1991]], Soviet forces fired live rounds at unarmed independence supporters and crushed two of them with tanks, killing 13 in total. To this day, Russia refuses to extradite the perpetrators, who were convicted of [[war crimes]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Lithuania convicts Russians of war crimes under Soviet rule |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47725239 |access-date=28 March 2019 |agency=BBC News |date=27 March 2019}}</ref>]]
People from all over Lithuania flooded to [[Vilnius]] to defend their legitimately elected [[Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas|Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania]] and independence. The coup ended with a few casualties of peaceful civilians and caused huge material loss. Not a single person who defended [[Seimas|Lithuanian Parliament]] or other state institutions used a weapon, but the [[Soviet Army]] did. Soviet soldiers killed 14 people and injured hundreds. A large part of the Lithuanian population participated in the [[January Events (Lithuania)|January Events]].<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|title=On This Day 13 January 1991: Bloodshed at Lithuanian TV station|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/13/newsid_4059000/4059959.stm|access-date=13 September 2011|date=13 January 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Soviet crackdown; Soviet loyalists in charge after attack in Lithuania; 13 dead; curfew is imposed| author=Bill Keller|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=14 January 1991| access-date=18 December 2009| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/14/world/soviet-crackdown-soviet-loyalists-charge-after-attack-lithuania-13-dead-curfew.html?pagewanted=all}}</ref> Shortly after, on 11 February 1991, the [[Alþingi|Icelandic parliament]] voted to confirm that [[Iceland]]'s 1922 recognition of Lithuanian independence was still in full effect, as it never formally recognized the Soviet Union's control over Lithuania,<ref>{{cite news |title=Svo fljótt sem verða má |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2927190 |access-date=28 October 2018 |work=[[Þjóðviljinn]] |date=12 February 1991 |language=is}}</ref> and that full diplomatic relations should be established as soon as possible.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stjórnmálasamband verði tekið upp svo fljótt sem verða má |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1738122 |access-date=28 October 2018 |work=[[Morgunblaðið]] |date=12 February 1991 |language=is}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Viðurkenning á sjálfstæði í fullu gildi |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2581110 |access-date=28 October 2018 |work=[[Dagblaðið Vísir]] |date=12 February 1991 |language=is}}</ref>
On 31 July 1991, Soviet paramilitaries killed seven Lithuanian border guards on the Belarusian border in what became known as the [[Medininkai Massacre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://coldwarsites.net/country/lithuania/memorial-medininkai|title=Memorial. Medininkai – Cold war sites|website=coldwarsites.net}}</ref> On 17 September 1991, Lithuania was admitted to the [[United Nations]].
On 25 October 1992, the citizens of Lithuania voted in a referendum to adopt the current [[Constitution of Lithuania|constitution]]. On 14 February 1993, during the direct general elections, [[Algirdas Brazauskas]] became the first president after the restoration of independence of Lithuania. On 31 August 1993 the last units of the Soviet Army left the territory of Lithuania.<ref>{{cite book| author=Richard J. Krickus| chapter=Democratization in Lithuania| editor=K. Dawisha and B. Parrott| title=The Consolidation of Democracy in East-Central Europe| date=June 1997| page=[https://archive.org/details/consolidationofd0000unse/page/344 344]| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRkpNovMd_cC&pg=PA344| isbn=978-0-521-59938-2| url=https://archive.org/details/consolidationofd0000unse/page/344}}</ref>
On 31 May 2001, Lithuania joined the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO).<ref>{{cite web |title=WTO - Accessions: Lithuania |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/a1_lituanie_e.htm |website=www.wto.org |access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref> Since 29 March 2004, Lithuania has been part of [[NATO]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) |url=https://www.urm.lt/default/en/foreign-policy/lithuania-in-the-region-and-the-world/lithuanias-security-policy/lithuanian-membership-in-nato |website=urm.lt |access-date=30 March 2021 |date=5 February 2014 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417181725/https://www.urm.lt/default/en/foreign-policy/lithuania-in-the-region-and-the-world/lithuanias-security-policy/lithuanian-membership-in-nato |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 1 May 2004, it became a fully-fledged member of the [[European Union]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Membership |url=https://www.urm.lt/default/en/foreign-policy/lithuania-in-the-region-and-the-world/lithuania-member-of-the-european-union/membership |website=urm.lt |access-date=30 March 2021 |date=6 January 2016 |archive-date=26 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626050010/https://www.urm.lt/default/en/foreign-policy/lithuania-in-the-region-and-the-world/lithuania-member-of-the-european-union/membership |url-status=dead }}</ref> and a member of the [[Schengen Agreement]] on 21 December 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania has joined the Schengen Area |url=http://no.mfa.lt/no/en/news/lithuania-has-joined-the-schengen-area |website=mfa.lt |access-date=30 March 2021 |date=16 January 2008 |archive-date=26 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626050010/http://no.mfa.lt/no/en/news/lithuania-has-joined-the-schengen-area |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 1 January 2015, [[Lithuania and the euro|Lithuania joined]] the [[eurozone]] and adopted the European Union's single currency as the last of the Baltic states.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kropaite |first1=Zivile |title=Lithuania joins Baltic neighbours in euro club |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30635826 |website=BBC News |access-date=30 March 2021 |date=1 January 2015}}</ref> On 4 July 2018, Lithuania officially joined [[OECD]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania officially becomes the 36th OECD member |url=https://lrv.lt/en/news/lithuania-officially-becomes-the-36th-oecd-member |website=lrv.lt |access-date=30 March 2021 |date=5 July 2018 |archive-date=3 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703105900/https://lrv.lt/en/news/lithuania-officially-becomes-the-36th-oecd-member |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[Dalia Grybauskaitė]] was the first female [[President of Lithuania]] (2009–2019) and the first president to be re-elected for a second consecutive term.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania President Re-elected on Anti-Russian Platform |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/lithuania-president-re-elected-on-anti-russian-platform/1922612.html |website=VOA |access-date=8 April 2023 |date=26 May 2014}}</ref>
On 24 February 2022, Lithuania declared a [[state of emergency]] in response to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuania declares state of emergency after Russia invades Ukraine|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/lithuania-declares-state-emergency-after-russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24/|date=24 February 2022|access-date=8 June 2022|website=Reuters}}</ref> Together with the eight other NATO member states, the country also invoked NATO [[North Atlantic Treaty#Article 4|Article 4]] to hold consultations on security.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-russia-vladimir-putin-71bf9d3687e1a04f11dfb895639a13ca |title=NATO vows to defend its entire territory after Russia attack |last=Cook |first=Lorne |website=Associated Press |date=24 February 2022 |access-date=8 June 2022}}</ref>
==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Lithuania}}
[[File:LithuaniaPhysicalMap-en.png|thumb|right|350px|Physical map and geomorphological subdivision of Lithuania]]
Lithuania is located in the Baltic region of [[Europe]]{{efn|name=location}} and covers an area of {{convert|65300|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/sr/srb/sra.html?_charset_=UTF-8&allq=Lithuania&exctq=&anyq=&noneq=&fqupdate=&dmn=&fqocct=|title=Lithuania|publisher=[[Canada.ca]]|access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> It lies between latitudes [[53rd parallel north|53°]] and [[57th parallel north|57° N]], and mostly between longitudes [[21st meridian east|21°]] and [[27th meridian east|27° E]] (part of the [[Curonian Spit]] lies west of 21°). It has around {{convert|99|km|mi|1}} of sandy coastline, only about {{convert|38|km|mi|0}} of which face the open [[Baltic Sea]], less than the other two Baltic states. The rest of the coast is sheltered by the Curonian sand peninsula. Lithuania's major [[warm-water port]], [[Klaipėda]], lies at the narrow mouth of the [[Curonian Lagoon]] (Lithuanian: ''Kuršių marios''), a shallow lagoon extending south to [[Kaliningrad]]. The country's main and largest river, the [[Nemunas River]], and some of its tributaries carry international shipping.
Lithuania lies at the edge of the [[North European Plain]]. Its landscape was smoothed by the glaciers of the [[last glacial period|last ice age]], and is a combination of moderate lowlands and highlands. Its highest point is [[Aukštojas Hill]] at {{convert|294|m|ft|0}} in the eastern part of the country. The terrain features [[List of lakes of Lithuania|numerous lakes]] ([[Lake Vištytis]], for example) and wetlands, and a mixed forest zone covers over 33% of the country. [[Drūkšiai]] is the largest, [[Tauragnas]] is the deepest and [[Asveja]] is the longest lake in Lithuania.
After a re-estimation of the boundaries of the [[continent]] of Europe in 1989, Jean-George Affholder, a scientist at the [[Institut géographique national (France)|Institut Géographique National]] (French National Geographic Institute), determined that the [[geographic centre of Europe]] was in Lithuania, at {{coord|54|54|N|25|19|E|type:landmark|name=Purnuškės (centre of gravity)}}, {{convert|26|km|mi}} north of Lithuania's capital city of [[Vilnius]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geosite.jankrogh.com/other.htm |title=Other Places of Interest: Central Europe |author=Jan S. Krogh |access-date=31 December 2011}}</ref> Affholder accomplished this by calculating the [[centre of gravity]] of the [[Geography of Europe|geometrical figure]] of Europe.
===Climate===
{{Main|Geography of Lithuania#Climate}}
Lithuania has a temperate climate with both [[maritime climate|maritime]] and [[continental climate|continental]] influences. It is defined as [[humid continental climate|humid continental]] (Dfb) under the [[Köppen climate classification]] (but is close to [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] in a narrow coastal zone).
Average temperatures on the coast are {{convert|-2.5|C}} in January and {{convert|16|°C|0|abbr=on}} in July. In Vilnius the average temperatures are {{convert|-6|°C|0|abbr=on}} in January and {{convert|17|°C|0|abbr=on}} in July. During the summer, {{convert|20|°C|0|abbr=on}} is common during the day while {{convert|14|°C|0|abbr=on}} is common at night; in the past, temperatures have reached as high as {{convert|30|or|35|°C|0|abbr=on}}. Some winters can be very cold. {{convert|-20|°C|0|abbr=on}} occurs almost every winter. Winter extremes are {{convert|-34|°C|0|abbr=on}} in coastal areas and {{convert|-43|°C|0|abbr=on}} in the east of Lithuania.
The average annual precipitation is {{convert|800|mm|1|abbr=on}} on the coast, {{convert|900|mm|1|abbr=on}} in the Samogitia highlands and {{convert|600|mm|1|abbr=on}} in the eastern part of the country. Snow occurs every year, it can snow from October to April. In some years sleet can fall in September or May. The growing season lasts 202 days in the western part of the country and 169 days in the eastern part. Severe storms are rare in the eastern part of Lithuania but common in the coastal areas.
The longest records of measured temperature in the Baltic area cover about 250 years. The data show warm periods during the latter half of the 18th century, and that the 19th century was a relatively cool period. An early 20th-century warming culminated in the 1930s, followed by a smaller cooling that lasted until the 1960s. A warming trend has persisted since then.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baltex-research.eu/BACC/events/goteborg/Poster_2_1.pdf |title=Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin – The BACC Project – 22–23 May 2006, Göteborg, Sweden |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref>
Lithuania experienced a drought in 2002, causing forest and [[peat]] bog fires.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Research Note Effect of drought and fires on the quality of water in Lithuanian rivers|year=2003 |bibcode=2003HESS....7..423S |author=G. Sakalauskiene and G. Ignatavicius |volume=7 |pages=423–427 |journal=Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |doi=10.5194/hess-7-423-2003 |issue=3|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00304792/file/hess-7-423-2003.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Environment===
{{multiple image
| caption_align = center
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Žadvainių ežeras.jpg
| image2 = Nida sand dunes (14573723178).jpg
| caption1 = Typical Lithuanian flatlands with lakes, swamps and forests. Thousands of various lakes lie in Lithuania and create magnificent sights from the bird's eye view.
| caption2 = Sand dunes of the [[Curonian Spit]] near [[Nida, Lithuania|Nida]], which are the highest drifting sand dunes in Europe ([[UNESCO World Heritage Site]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Nida and The Curonian Spit, The Insider's Guide to Visiting |url=https://www.vanlifetribe.com/nida-guide-baltic-coast/ |website=VanLife Tribe |access-date=3 January 2019 |date=23 September 2016}}</ref>
}}
After the restoration of Lithuania's independence in 1990, the ''Aplinkos apsaugos įstatymas'' (Environmental Protection Act) was adopted already in 1992. The law provided the foundations for regulating social relations in the field of environmental protection, established the basic rights and obligations of legal and natural persons in preserving the biodiversity inherent in Lithuania, ecological systems and the landscape.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aplinkos apsaugos įstatymas|url=https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.E2780B68DE62/vsPTFQpUEB|website=e-tar.lt|access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref> Lithuania agreed to cut [[carbon emissions]] by at least 20% of 1990 levels by 2020 and by at least 40% by 2030, together with all European Union members. Also, by 2020 at least 20% (27% by 2030) of the country's total energy consumption should be from the [[renewable energy]] sources.<ref>{{cite web|title=EU climate action|url=https://ec.europa.eu/clima/citizens/eu_en|website=European Commission|access-date=27 April 2018|date=23 November 2016}}</ref> In 2016, Lithuania introduced especially effective [[container deposit legislation]], which resulted in collecting 92% of all packagings in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Europa suskubo paskui Lietuvą: kuo skiriasi šalių užstato sistemos?|url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/europa-suskubo-paskui-lietuva-kuo-skiriasi-saliu-uzstato-sistemos-56-968940|website=15min.lt|access-date=9 May 2018}}</ref>
Lithuania does not have high mountains and its landscape is dominated by blooming meadows, dense forests and fertile fields of cereals. However it stands out by the abundance of [[hillfort]]s, which previously had castles where the ancient Lithuanians burned altars for pagan gods.<ref name="gamta">{{cite web|title=Gamta|url=http://www.lithuania.travel/lt/objektai/gamta-/80|website=lithuania.travel|language=lt|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322151518/http://www.lithuania.travel/lt/objektai/gamta-/80|archive-date=22 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lithuania is a particularly watered region with more than 3,000 lakes, mostly in the northeast. The country is also drained by numerous rivers, most notably the longest [[Nemunas]].<ref name="gamta" /> Lithuania is home to two terrestrial ecoregions: [[Central European mixed forests]] and [[Sarmatic mixed forests]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}}</ref>
Forest has long been one of the most important natural resources in Lithuania. Forests occupy one third of the country's territory and timber-related industrial production accounts for almost 11% industrial production in the country.<ref>{{cite book|title=Lietuvos gamtinė aplinka, būklė, procesai ir raida|date=2008|publisher=Aplinkos apsaugos agentūra|location=Vilnius|isbn=978-9955-815-27-3|page=167|url=http://files.gamta.lt/aaa/pranesimai/Lietuvos_gamtine_aplinka_bukle_procesai_ir_raida.pdf|access-date=27 April 2018|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222205/http://files.gamta.lt/aaa/pranesimai/Lietuvos_gamtine_aplinka_bukle_procesai_ir_raida.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lithuania has five [[national park]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos nacionaliniai parkai|url=https://aplinka.lt/lietuvos-nacionaliniai-parkai|website=aplinka.lt|access-date=27 April 2018|language=lt-LT}}</ref> 30 [[regional park]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=Regioniniai parkai|url=http://www.vstt.lt/VI/index.php#r/13|website=vstt.lt|access-date=27 April 2018|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020225309/http://www.vstt.lt/VI/index.php#r/13|url-status=dead}}</ref> 402 [[nature reserve]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=Draustiniai|url=http://www.vstt.lt/VI/index.php#r/10|website=vstt.lt|access-date=27 April 2018|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020225309/http://www.vstt.lt/VI/index.php#r/10|url-status=dead}}</ref> 668 state-protected natural heritage objects.<ref>{{cite web|title=Apie gamtos paveldo objektus|url=http://www.vstt.lt/VI/index.php#r/159|website=vstt.lt|access-date=27 April 2018|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020225309/http://www.vstt.lt/VI/index.php#r/159|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2018 Lithuania was ranked fifth, second to Sweden (first 3 places were not granted) in the [[Climate Change Performance Index]] (CCPI).<ref>{{cite web|title=Climate Change Performance Index 2018|url=https://www.climate-change-performance-index.org|website=Climate-change-performance-index.org|access-date=14 May 2018}}</ref> It had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 1.62/10, ranking it 162nd globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}</ref>
===Biodiversity===
{{Main|Fauna of Lithuania}}
[[File:White Stork-Mindaugas Urbonas-1.jpg|thumb|left|[[White stork]] is the national bird of Lithuania<ref>{{cite web|last1=Klimka|first1=Libertas|title=Kodėl gandras – nacionalinis paukštis?|url=http://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/nuomones/10/97041/libertas-klimka-kodel-gandras-nacionalinis-paukstis|website=LRT|date=26 March 2015|access-date=26 March 2015|language=lt}}</ref> which has the highest-density stork population in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Storks|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/lithuania/eastern-southern-lithuania/background/other-features/eaf58144-ae01-405e-b1bf-7dc3e3590743/a/nar/eaf58144-ae01-405e-b1bf-7dc3e3590743/360111|website=Lonelyplanet.com|access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref>]]
Lithuanian ecosystems include natural and semi-natural (forests, bogs, wetlands and meadows), and anthropogenic (agrarian and urban) ecosystems. Among natural ecosystems, forests are particularly important to Lithuania, covering 33% of the country's territory. Wetlands (raised bogs, fens, transitional mires, etc.) cover 7.9% of the country, with 70% of wetlands having been lost due to drainage and peat extraction between 1960 and 1980. Changes in wetland plant communities resulted in the replacement of moss and grass communities by trees and shrubs, and fens not directly affected by land reclamation have become drier as a result of a drop in the water table. There are 29,000 rivers with a total length of 64,000 km in Lithuania, the [[Nemunas River]] basin occupying 74% of the territory of the country. Due to the construction of dams, approximately 70% of spawning sites of potential catadromous fish species have disappeared. In some cases, river and lake ecosystems continue to be impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication.<ref name="cbd">{{cite web|title=Lithuania – Biodiversity Facts|url=https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/default.shtml?country=lt#facts|website=cbd.int|access-date=24 February 2018}}</ref>
Agricultural land comprises 54% of Lithuania's territory (roughly 70% of that is arable land and 30% meadows and pastures), approximately 400,000 ha of agricultural land is not farmed, and acts as an ecological niche for weeds and invasive plant species. Habitat deterioration is occurring in regions with very productive and expensive lands as crop areas are expanded. Currently, 18.9% of all plant species, including 1.87% of all known fungi species and 31% of all known species of lichens, are listed in the [[List of extinct and endangered species of Lithuania|Lithuanian Red Data Book]]. The list also contains 8% of all fish species.<ref name="cbd"/>
The wildlife populations have rebounded as the hunting became more restricted and urbanization allowed replanting forests (forests already tripled in size since their lows). Currently, Lithuania has approximately 250,000 larger wild animals or 5 per each square kilometre. The most prolific large wild animal in every part of Lithuania is the [[roe deer]], with 120,000 of them. They are followed by [[boar]]s (55,000). Other ungulates are the [[deer]] (~22,000), [[fallow-deer]] (~21,000) and the largest one: [[moose]] (~7,000). Among the Lithuanian predators, [[fox]]es are the most common (~27,000). [[Wolve]]s are, however, more ingrained into the mythology as there are just 800 in Lithuania. Even rarer are the [[lynx]]es (~200). The large animals mentioned above exclude the [[rabbit]], ~200,000 of which may live in the Lithuanian forests.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fauna of Lithuania|url=http://www.truelithuania.com/tag/fauna-of-lithuania|website=TrueLithuania.com|access-date=24 February 2018}}</ref>
== Government and politics==
{{Main|Politics of Lithuania}}
[[File:Seimas — Parliament of Lithuania.jpg|thumb|240x240px|[[Seimas]] — Parliament of Lithuania]]
===Government===
Since Lithuania declared the restoration of its independence on 11 March 1990, it has maintained strong democratic traditions. It held its first independent general elections on 25 October 1992, in which 56.75% of voters supported the [[Constitution of Lithuania|new constitution]].<ref name="referenda">{{in lang|lt}} [http://www3.lrs.lt/docs2/QKVXRGNF.DOC Nuo 1991 m. iki šiol paskelbtų referendumų rezultatai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909201701/http://www3.lrs.lt/docs2/QKVXRGNF.DOC |date=9 September 2008}}, Microsoft Word Document, [[Seimas]]. Retrieved 4 June 2006.</ref> There were intense debates concerning the constitution, particularly the role of the president. A [[1992 Lithuanian presidency referendum|separate referendum]] was held on 23 May 1992 to gauge public opinion on the matter, and 41% of voters supported the restoration of the [[President of Lithuania]].<ref name="referenda" /> Through compromise, a [[semi-presidential system]] was agreed on.<ref name="Lina" />
{{multiple image
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Gitanas Nauseda crop.png
| width1 = 130
| caption1 = [[Gitanas Nausėda]],<br /><small>[[President of Lithuania|President]] since 2019</small>
| image2 = Ingrida_Simonyte_2019_crop_2.jpg
| width2 = 145
| caption2 = [[Ingrida Šimonytė]],<br /><small>[[Prime Minister of Lithuania|Prime Minister]] since 2020</small>
| image3 =
| width3 = 115
| caption3 = [[Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen]],<br /><small>[[Speaker of the Seimas]] since 2020</small>
}}
The Lithuanian [[head of state]] is the president, directly elected for a five-year term and serving a maximum of two terms. The president oversees foreign affairs and national security, and is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the military.<ref name="lrpf">{{cite web |title=Presidential Functions |url=https://www.lrp.lt/en/institution/presidential-functions/20800 |website=lrp.lt |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-date=10 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510181051/https://www.lrp.lt/en/institution/presidential-functions/20800 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The president also appoints the [[Prime Minister of Lithuania|prime minister]] and, on the latter's nomination, the rest of the cabinet, as well as a number of other top civil servants and the judges for all courts except the Constitutional Court.<ref name="lrpf" /> The current Lithuanian head of state, [[Gitanas Nausėda]] was [[2019 Lithuanian presidential election|elected on 26 May 2019]] by unanimously winning in all [[municipalities of Lithuania]] on the second election tour.<ref name="president2019">{{cite web |title=Rezultatai – Respublikos Prezidento rinkimai 2019 |url=https://rinkimai.maps.lt/rinkimai2019/prezidentas/ |website=rinkimai.maps.lt |access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>
The judges of the [[Constitutional Court of Lithuania|Constitutional Court]] (''Konstitucinis Teismas'') serve nine-year terms. The court is renewed by a third every three years. The judges are appointed by the Seimas, on the nomination of the President, Chairman of the Seimas, and the Chairman of the Supreme Court,. The [[unicameral]] Lithuanian parliament, the [[Seimas]], has 141 members who are elected to four-year terms. 71 of the members of its members are elected in single-member constituencies, and the others in a nationwide vote by [[proportional representation]]. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be eligible for any of the 70 national seats in the Seimas.<ref name="Seimas">{{cite web|title=Seimo rinkimai|url=http://www.lrs.lt/sip/portal.show?p_r=15405&p_k=1|website=lrs.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref>
===Political parties and elections===
{{Main|Elections in Lithuania}}
Lithuania was one of the first countries in the world to [[Women's suffrage|grant women a right to vote]] in the elections. Lithuanian women were allowed to vote by the [[Constitution of Lithuania#Interwar constitutions|1918 Constitution of Lithuania]] and used their newly granted right for the first time in 1919. By doing so, Lithuania allowed it earlier than such democratic countries as the [[United States]] (1920), [[France]] (1945), [[Feminism in Greece|Greece]] (1952), [[Switzerland]] (1971).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baronienė |first1=Daiva |title=Teisę balsuoti Lietuvos moterys gavo vienos pirmųjų pasaulyje |url=https://www.lzinios.lt/Gimtasis-krastas/teise-balsuoti-lietuvos-moterys-gavo-vienos-pirmuju-pasaulyje/287033 |website=Lzinios.lt |access-date=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511092317/https://www.lzinios.lt/Gimtasis-krastas/teise-balsuoti-lietuvos-moterys-gavo-vienos-pirmuju-pasaulyje/287033 |archive-date=11 May 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Lithuania exhibits a fragmented multi-party system,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tlu.ee/stss/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/stss_nov_2011_saarts.pdf |title=Comparative Party System Analysis in Central and Eastern Europe: the Case of the Baltic States |last1=Saarts |first1=Tõnis |publisher=Studies of Transition States and Societies |access-date=31 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019212154/http://www.tlu.ee/stss/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/stss_nov_2011_saarts.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with a number of small parties in which coalition governments are common. Ordinary elections to the [[Seimas]] take place on the second Sunday of October every four years.<ref name="Seimas"/> To be eligible for election, candidates must be at least 25 years old on the election day, not under allegiance to a foreign state and permanently reside in Lithuania. Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the election are not eligible. Also, judges, citizens performing military service, and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments may not stand for election.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo rinkimų įstatymas|url=https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.06267D86738E/lyGURhvddO|website=e-tar.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> [[Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats]] won the [[2020 Lithuanian parliamentary election]]s and gained 50 of 141 seats in the parliament.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vrk.lt/2020-seimo/rezultatai|title=Rezultatai - vrk.lt|website=www.vrk.lt}}</ref> In October 2020, the prime ministerial candidate of Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) [[Ingrida Šimonytė]] formed a centre-right coalition with two liberal parties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.err.ee/1151388/lithuania-to-get-new-conservative-liberal-coalition-prime-minister|title=Lithuania to get new conservative-liberal coalition prime minister |author=<!-- no byline --> |date=26 October 2020|website=ERR}}</ref>
[[File:Re-Establishment of Lithuania commemoration in Seimas (2015).jpg|thumb|Commemoration of the [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania]] in the historical [[Seimas Palace|Seimas]] hall where it was originally signed in 1990. The ceremony is attended by the Lithuanian President, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Seimas and other high-ranking officials.]]
The [[President of Lithuania]] is the head of state of the country, elected to a five-year term in a majority vote. Elections take place on the last Sunday no more than two months before the end of current presidential term.<ref name="Constitution">{{cite web |url=http://www3.lrs.lt/home/Konstitucija/Constitution.htm |title=Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania |publisher=The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref> To be eligible for election, candidates must be at least 40 years old on the election day and reside in Lithuania for at least three years, in addition to satisfying the eligibility criteria for a member of the parliament. Same President may serve for not more than two terms.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidento rinkimų įstatymas|url=https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.E39827DBDE34/rYdcColjED|website=e-tar.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> [[Gitanas Nausėda]] has won the most recent election as an independent candidate in [[2019 Lithuanian presidential election|2019]].<ref name="president2019" />
Each municipality in Lithuania is governed by a [[municipal council]] and a [[mayor]], who is a member of the municipal council. The number of members, elected on a four-year term, in each municipal council depends on the size of the municipality and varies from 15 (in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents) to 51 (in municipalities with more than 500,000 residents). 1,524 municipal council members were elected in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vrk.lt/naujienos/-/content/10180/1/vrk-prieme-svarbius-sprendimus-artejanciu-savivaldybiu-tarybu-rinkimu-klausimais |title=VRK priėmė svarbius sprendimus artėjančių savivaldybių tarybų rinkimų klausimais |language=lt |trans-title=CEC took important decisions regarding the upcoming election to municipal councils |date=23 September 2014 |publisher=Central Electoral Commission |access-date=31 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212040822/http://www.vrk.lt/naujienos/-/content/10180/1/vrk-prieme-svarbius-sprendimus-artejanciu-savivaldybiu-tarybu-rinkimu-klausimais |archive-date=12 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Members of the council, with the exception of the mayor, are elected using proportional representation. Starting with 2015, the mayor is elected directly by the majority of residents of the municipality.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos Respublikos savivaldybių tarybų rinkimų įstatymas|url=https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.336A4B109EBC/HEexqWkxmV|website=e-tar.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> [[Social Democratic Party of Lithuania]] won most of the positions in the 2015 elections (372 municipal councils seats and 16 mayors).<ref>{{cite web|title=2015 m. kovo 1 d. Lietuvos Respublikos savivaldybių tarybų rinkimai|url=http://www.vrk.lt/2015-savivaldybiu-tarybu|website=vrk.lt|access-date=14 April 2018|language=lt-LT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414234238/http://www.vrk.lt/2015-savivaldybiu-tarybu|archive-date=14 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
As of 2019, the number of seats in the [[European Parliament]] allocated to Lithuania was 11.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/us/en/elections_2014.html |title=European Parliament 2014 |publisher=European Parliament Liaison Office with U.S. Congress |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref> Ordinary elections take place on a Sunday on the same day as in other EU countries. The vote is open to all citizens of Lithuania, as well as citizens of other EU countries that permanently reside in Lithuania, who are at least 18 years old on the election day. To be eligible for election, candidates must be at least 21 years old on the election day, a citizen of Lithuania or a citizen of another EU country permanently residing in Lithuania. Candidates are not allowed to stand for election in more than one country. Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the election are not eligible. Also, judges, citizens performing military service, and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments may not stand for election.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos Respublikos rinkimų į Europos Parlamentą įstatymas|url=https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.FE3C428580B8/DOAAhMeuda|website=e-tar.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> Six political parties and one committee representatives gained seats in the [[2019 European Parliament election in Lithuania|2019 elections]].<ref>{{cite web |title=2019 m. gegužės 26 d. Europos Parlamento rinkimai |url=https://www.vrk.lt/2019-europos-parlamento |website=vrk.lt |access-date=23 September 2019}}</ref>
===Law and law enforcement===
{{Main|Law of Lithuania}}
[[File:Statut Vialikaha Kniastva Litoŭskaha. Статут Вялікага Княства Літоўскага (1588) (2).jpg|thumb|175px|[[Statutes of Lithuania]] were the central piece of Lithuanian law in 1529–1795.]]
The first attempt to [[Codification (law)|codify]] the Lithuanian laws was in 1468 when the [[Casimir's Code]] was compiled and adopted by Grand Duke [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]].<ref name="LawVle">{{cite web |last1=Matulienė |first1=Snieguolė |last2=Spruogis |first2=Ernestas |title=Lietuvos teisės šaltiniai |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-teises-saltiniai/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=22 February 2022 |language=lt}}</ref> In the 16th century three editions of the [[Statutes of Lithuania]] were created with the First Statute being adopted in 1529, the Second Statute in 1566, and the Third Statute in 1588.<ref name="LawVle" /> On 3 May 1791, the Europe's first and the world's second [[Constitution of 3 May 1791|Constitution]] was adopted by the [[Great Sejm]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/geguzes-treciosios-konstitucija/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=22 February 2022 |language=lt}}</ref> The Third Statute was partly in force in the territory of Lithuania even until 1840, despite the [[Partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] in 1795.<ref name="LawVle" />
In 1934–1935, Lithuania held the [[Trial of Neumann and Sass|first mass trial of the Nazis in Europe]], the [[Conviction|convicted]] were sentenced to imprisonment in a [[Penal labour|heavy labor prison]] and [[capital punishment]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gliožaitis |first1=Algirdas |title=Neumanno-Sasso byla |trans-title= The Case of Neumann-Sass |url=https://www.mle.lt/straipsniai/neumanno-sasso-byla |website=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija |access-date=12 February 2022 |language=lt}}</ref>
After regaining of independence in 1990, the largely modified Soviet legal codes were in force for about a decade. The current [[Constitution of Lithuania]] was adopted on 25 October 1992.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos Konstitucija|url=http://www3.lrs.lt/home/Konstitucija/Konstitucija.htm|website=lrs.lt|access-date=17 February 2018}}</ref> In 2001, the [[Civil Code of Lithuania]] was passed in [[Seimas]]. It was succeeded by the [[Criminal Code]] and [[Criminal Procedure]] Code in 2003. The approach to the [[criminal law]] is [[inquisitorial]], as opposed to [[Adversarial system|adversarial]]; it is generally characterised by an insistence on formality and rationalisation, as opposed to practicality and informality. Normative legal act enters into force on the next day after its publication in the ''Teisės aktų registras'', unless it has a later entry into force date.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nuo 2014 m. sausio 1 d. teisės aktai oficialiai skelbiami Teisės aktų registre|url=http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=4443&p_d=143651&p_k=1|website=3.lrs.lt|access-date=24 February 2018|language=lt}}</ref>
The [[European Union law]] is an integral part of the Lithuanian legal system since 1 May 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nacionalinės teisės aktų derinimo su Europos Sąjungos teise metodiniai nurodymai|url=http://www.etd.lt/index.php?189546198|website=etd.lt|access-date=22 October 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218090653/http://www.etd.lt/index.php?189546198|archive-date=18 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Lithuania, after breaking away from the Soviet Union, had a difficult crime situation, however, the Lithuanian law enforcement agencies fought crime over the years, making Lithuania a reasonably safe country.<ref>{{cite web|title=LRT dokumentikos ciklas "Nematoma Lietuvos istorija" – apie valstybės pergalę prieš mafiją|url=http://www.lrt.lt/televizija/anonsai/22093/lrt-dokumentikos-ciklas-nematoma-lietuvos-istorija-apie-valstybes-pergale-pries-mafija|website=LRT|access-date=5 September 2016|language=lt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228223636/http://www.lrt.lt/televizija/anonsai/22093/lrt-dokumentikos-ciklas-nematoma-lietuvos-istorija-apie-valstybes-pergale-pries-mafija|archive-date=28 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Crime in Lithuania has been declining rapidly.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=21469|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508011825/https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=21469|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 May 2017|title=Lithuania 2017 Crime & Safety Report|date=8 May 2017}}</ref> Law enforcement in Lithuania is primarily the responsibility of local ''Lietuvos policija'' (Lithuanian Police) commissariats. They are supplemented by the ''Lietuvos policijos antiteroristinių operacijų rinktinė Aras'' (Anti-Terrorist Operations Team of the Lithuanian Police ''Aras''), ''Lietuvos kriminalinės policijos biuras'' (Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau), ''Lietuvos policijos kriminalistinių tyrimų centras'' (Lithuanian Police Forensic Research Center) and ''Lietuvos kelių policijos tarnyba'' (Lithuanian Road Police Service).<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos policija|url=https://policija.lrv.lt/|website=policija.lrv.lt|access-date=31 March 2018|language=lt}}</ref>
[[File:Lithuanian Police A6 (2018).jpg|thumb|left|Lithuanian police cruiser in [[Gediminas Avenue]], Vilnius]]
In 2017, there were 63,846 crimes registered in Lithuania. Of these, thefts comprised a large part with 19,630 cases (13.2% less than in 2016). While 2,835 crimes were serious and very serious (crimes that may lead to more than six years imprisonment), which is 14.5% less than in 2016. In total, 129 homicides or attempted homicide occurred (19.9% less than in 2016), while serious bodily harm was registered 178 times (17.6% less than in 2016). Another problematic crime [[contraband]] cases also decreased by 27.2% from 2016 numbers. Meanwhile, crimes in electronic data and information technology security fields noticeably increased by 26.6%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Užregistruota ir ištirta nusikalstamų veikų (2017 / Sausis – Gruodis)|url=https://www.ird.lt/lt/paslaugos/nusikalstamu-veiku-zinybinio-registro-nvzr-paslaugos/ataskaitos-1/nusikalstamumo-ir-ikiteisminiu-tyrimu-statistika-1/view_item_datasource?id=6763&datasource=18743|website=Ird.lt|access-date=31 March 2018|language=lt}}</ref> In the 2013 Special Eurobarometer, 29% of Lithuanians said that corruption affects their daily lives (EU average 26%). Moreover, 95% of Lithuanians regarded corruption as widespread in their country (EU average 76%), and 88% agreed that bribery and the use of connections is often the easiest way of obtaining certain public services (EU average 73%).<ref>{{cite book|title=Lithuania's EU Anti-Corruption Report|date=2014|publisher=European Commission|location=Brussels|pages=2–3|url=https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/corruption/anti-corruption-report/docs/2014_acr_lithuania_chapter_en.pdf}}</ref> Though, according to local branch of Transparency International, corruption levels have been decreasing over the past decade.<ref>{{cite web|title=Korupcija Lietuvoje: prarandame milijonus, jei ne milijardus|url=http://kauno.diena.lt/naujienos/lietuva/salies-pulsas/korupcija-lietuvoje-prarandame-milijonus-jei-ne-milijardus-733110|website=kauno.diena.lt|date=7 February 2016 |access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref>
[[Capital punishment in Lithuania]] was suspended in 1996 and eliminated in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|title=Siūlymas grąžinti mirties bausmę pripažintas prieštaraujančiu Konstitucijai|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/siulymas-grazinti-mirties-bausme-pripazintas-priestaraujanciu-konstitucijai.d?id=62993028|website=DELFI.lt|access-date=9 October 2013}}</ref> Lithuania has the highest number of prison inmates in the EU. According to scientist Gintautas Sakalauskas, this is not because of a high criminality rate in the country, but due to Lithuania's high repression level and the lack of trust of the convicted, who are frequently sentenced to imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kuo mažiau pasitikėjimo, tuo pilnesni kalėjimai: Lietuva kalinių skaičiumi pirmauja|url=https://www.lzinios.lt/lzinios/lietuva/kuo-maziau-pasitikejimo-tuo-pilnesni-kalejimai-lietuva-kaliniu-skaiciumi-pirmauja/248403|website=LZINIOS.lt|access-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812032325/http://lzinios.lt/lzinios/Lietuva/kuo-maziau-pasitikejimo-tuo-pilnesni-kalejimai-lietuva-kaliniu-skaiciumi-pirmauja/248403|archive-date=12 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Lithuania}}
{{See also|Counties of Lithuania|Municipalities of Lithuania|Elderships of Lithuania}}
{{Map of Counties of Lithuania|100px|float=right}}
The current system of administrative division was established in 1994 and modified in 2000 to meet the requirements of the European Union. The country's [[Counties of Lithuania|10 counties]] (Lithuanian: singular – ''apskritis'', plural – ''apskritys'') are subdivided into [[Municipalities of Lithuania|60 municipalities]] (Lithuanian: singular – ''savivaldybė'', plural – ''savivaldybės''), and further divided into 500 [[Elderships of Lithuania|elderships]] (Lithuanian: singular – ''seniūnija'', plural – ''seniūnijos'').
Municipalities have been the most important unit of administration in Lithuania since the system of [[County governor (Lithuania)|county governorship]] (''apskrities viršininkas'') was dissolved in 2010.<ref name="county">{{in lang|lt}} [http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter3/dokpaieska.showdoc_l?p_id=349513 (Republic of Lithuania Annul Law on County Governing)], [[Seimas]] law database, 7 July 2009, Law no. XI-318.</ref> Some municipalities are historically called "district municipalities" (often shortened to "district"), while others are called "city municipalities" (sometimes shortened to "city"). Each has its own elected government. The election of municipality councils originally occurred every three years, but now takes place every four years. The council appoints [[elder (administrative title)|elders]] to govern the elderships. Mayors have been directly elected since 2015; prior to that, they were appointed by the council.<ref>{{in lang|lt}} Justinas Vanagas, [http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/seimas-iteisino-tiesioginius-meru-rinkimus.d?id=65139619 Seimo Seimas įteisino tiesioginius merų rinkimus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014091111/https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/seimas-iteisino-tiesioginius-meru-rinkimus.d?id=65139619 |date=14 October 2017 }}, Delfi.lt, 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.</ref>
Elderships, numbering over 500, are the smallest administrative units and do not play a role in national politics. They provide necessary local public services—for example, registering births and deaths in rural areas. They are most active in the social sector, identifying needy individuals or families and organizing and distributing welfare and other forms of relief.<ref name="elderates">{{in lang|lt}} [http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter2/dokpaieska.showdoc_l?p_id=146527 Lietuvos Respublikos vietos savivaldos įstatymo pakeitimo įstatymas], [[Seimas]] law database, 12 October 2000, Law no. VIII-2018. Retrieved 3 June 2006.</ref> Some citizens feel that elderships have no real power and receive too little attention, and that they could otherwise become a source of local initiative for addressing rural problems.<ref>{{in lang|lt}} Indrė Makaraitytė, [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171014091123/https://www.delfi.lt/archive/europos-sajungos-pinigai-kaimo-neisgelbes.d?id=5663231 Europos Sąjungos pinigai kaimo neišgelbės], Atgimimas, Delfi.lt, 16 December 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2006.</ref>
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"
|-
! style="width:170px;"|County !! style="width:70px;"|Area (km<sup>2</sup>)!! style="width:50px;"|Population (thousands) (2019)<ref name="Counties">{{cite web|title=BENDRASIS VIDAUS PRODUKTAS PAGAL APSKRITIS 2021 M.|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/informaciniai-pranesimai?eventId=285891|publisher=Statistics Lithuania|access-date=22 November 2018|language=lt|date=25 November 2016}}</ref>!! style="width:50px;"|Nominal GDP (billion EUR)<ref name="Counties" /> !! style="width:50px;"|GDP per capita (EUR)<ref name="Counties" />
|-
| [[Alytus County]]
| 5,425
| 134
| 1.6
| 11,500
|-
| [[Kaunas County]]
| 8,089
| 562
| 11.6
| 20,400
|-
| [[Klaipėda County]]
| 5,209
| 319
| 6.0
| 18,400
|-
| [[Marijampolė County]]
| 4,463
| 136
| 1.6
| 11,800
|-
| [[Panevėžys County]]
| 7,881
| 221
| 3.0
| 14,100
|-
| [[Šiauliai County]]
| 8,540
| 261
| 3.9
| 15,000
|-
| [[Tauragė County]]
| 4,411
| 91
| 1.1
| 10,900
|-
| [[Telšiai County]]
| 4,350
| 130
| 1.8
| 13,500
|-
| [[Utena County]]
| 7,201
| 124
| 1.4
| 11,200
|-
| [[Vilnius County]]
| 9,731
| 820
| 24.2
| 29,800
|-
! Lithuania
! 65,300
! 2,828
! 56.2
! 20,000
|}
===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Lithuania}}
Lithuania became a member of the United Nations on 18 September 1991, and is a signatory to a number of its organizations and other international agreements. It is also a member of the [[European Union]], the [[Council of Europe]], [[Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]], as well as [[NATO]] and its adjunct North Atlantic Coordinating Council. Lithuania gained membership in the [[World Trade Organization]] on 31 May 2001, and joined the [[OECD]] on 5 July 2018,<ref name="Lithuania's accession to the OECD">{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/countries/lithuania/lithuania-accession-to-the-oecd.htm |publisher=[[OECD]]|title=Lithuania's accession to the OECD|date=5 July 2016|access-date=6 July 2016}}</ref> while also seeking membership in other Western organizations.
Lithuania has established diplomatic relations with 149 countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urm.lt/index.php?949836981 |title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs: List of countries with which Lithuania has established diplomatic relations |website=Urm.lt |access-date=2 January 2011 |archive-date=9 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209094022/http://www.urm.lt/index.php?949836981 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2011, Lithuania hosted the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] Ministerial Council Meeting. During the second half of 2013, Lithuania assumed the role of the [[presidency of the Council of the European Union|presidency of the European Union]].
[[File:Lithuania presidency EU stamp 2013.jpg|thumb|right|Stamp dedicated to Lithuania's presidency of the European Union. Post of Lithuania, 2013.]]
Lithuania is also active in developing cooperation among northern European countries. It is a member of the interparliamentary [[Baltic Assembly]], the intergovernmental [[Baltic Council of Ministers]] and the [[Council of the Baltic Sea States]].
Lithuania also cooperates with Nordic and the two other Baltic countries through the [[NB8]] format. A similar format, NB6, unites Nordic and Baltic members of EU. NB6's focus is to discuss and agree on positions before presenting them to the Council of the European Union and at the meetings of EU foreign affairs ministers.
The [[Council of the Baltic Sea States]] (CBSS) was established in [[Copenhagen]] in 1992 as an informal regional political forum. Its main aim is to promote integration and to close contacts between the region's countries. The members of CBSS are [[Iceland]], [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]], [[Norway]], [[Finland]], [[Germany]], Lithuania, [[Latvia]], [[Estonia]], [[Poland]], [[Russia]], and the European Commission. Its observer states are [[Belarus]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Netherlands]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]], [[Spain]], the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], and [[Ukraine]].
The [[Nordic Council|Nordic Council of Ministers]] and Lithuania engage in political cooperation to attain mutual goals and to determine new trends and possibilities for joint cooperation. The council's information office aims to disseminate [[Nordic countries|Nordic]] concepts and to demonstrate and promote Nordic cooperation.
[[File:Bachelet en Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU (2015).jpg|thumb|left|Lithuania was recently a member of the [[United Nations Security Council]]. Its representatives are on the right side.]]
Lithuania, together with the five Nordic countries and the two other Baltic countries, is a member of the [[Nordic Investment Bank|Nordic Investment Bank (NIB)]] and cooperates in its NORDPLUS programme, which is committed to education.
The Baltic Development Forum (BDF) is an independent nonprofit organization that unites large companies, cities, business associations and institutions in the Baltic Sea region. In 2010 the BDF's 12th summit was held in Vilnius.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bdforum.org/|title=Home – Baltic Development Forum|website=Baltic Development Forum|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref>
[[Poland]] was highly supportive of Lithuanian independence, despite Lithuania's [[Lithuanization|discriminatory treatment]] of its [[Poles in Lithuania|Polish minority]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Situation of Polish minorities in Lithuania is a discrimination of EU citizens |url=http://media.efhr.eu/2017/05/09/situation-polish-minorities-lithuania-discrimination-eu-citizens/ |work=[[European Foundation of Human Rights]] |date=9 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dyskryminacja Polaków na Litwie. Zbierają pieniądze na grzywnę |url=https://www.polskieradio.pl/5/3/Artykul/1028881,Dyskryminacja-Polakow-na-Litwie-Zbieraja-pieniadze-na-grzywne |work=[[Polskie Radio]] |date=20 January 2014}}</ref> The former [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] leader and Polish President [[Lech Wałęsa]] criticised the government of Lithuania over discrimination against the Polish minority and rejected Lithuania's [[Order of Vytautas the Great]].<ref>"[http://thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/54645,Walesa-declines-Lithuanian-honour Walesa declines Lithuanian honour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014092518/http://thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/54645,Walesa-declines-Lithuanian-honour |date=14 October 2017 }}". Radio Poland. 7 September 2011.</ref> Lithuania maintains greatly warm mutual relations with [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and strongly supports its European Union and NATO aspirations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Valdo Adamkaus bulvaras Gruzijoje|url=http://global.truelithuania.com/lt/tag/valdas-adamkus-boulevard-in-anaklia-georgia/|website=True Lithuania|access-date=16 January 2018|language=lt-LT}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Premjeras: Lietuvą ir Gruziją sieja daugiau nei paprasta draugystė|url=https://ministraspirmininkas.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/premjeras-lietuva-ir-gruzija-sieja-daugiau-nei-paprasta-draugyste|website=MinistrasPirmininkas.LRV.lt|access-date=30 March 2017|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=L. Linkevičius: esame pasirengę remti Gruziją ruošiantis ES Rytų partnerystės viršūnių susitikimui|url=https://ua.mfa.lt/default/lt/naujienos/l-linkevicius-esame-pasirenge-remti-gruzija-ruosiantis-es-rytu-partnerystes-virsuniu-susitikimui-|website=ua.mfa.lt|access-date=8 February 2017|language=lt|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222040/https://ua.mfa.lt/default/lt/naujienos/l-linkevicius-esame-pasirenge-remti-gruzija-ruosiantis-es-rytu-partnerystes-virsuniu-susitikimui-|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the [[Russo-Georgian War]] in 2008, when the Russian troops were occupying the territory of Georgia and approaching towards the Georgian capital [[Tbilisi]], President [[Valdas Adamkus]], together with the Polish and Ukrainian presidents, went to Tbilisi by answering to the Georgians request of the international assistance.<ref>{{cite web|title=V.Adamkus išskrenda į rusų okupuojamą Gruziją|url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/pasaulis/v.adamkus-isskrenda-i-rusu-okupuojama-gruzija-atnaujinta-07.36-val-57-2552|website=[[15min.lt]]|access-date=11 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=V.Adamkus: mes esame su Gruzija|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/vadamkus-mes-esame-su-gruzija.d?id=18078623|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=12 August 2008}}</ref> Shortly, Lithuanians and the [[Catholic Church in Lithuania|Lithuanian Catholic Church]] also began collecting financial support for the war victims.<ref>{{cite web|title=Renkamos aukos nukentėjusiems nuo karo Gruzijoje|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/renkamos-aukos-nukentejusiems-nuo-karo-gruzijoje.d?id=18053959|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=11 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bažnyčia ragina nelikti abejingiems karui Gruzijoje|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/baznycia-ragina-nelikti-abejingiems-karui-gruzijoje.d?id=18071947|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=11 August 2008}}</ref>
In 2004–2009, [[Dalia Grybauskaitė]] served as [[European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget]] within the [[José Manuel Barroso]]-led Commission.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maurer |first1=Andreas |last2=Reichel |first2=Sarah |last3=Jonas |first3=Alexandra |title=The Future European Commission The Debate Regarding Leadership, Collegiality and Tasks |url=https://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/comments/comments2004_25_mrr_ks.pdf |access-date=28 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hollar|first=Sherman|date=1 June 2012|title=Dalia Grybauskaite president of Lithuania|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dalia-Grybauskaite|access-date=25 June 2021|website=Britannica}}</ref>
In 2013, Lithuania was elected to the [[United Nations Security Council]] for a two-year term,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46277&Cr=security+council&Cr1=#.UmFPr1OWDtk |title=Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia elected to serve on UN Security Council |website=Un.org |date=17 October 2013 |access-date=30 April 2016}}</ref> becoming the first [[Baltic states|Baltic]] country elected to this post. During its membership, Lithuania actively supported [[Ukraine]] and often condemned [[Russia]] for the [[Russo-Ukrainian War|war in Ukraine]], immediately earning vast Ukrainians esteem.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uatoday.tv/geopolitics/lithuania-calls-un-security-council-meeting-on-ukraine-403385.html|title=Lithuania calls UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine|website=Uatoday.tv|access-date=2 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lankininkaitė|first1=Rūta|title=Ukrainiečiai: Lietuva – mums pavyzdys|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/world/ukrainieciai-lietuva-mums-pavyzdys.d?id=67403332|website=[[DELFI]], [[Lithuanian National Radio and Television|LRT]]|access-date=11 March 2015}}</ref> As the [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|war in Donbas]] progressed, President Dalia Grybauskaitė has compared the Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] to [[Josef Stalin]] and to [[Adolf Hitler]], she has also called Russia a "terrorist state".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/the-baltic-iron-lady-putins-solitary-foe-dalia-grybauskaite/|title=The Baltic 'Iron Lady': Putin's solitary foe|website=Politico.eu|date=21 May 2015|access-date=2 May 2016}}</ref>
In 2018 Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia were awarded the {{ill|Peace of Westphalia Prize|de|Internationaler Preis des Westfälischen Friedens}} – for their exceptional model of democratic development and contribution to peace in the continent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prestigious Peace of Westphalia Prize – for Lithuania and the Baltic states |url=https://www.lrp.lt/en/press-centre/press-releases/prestigious-peace-of-westphalia-prize-for-lithuania-and-the-baltic-states/29212 |website=Lrp.lt |access-date=14 July 2018 |archive-date=3 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703111813/https://www.lrp.lt/en/press-centre/press-releases/prestigious-peace-of-westphalia-prize-for-lithuania-and-the-baltic-states/29212 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2019 Lithuania condemned the [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria|Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria]].<ref>{{cite news |title=EU condemning Turkey is only the beginning, says Lithuanian Foreign Minister |url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/news-in-english/19/1106677/eu-condemning-turkey-is-only-the-beginning-says-lithuanian-foreign-minister |work=LRT RADIJAS |date=14 October 2019}}</ref> In December 2021, Lithuania reported that in an escalation of the diplomatic spat with [[China]] over its [[Lithuania–Taiwan relations|relations with Taiwan]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lau |first1=Stuart |last2=Moens |first2=Barbara |title=China's trade attack on Lithuania exposes EU's powerlessness |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/china-trade-attack-on-lithuania-exposes-eu-powerlessness/ |website=politico.eu |publisher=Politico |date=16 December 2021}}</ref> China had stopped all imports from Lithuania.<ref>{{cite news |title=China blocking EU imports with Lithuanian components over Taiwan row, says Brussels |url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/24/china-blocking-eu-imports-with-lithuanian-components-over-taiwan-row-says-brussels |work=Euronews |date=24 December 2021}}</ref>
The 2023 [[NATO summit]] will be held in the Lithuanian capital [[Vilnius]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuania to host 2023 NATO summit, first event 'of such a scale' |url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1431705/lithuania-to-host-2023-nato-summit-first-event-of-such-a-scale |website=[[Lrt.lt]] |access-date=15 June 2021 |date=15 June 2021}}</ref>
===Military===
{{Main|Lithuanian Armed Forces}}
[[File:Closing ceremony for Iron Sword 2014.jpg|right|thumb|Lithuanian Army soldiers with their [[NATO]] allies during Iron Sword 2014]]
[[File:Lithuanian army in Vilnius (8123251773).jpg|thumb|right|Lithuanian Army soldiers marching with their [[dress uniform]]s in [[Vilnius]]. An [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] stands out with a [[sword]].]]
The Lithuanian Armed Forces is the name for the unified armed forces of [[Lithuanian Land Force]], [[Lithuanian Air Force]], [[Lithuanian Naval Force]], [[Lithuanian Special Operations Force]] and other units: Logistics Command, Training and Doctrine Command, Headquarters Battalion, [[Lithuanian Military Police|Military Police]]. Directly subordinated to the [[Chief of Defence]] are the [[Special Operations Forces]] and Military Police. The Reserve Forces are under command of the [[Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces]].
The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of some 20,000 active personnel, which may be supported by [[reserve forces]].<ref>{{cite book |last=IISS |title=The Military Balance 2019|year=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-85743-988-5}}</ref> Compulsory [[conscription]] ended in 2008 but was reintroduced in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.delfi.lt/politics/conscription-notices-to-be-sent-to-37-000-men-in-lithuania.d?id=67940028|title=Conscription notices to be sent to 37,000 men in Lithuania|website=DELFI}}</ref> The Lithuanian Armed Forces currently have deployed personnel on international missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Mali and Somalia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kariuomene.kam.lt/download/65839/atnaujintas%20factsheet'as%20apie%20to%202014%2007.pdf |title=Lietuvos dalyvavimas tarptautinėse operacijose |date=10 July 2014 |access-date=20 May 2015 |archive-date=23 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523051822/http://kariuomene.kam.lt/download/65839/atnaujintas%20factsheet%27as%20apie%20to%202014%2007.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Lithuania became a full member of [[NATO]] in March 2004. [[Fighter jets]] of NATO members are deployed in [[Šiauliai Air Base]] and [[Baltic Air Policing|provide safety for the Baltic airspace]].
Since the summer of 2005, Lithuania has been part of the [[International Security Assistance Force]] in Afghanistan (ISAF), leading a [[Provincial Reconstruction Team]] (PRT) in the town of [[Chaghcharan]] in the province of [[Ghor]]. The PRT includes personnel from [[Denmark]], Iceland and the [[US]]. There are also [[Lithuanian Special Operations Force|special operation forces]] units in Afghanistan, placed in [[Kandahar Province]]. Since joining international operations in 1994, Lithuania has lost two soldiers: Lt. Normundas Valteris fell in [[Bosnia]], as his patrol vehicle drove over a mine. Sgt. Arūnas Jarmalavičius was fatally wounded during an attack on the camp of his Provincial Reconstruction Team in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{in lang|lt}} [http://kariuomene.kam.lt/en/international_operations_1446/in_remembrance.html In remembrance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018173406/http://kariuomene.kam.lt/en/international_operations_1446/in_remembrance.html |date=18 October 2018 }}. Kariuomene.kam.lt. Retrieved on 24 December 2011.</ref>
The Lithuanian National Defence Policy aims to guarantee the preservation of the [[independence]] and [[sovereignty]] of the state, the [[integrity]] of its land, territorial waters and airspace, and its constitutional order. Its main strategic goals are to defend the country's interests, and to maintain and expand the capabilities of its armed forces so they may contribute to and participate in the missions of NATO and European Union member states.<ref name="WB">{{cite web |url=http://www.kam.lt/kam/download/7963/bk-en1.pdf |title=White Paper Lithuanian defence policy |language=lt |website=Kam.lt |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031046/http://www.kam.lt/kam/download/7963/bk-en1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The [[Ministry of National Defence (Lithuania)|defense ministry]] is responsible for combat forces, [[search and rescue]], and intelligence operations. The 5,000 [[State Border Guard Service (Lithuania)|border guards]] fall under the [[Interior Ministry]]'s supervision and are responsible for border protection, passport and customs duties, and share responsibility with the [[Lithuanian Naval Force|navy]] for [[smuggling]] and drug trafficking interdiction. A special security department handles VIP protection and [[communications security]]. In 2015 [[National Cyber Security Centre of Lithuania]] was created. Paramilitary organisation [[Lithuanian Riflemen's Union]] acts as a civilian self-defence institution.
According to NATO, in 2020, Lithuania allocated 2.13% of its [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] to the national defense.<ref name="nato-lt-spending">{{cite web|title=Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2013-2020)|url=https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2021/3/pdf/210316-pr-2020-30-en.pdf|publisher=NATO|date=2021-03-16|access-date=2021-04-23}}</ref> For a long time, especially after the [[Financial crisis of 2007–2008|global financial crisis]] in 2008, Lithuania lagged behind NATO allies in terms of defence spending. However, in recent years it has begun to rapidly increase the funding, exceeding the NATO guideline of 2% in 2019.
Lithuania's president [[Gitanas Nausėda]] called for more NATO troops on 22 April 2022, saying NATO should increase its deployment of troops in Lithuania and elsewhere on Europe's eastern flank following [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia's invasion of Ukraine]], during a meeting in Vilnius.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lithuania's president calls for more NATO troops |url=https://wtvbam.com/2022/04/22/lithuanias-president-calls-for-more-nato-troops/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=WTVB {{!}} 1590 AM · 95.5 FM {{!}} The Voice of Branch County |language=en}}</ref>
==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Lithuania}}
[[File:GDP per capita Baltics.svg|thumb|right|Real GDP per capita development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania]]
[[File:Lithuania's GDP per capita compared to rest of the world (2020).png|thumb|Lithuania's GDP per capita compared to rest of the world (2022)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2020/October/weo-report|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|website=IMF}}</ref>]]
Lithuania has an open and [[mixed economy]] that is classified as [[high-income economy]] by the [[World Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111190936/https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2018|title=World Bank Country and Lending Groups – World Bank Data Help Desk|date=11 January 2018|website=Datahelpdesk.worldbank.org}}</ref>
According to data from 2017, the three largest sectors in Lithuanian economy are – services (67.2% of GDP), industry (29.4%) and agriculture (3.5%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/lithuania/|title=GDP – composition, by sector of origin|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> [[World Economic Forum|World Economic Forum's]] [[Global Competitiveness Report]] ranks Lithuania 41st (of 137 ranked countries).
Lithuania joined [[NATO]] in 2004,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/invitees2004/lithuania/chronology.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111192030/https://www.nato.int/invitees2004/lithuania/chronology.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2018|title=7 Invitees – Lithuania|date=11 January 2018|website=Nato.int}}</ref> EU in 2004,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries_en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111191856/https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries_en|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2018|title=EUROPA – EU member countries in brief – European Union|date=11 January 2018|website=Europa.eu}}</ref> [[Schengen Area|Schengen]] in 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=https://il.mfa.lt/il/en/travel-and-residence/coming-to-lithuania/lithuania-in-the-schengen-area|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111191923/https://il.mfa.lt/il/en/travel-and-residence/coming-to-lithuania/lithuania-in-the-schengen-area|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2018|title=Lithuania in the Schengen area – Coming to Lithuania – Travel and Residence – Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date=11 January 2018}}</ref> and [[OECD]] in 2018.<ref name="Lithuania's accession to the OECD"/>
On 1 January 2015, the euro became the national currency, replacing [[litas]] at the rate of EUR 1.00 = LTL 3.45280.<ref name=iso4217news2014>{{cite web | url=http://www.currency-iso.org/dam/downloads/dl_currency_iso_amendment_159.docx | title=ISO Currency – ISO 4217 Amendment Number 159 | publisher=SIX Interbank Clearing | work=Currency Code Services – ISO 4217 Maintenance Agency | date=15 August 2014}}</ref>
Agricultural products and food comprise 18.3% of exports; other major sectors include chemical products and plastics (17.8%), machinery and appliances (15.8%), mineral products (14.7%), wood and furniture (12.5%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.enterpriselithuania.com/en/lithuanian-export-map/2017-2/|title=Lithuanian export map|website=Enterpriselithuania.com|access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> According to data from 2016, more than half of all Lithuanian exports go to 7 countries including Russia (14%), Latvia (9.9%), Poland (9.1%), Germany (7.7%), Estonia (5.3%), Sweden (4.8%) and United Kingdom (4.3%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/visualize/tree_map/hs92/export/ltu/show/all/2016/|title=Where does Lithuania export to? (2016)|access-date=19 March 2018|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024223637/http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/visualize/tree_map/hs92/export/ltu/show/all/2016/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Exports equaled 81.31 percent of Lithuania's GDP in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/country/LTU/startyear/LTST/endyear/LTST/indicator/NE-EXP-GNFS-ZS|title=Lithuania Exports of goods and services % of GDP 1988–2017 |access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref>
Lithuanian GDP experienced very high real growth rates for decade up to 2009, peaking at 11.1% in 2007. As a result, the country was often termed as a [[Baltic Tiger]]. However, in 2009 due to a [[Financial crisis of 2007–2008|global financial crisis]] marked experienced a drastic decline – GDP contracted by 14.9%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.seb.lt/sites/default/files/web/document/lietuvos_ekonomikos_apzvalga_LMR/lmr58_0.pdf |title=Lithuanian Macroeconomic Review No 58 |publisher=SEB |date=December 2014 |access-date=22 May 2015 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308134859/https://www.seb.lt/sites/default/files/web/document/lietuvos_ekonomikos_apzvalga_LMR/lmr58_0.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and unemployment rate reached 17.8% in 2010.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.seb.lt/documents/660/662 | title="Lietuvos makroekonomikos apžvalga" nr. 62 | publisher=SEB | date=April 2014 | access-date=7 September 2016 | archive-date=3 July 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703115931/https://www.seb.lt/documents/660/662 | url-status=dead }}</ref> After the decline of 2009, Lithuanian annual economic growth has been much slower compared to pre-2009 years. According to IMF, financial conditions are conducive to growth and financial soundness indicators remain strong. The public debt ratio in 2016 fell to 40 percent of GDP, to compare with 42.7 in 2015 (before global finance crisis – 15 percent of GDP in 2008).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/CR/2017/cr17177.ashx |title= REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA. 2017 ARTICLE IV CONSULTATION—PRESS RELEASE AND STAFF REPORT | publisher=IMF | format=PDF | page=4 | access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>
[[File:GNI-2016-Lithuania.png|thumb|left|Lithuania's GNI per capita, PPP (current international $), 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.PP.CD?end=2016&locations=LT-EU&start=2016&type=shaded&view=map&year=2016|title=Lithuania 2016, GNI per capita, PPP (current international $)|website=Data.worldbank.org|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref>]]
On average, more than 95% of all [[foreign direct investment]] in Lithuania comes from [[European Union]] countries. Sweden is historically the largest investor with 20% – 30% of all FDI in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lb.lt/lt/tiesiogines-uzsienio-investicijos-lietuvoje-pagal-sali-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109194528/https://www.lb.lt/lt/tiesiogines-uzsienio-investicijos-lietuvoje-pagal-sali-1|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 January 2018|title=Tiesioginės užsienio investicijos Lietuvoje pagal šalį – Lietuvos bankas|date=9 January 2018}}</ref> FDI into Lithuania spiked in 2017, reaching its highest ever recorded number of greenfield investment projects. In 2017, Lithuania was third country, after [[Ireland]] and [[Singapore]] by the average job value of investment projects.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dencik |first1=Jacob |last2=Spee |first2=Roel |title=Global Location Trends – 2018 Annual Report: Getting ready for Globalization 4.0 |url=https://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/93/en/93017793usen/93017793usen-00_93017793USEN.pdf |publisher=IBM Institute for Business Value |pages=7 |date=July 2018 |quote=Ireland continues to lead the world for attracting high-value investment, generating substantial inward investment with strengths in key high-value sectors such as ICT, financial and business services and life sciences. But Singapore is now a close second, with Lithuania and Switzerland right behind. |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410223308/https://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/93/en/93017793usen/93017793usen-00_93017793USEN.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The US was the leading source country in 2017, 24.59% of total FDI. Next up are Germany and the UK, each representing 11.48% of total project numbers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fdiintelligence.com/Trend-Tracker/Lithuania-FDI-skyrockets-in-2017|title=Lithuania FDI skyrockets in 2017|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> Based on the Eurostat's data, in 2017, the value of Lithuanian exports recorded the most rapid growth not only in the Baltic countries, but also across Europe, which was 16.9 per cent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuanian exports which grew most across Europe last year will beat value records this year |url=https://www.verslilietuva.lt/en/news/lithuanian-exports-grew-across-europe-last-year-will-beat-value-records-year/ |website=www.verslilietuva.lt |access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>
In the period between 2004 and 2016, one out of five Lithuanians emigrated, primarily due to insufficient income for residents;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/ieskodami-darbuotoju-jau-verciasi-per-galva-net-tokiomis-algomis-nepavyksta-sugundyti.d?id=77973215|title=Ieškodami darbuotojų jau verčiasi per galvą: net tokiomis algomis nepavyksta sugundyti|language=lt|website=delfi.lt|access-date=13 May 2018}}</ref> secondarily seeking to study abroad. Long term emigration and economy growth has resulted in a noticeable shortage in the labor market<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/verslas/verslas/emigracija-smogia-negailestingai-lietuvoje-vis-labiau-truksta-darbuotoju.d?id=75467805|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111194908/https://www.delfi.lt/verslas/verslas/emigracija-smogia-negailestingai-lietuvoje-vis-labiau-truksta-darbuotoju.d?id=75467805|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2018|title=Emigracija smogia negailestingai: Lietuvoje vis labiau trūksta darbuotojų – DELFI Verslas|date=11 January 2018}}</ref> and growth in salaries being larger than growth in labor efficiency.<ref name="archive org 11">{{cite web|url=https://verslas.lrytas.lt/izvalgos-ir-nuomones/2017/06/13/news/ekspertai-ispeja-virs-lietuvos-ekonomikos-kaupiasi-debesys-1665764/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111195018/https://verslas.lrytas.lt/izvalgos-ir-nuomones/2017/06/13/news/ekspertai-ispeja-virs-lietuvos-ekonomikos-kaupiasi-debesys-1665764/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2018|title=Ekonomistai įspėja: virš Lietuvos kaupiasi debesys|date=11 January 2018}}</ref> Unemployment rate in 2017 was 8.1%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuania: Unemployment rate from 2007 to 2017|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/375259/unemployment-rate-in-lithuania/|website=Statista.com|access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Lithuania Product Exports (2019).svg|thumb|right|A proportional representation of Lithuania's exports, 2019]]
As of 2021, Lithuanian [[median]] wealth per adult was [[USD|$]]28,400 ([[mean]] was $63,500), while the total national wealth was $138 billion.<ref name=CS2022-1>{{Cite web|title = Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook 2022|url = https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/corporate/docs/about-us/research/publications/global-wealth-databook-2022.pdf|publisher = [[Credit Suisse]]|archive-date = 23 September 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220923030157/https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/corporate/docs/about-us/research/publications/global-wealth-databook-2022.pdf|url-status = live}} See table 3-1 for all countries, on pages 119-122, for mean and median wealth, [[Gini coefficient]], distribution of adults (%) by wealth range, and number of adults. All of that info (except the Gini coefficient) is also in table 2-2 on pages 109-112. See the end of table 2-2 on page 112 for regional numbers. Page 4 mentions "46 countries lacking sufficient suitable data for wealth estimation". Pages 20-24 (table 2-1) then feature estimates for [[GDP]] per adult for said countries, with wealth data quality characterized as "n.a." (not available)</ref> As of December 2022, the average monthly gross salary in Lithuania was €2,042.<ref name="https://osp.stat.gov.lt">{{Cite web|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?indicator=S10R026#/|title=Darbo užmokestis šalyje|website=osp.stat.gov.lt}}</ref> Although, [[cost of living]] in the country also is sufficiently less with the price level for [[household final consumption expenditure]] (HFCE) – 63, being 39% lower than EU average – 102 in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Comparative price levels of consumer goods and services – Statistics Explained|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Comparative_price_levels_of_consumer_goods_and_services|website=[[Eurostat]]|access-date=16 January 2018}}</ref>
Lithuania has a [[flat tax]] rate rather than a [[Progressive tax|progressive scheme]]. According to Eurostat,<ref name="epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu">{{cite web | url=http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/gen_info/economic_analysis/tax_structures/2014/report.pdf | title=Taxation trends in the European Union | publisher=Eurostat | date=2014 | access-date=22 May 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509130331/http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/gen_info/economic_analysis/tax_structures/2014/report.pdf | archive-date=9 May 2015}}</ref> the personal income tax (15%) and corporate tax (15%) rates in Lithuania are among the lowest in the EU. The country has the lowest implicit rate of tax on capital (9.8%) in the EU. Corporate tax rate in Lithuania is 15% and 5% for small businesses. 7 [[Free economic zone|Free Economic Zones]] are operating in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pramoniniai parkai ir LEZ|url=https://ukmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/investiciju-veiklos-sritis/pramoniniai-parkai-ir-lez|website=ukmin.lrv.lt|access-date=24 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424071555/https://ukmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/investiciju-veiklos-sritis/pramoniniai-parkai-ir-lez|archive-date=24 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Information technology]] production is growing in the country, reaching €1.9 billion in 2016.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samuolis|first1=Gediminas|title=Informacinės technologijos Lietuvoje|date=2017|publisher=Lietuvos statistikos departamentas|location=Vilnius|page=8|url=https://ivpk.lrv.lt/uploads/ivpk/documents/files/Naujienos/IT%20Lietuvoje%202017.pdf|access-date=16 January 2018|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308150136/https://ivpk.lrv.lt/uploads/ivpk/documents/files/Naujienos/IT%20Lietuvoje%202017.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017 only, 35
<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuania Registered 35 New Fintech Companies in 2017|url=https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2018/02/128160-lithuania-registered-35-new-fintech-companies-2017|website=Crowdfundinsider.com|date=8 February 2018|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref> [[FinTech]] companies came to Lithuania – a result of Lithuanian government and Bank of Lithuania simplified procedures for obtaining licences for the activities of e-money and payment institutions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuanian Institutions Enhance Focus on New Financial Technologies and Fintech Sector Development in Lithuania|url=https://finmin.lrv.lt/en/news/lithuanian-institutions-enhance-focus-on-new-financial-technologies-and-fintech-sector-development-in-lithuania|website=finmin.lrv.lt|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-date=14 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714164452/https://finmin.lrv.lt/en/news/lithuanian-institutions-enhance-focus-on-new-financial-technologies-and-fintech-sector-development-in-lithuania|url-status=dead}}</ref> Europe's first international Blockchain Centre launched in Vilnius in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kostaki |first1=Irene |title=Lithuania debuts as EU gateway for global blockchain industry |url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/lithuania-debuts-eu-gateway-global-blockchain-industry/ |website=Neweurope.eu |date=31 January 2018 |quote=The Lithuanian capital Vilnius launched Europe's first international Blockchain Centre on January 27, making it the EU's only hub for the digital ledger. The new hub will help Europe connect with partner Blockchain Centres in Australia, China, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Georgia, Gibraltar, Ukraine, Israel, and Latvia. |access-date=14 July 2018 |archive-date=3 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703110944/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/lithuania-debuts-eu-gateway-global-blockchain-industry/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Lithuania has granted a total of 39 e-money licenses, second in the EU only to the U.K. with 128 licenses. In 2018 [[Google]] set up a payment company in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Milda Šeputytė |author2=Jeremy Kahn |title=Google Payment Expands With E-Money License From Lithuania |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-21/google-payment-expands-with-e-money-license-from-lithuania |website=www.bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg | quote=Google Payment, a company owned by Alphabet Inc., obtained an e-money license in Lithuania, joining a growing number of fintech firms that have secured permission from the Baltic nation to offer financial services across the European Union. |access-date=22 December 2018 |date=21 December 2018}}</ref>
===Companies===
Largest companies of Lithuania in 2021, by revenue:<ref name="vz-largest-corp">{{cite web|title=Didžiausios Lietuvos bendrovės 2022|url=https://www.vz.lt/reitingai/|trans-title=Largest companies of Lithuania 2022|language=lt|date=31 May 2022|website=Verslo Žinios|access-date=4 August 2022}}</ref>
[[File:K29 business centre in Vilnius.jpg|thumb|[[Nasdaq Vilnius Stock Exchange]], located in K29 business centre in [[Konstitucijos Avenue]], Vilnius<ref>{{cite web |title=Nasdaq Vilnius |url=https://nasdaqbaltic.com/en/about-us/nasdaq-vilnius/ |website=nasdaqbaltic.com |access-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716220952/https://nasdaqbaltic.com/en/about-us/nasdaq-vilnius/ |archive-date=16 July 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! style="text-align:center;"| Rank|| style="text-align:center;"| Name|| style="text-align:center;"| Headquarters|| style="text-align:center;"| Revenue<br />(bil. €) || style="text-align:center;"| Employees || style="text-align:center;"| Industry<br />
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}1. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Orlen Lietuva]], AB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Mažeikiai]] || 4.263 || 1,427 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Oil]], [[petrol]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}2. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Thermo Fisher Scientific|Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics]], UAB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Vilnius]] || 1.941 || 1,790 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Biotechnology]], [[pharmaceutical]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}3. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Maxima Group|Maxima LT]], UAB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Vilnius]] || 1.759 || 12,339 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Retail]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}4. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Girteka Logistics]], UAB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Vilnius]] || 1.145 || 1,516 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Logistics]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}5. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Ignitis]], UAB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Vilnius]] || 0.862 || 325 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Energy]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}6. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Linas Agro Group]], AB || style="text-align:left;" | [[Panevėžys]] || 0.743 || 120 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Agribusiness]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}7. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Lukoil Baltija|Viada LT]], UAB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Vilnius]] || 0.688 || 1,098 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Petrol stations]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}8. || style="text-align:left;"| Sanitex, UAB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Kaunas]] || 0.618 || 1,189 || style="text-align:left;"| [[General merchandise]], [[logistics]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}9. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Achema]], AB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Jonava]] || 0.590 || 1,238 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Fertilizer]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{0}}10. || style="text-align:left;"| [[Lidl|Lidl Lietuva]], UAB || style="text-align:left;"| [[Vilnius]] || 0.578 || 2,513 || style="text-align:left;"| [[Retail]]
|}
===Agriculture===
{{Main|Agriculture in Lithuania}}
Agriculture in Lithuania dates to the [[Neolithic]] period, about 3,000 to 1,000 [[Before Christ|BC]]. It has been one of Lithuania's most important occupations for many centuries.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jurginis|first1=J.|title=Arimo įrankių reikšmė žemdirbystės sistemoms|url=http://lad.lt/data/com_ladlibrary/988/156-163.pdf|website=lad.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> Lithuania's accession to the [[European Union]] in 2004 ushered in a new agricultural era. The EU pursues a very high standard of food safety and purity. In 1999, the [[Seimas]] (parliament) of Lithuania adopted a Law on Product Safety, and in 2000 it adopted a Law on Food.<ref>{{cite web|title=Law on Product Safety|url=https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/f9a7f340736a11e6a0f68fd135e6f40c?jfwid=-brx0ubedz|website=e-seimas.lrs.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Law on Food|url=https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/74505e2018da11e6aa14e8b63147ee94?jfwid=rivwzvpvg|website=e-seimas.lrs.lt|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> The reform of the agricultural market has been carried out on the basis of these two laws.
In 2016, agricultural production in Lithuania was €2.29 billion. [[Cereal crops]] occupied the largest part of it (5709.7 tons), other significant types include: [[sugar beet]]s (933.9 tons), [[rapeseed]] (392.5 tons) and [[potato]]es (340.2 tons). Products totaling €4,385.2 million were exported from Lithuania to foreign markets, of which products for €3,165.2 million were Lithuanian origin. Export of agricultural and food products accounted for 19.4% of all exports of goods from the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Žemės ir maisto ūkio 2016 metų apžvalga|url=https://zum.lrv.lt/uploads/zum/documents/files/LT_versija/Veiklos_sritys/Statistin%C4%97%20informacija/%C5%BDem%C4%97s%20ir%20maisto%20%C5%ABkio%202016%20met%C5%B3%20ap%C5%BEvalga%20(03).pdf|website=zum.lrv.lt|pages=1–3|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref>
[[Organic farming]] is constantly becoming more popular in Lithuania. The status of organic growers and producers in the country is granted by the public body ''Ekoagros''. In 2016, there were 2539 such farms that occupied 225,541.78 hectares. Of these, 43.13% were cereals, 31.22% were perennial grasses, 13.9% were leguminous crops and 11.75% were others.<ref>{{cite web|title=Veiklos ataskaita, 2016 m.|url=https://www.ekoagros.lt/media/1/2016-m-veiklos-ataskaita.pdf|website=ekoagros.lt|pages=1–4|access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref>
===Science and technology===
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| header =
| header_align = left/right/center
| header_background =
| footer = Lithuanian ''[[bajoras]]'' and [[artillery]] expert [[Kazimieras Simonavičius]] developed and popularized the concept of a [[multistage rocket]].
| footer_align = left/right/center
| footer_background =
| width =
| image1 = Siemenowicz rocket.png
| width1 = 40
| caption1 =
| image2 = Skylab-73-HC-440HR.jpg
| width2 = 160
| caption2 =
}}
Foundation of the [[University of Vilnius]] in 1579 was a major factor of establishing local scientist community in Lithuania and making connections with other universities and scientists of Europe. [[Georg Forster]], [[Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert]], [[Johann Peter Frank]] and many other visiting scientists have worked at University of Vilnius.
Lithuanian ''[[bajoras]]'' and [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] artillery expert [[Kazimieras Simonavičius]] is a pioneer of [[rocket]]ry, who has published ''Artis Magnae Artilleriae'' in 1650 that for over two centuries was used in Europe as a basic [[artillery]] manual and contains a large chapter on caliber, construction, production and properties of rockets (for military and civil purposes), including [[multistage rocket]]s, [[rocket battery|batteries of rockets]], and rockets with [[delta wing]] [[Stabilizer (aircraft)|stabilizers]].<ref>{{cite book|page=44|title=Astronautics|author=Ulrich Walter|publisher=[[Wiley-VCH]]|year=2008|isbn=978-3-527-40685-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kazimieras Simonavičius|url=http://www.ksu.lt/en/kazimieras-simonavicius-2/|website=[[Kazimieras Simonavičius University]]|access-date=5 February 2018}}</ref> A botanist [[Jurgis Pabrėža]] (1771–1849), created first systematic guide of Lithuanian flora ''Taislius auguminis'' (''Botany''), written in Samogitian dialect, the Latin-Lithuanian dictionary of plant names, first Lithuanian textbook of geography. German scientist [[Theodor Grotthuss]] (1785–1822), who proposed the [[Grotthuss mechanism]], lived and worked in the {{Ill|Gedučiai manor|lt|Gedučių dvaras}} where he gained prominence amongst the locals for his effort in educating the peasants and improving their well-being.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kajėnas |first1=Kostas |last2=Stankevičius |first2=Martynas |date=21 June 2022 |title=Theodoras von Grotthussas. Garsiausias Lietuvos mokslininkas, pralenkęs laiką |url=https://www.bernardinai.lt/theodoras-von-grotthussas-garsiausias-lietuvos-mokslininkas-pralenkes-laika/ |access-date=21 June 2022 |website=Bernardinai.lt |language=lt}}</ref>
During the Interwar period humanitarian and social scientists emerged such as [[Vasily Seseman|Vosylius Sezemanas]], Levas Karsavinas, [[Michał Pius Römer|Mykolas Römeris]].
Due to the World Wars, Lithuanian science and scientists suffered heavily from the occupants, however some of them reached a world-class achievements in their lifetime. Most notably, [[Antanas Gustaitis]], [[Vytautas Andrius Graičiūnas]], [[Marija Gimbutas]], [[Birutė Galdikas]], A. J. Kliorė, [[Algirdas Julien Greimas]], [[Medieval studies|medievalist]] [[Jurgis Baltrušaitis (son)|Jurgis Baltrušaitis]], Algirdas Antanas Avižienis.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos kronika 1993 – 16 (1674) Marija Alseikaitė – Gimbutienė|url=http://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/31010/lietuvos-kronika-1993-16-1674-marija-alseikaite-gimbutiene|website=LRT|date=15 September 1993|access-date=29 March 2018|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bulota|first1=Šarūnas|title=Garsiausia pasaulio orangutanų tyrinėtoja Birutė Galdikas: "Lietuvių kultūra – mano kraujyje"|url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/gyvunu-klubas/ivykiai/garsiausia-pasaulio-orangutanu-tyrinetoja-birute-galdikas-lietuviu-kultura-mano-kraujyje-172-331747|website=15min.lt|access-date=2 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Arvydas Kliorė|url=http://www.yrasalis.lt/desimt/inzinieriai/dr-arvydas-kliore/|website=yrasalis.lt|access-date=15 February 2018|language=lt-LT}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Biografija – A. J. Greimas|url=http://www.greimas.eu/biografija/|website=greimas.eu|access-date=15 February 2018|language=lt-LT|archive-date=16 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216091947/http://www.greimas.eu/biografija/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=STAR (Self-Testing And Repairing) computer|url=http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/STAR.html|website=Daviddarling.info|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>
[[Jonas Kubilius]], long-term rector of the [[University of Vilnius]] is known for works in [[Probabilistic number theory]], [[Kubilius model]], Theorem of Kubilius and [[Turán–Kubilius inequality]] bear his name. Jonas Kubilius successfully resisted attempts to Russify the University of Vilnius.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iš Vilniaus universiteto istorijos, 1955–1990|date=5 November 1995|pages=1–2|url=http://www.draugas.org/archive/1994_reg/1994-11-05-PRIEDAS-DRAUGAS-i5-8.pdf}}</ref>
Nowadays, the country is among moderate innovators group in the [[International Innovation Index]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Lietuvos ekonomikos ilgalaikio konkurencingumo iššūkiai|date=2015|publisher=Lietuvos mokslo taryba|page=18|url=http://www.lmt.lt/data/public/uploads/2016/09/ekonomikos-moksliniu-tyrimu-programos-rekomendacijos.pdf}}</ref>
and in the [[European Innovation Scoreboard]] ranked 15th among EU countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/innovation/facts-figures/scoreboards_lt |website= ec.europa.eu |title= European Innovation Scoreboard |access-date= 31 March 2018}}</ref> Lithuania was ranked 39th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2021 |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2021/|work=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]|publisher=[[United Nations]]|access-date=2022-03-05 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Innovation Index 2019|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|access-date=2 September 2021|website=www.wipo.int}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=RTD - Item|url=https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/rtd/items/691898|access-date=2 September 2021|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=28 October 2013|title=Global Innovation Index|url=https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|access-date=2 September 2021|website=INSEAD Knowledge|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Laser]]s and [[biotechnology]] are flagship fields of the Lithuanian science and high tech industry.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/lithuania-leading-light-laser-technology|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110175105/https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/lithuania-leading-light-laser-technology|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 January 2018|title=Lithuania, a leading light in laser technology – Digital Single Market|date=10 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Daugiausiai inovacijų lietuviai sukūrė gyvybės mokslų srityje|url=https://www.delfi.lt/partnerio-turinys/lietuvos-amziaus-inovacijos/daugiausiai-inovaciju-lietuviai-sukure-gyvybes-mokslu-srityje.d?id=75754757|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref> Lithuanian "Šviesos konversija" (Light Conversion) has developed a femtosecond laser system that has 80% marketshare worldwide, and is used in DNA research, ophthalmological surgeries, nanotech industry and science.<ref>{{cite web|title=Light Conversion – About Us|url=http://lightcon.com/about-us.html|website=lightcon.com|access-date=5 February 2018|archive-date=20 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120194735/http://www.lightcon.com/about-us.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Įgyvendinta svajonė sukėlė perversmą pasaulinėje lazerių rinkoje|url=https://www.delfi.lt/partnerio-turinys/lietuvos-amziaus-inovacijos/igyvendinta-svajone-sukele-perversma-pasaulineje-lazeriu-rinkoje.d?id=75532853|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref> [[Vilnius University]] Laser Research Center has developed one of the most powerful femtosecond lasers in the world dedicated primarily to [[Oncology|oncological diseases]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuviai sukūrė vieną galingiausių lazerių pasaulyje|url=https://www.delfi.lt/partnerio-turinys/lietuvos-amziaus-inovacijos/lietuviai-sukure-viena-galingiausiu-lazeriu-pasaulyje.d?id=75607431|website=[[DELFI]]|access-date=31 August 2017}}</ref> In 1963, [[Vytautas Straižys]] and his coworkers created [[Vilnius photometric system]] that is used in [[astronomy]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Vilniaus astrofotometrinė sistema|url=http://astronomija.lt/enciklopedija/index.php/Vilniaus_astrofotometrin%C4%97_sistema|website=astronomija.lt|access-date=4 February 2018|language=lt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205072446/http://astronomija.lt/enciklopedija/index.php/Vilniaus_astrofotometrin%C4%97_sistema|archive-date=5 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Noninvasive intracranial pressure and blood flow measuring devices were developed by [[Kaunas University of Technology|KTU]] scientist A. Ragauskas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.epo.org/european-inventor/finalists/2016/ragauskas.html|website=m.epo.org/|title=Finalist for the European Inventor Award 2016|access-date=7 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407184238/https://m.epo.org/european-inventor/finalists/2016/ragauskas.html|archive-date=7 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> K.Pyragas contributed to [[Control of chaos]] with his way of delayed feedback control – [[Pyragas method]]. [[Kavli Prize]] laureate [[Virginijus Šikšnys]] is known for his discoveries in [[CRISPR]] field – invention of CRISPR-[[Cas9]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.wired.com/2015/10/battle-genome-editing-gets-science-wrong/|author=Sarah Zhang|date=10 April 2015|magazine=Wired|title=The Battle Over Genome Editing Gets Science All Wrong|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Giorgia Guglielmi|date=31 May 2015|journal=Nature|title=Million-dollar Kavli prize recognizes scientist scooped on CRISPR|volume=558|issue=7708|pages=17–18|doi=10.1038/d41586-018-05308-5|pmid=29872189|s2cid=46949947|doi-access=free}}</ref>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:LituanicaSAT-2.jpg|thumb|[[LituanicaSAT-2]] in the thermal-vacuum chamber.]] -->
Lithuania has launched three satellites to space: [[LitSat-1]], [[Lituanica SAT-1]] and [[LituanicaSAT-2]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rutkauskas|first1=Adomas|title=Į kosmosą pakilo trečiasis Lietuvos palydovas|url=https://it.lrytas.lt/laboratorija/2017/06/23/news/i-kosmosa-kyla-treciasis-lietuvos-palydovas-1755953/|website=[[lrytas.lt]]|date=23 June 2017|access-date=23 June 2017|language=lt-LT|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308143523/https://it.lrytas.lt/laboratorija/2017/06/23/news/i-kosmosa-kyla-treciasis-lietuvos-palydovas-1755953/|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology]] and [[Molėtai Astronomical Observatory]] is located in [[Kulionys]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology|url=http://www.etnokosmomuziejus.lt/en/|access-date=4 February 2018}}</ref> 15 R&D institutions are members of [[Lithuanian Space Association]]; Lithuania is a cooperating state with [[European Space Agency]].<ref>{{cite web|title=First Baltic Space Activities Roundtable|url=https://www.eas.ee/images/doc/ettevotjale/innovatsioon/kosmos/roundtable1/baltic_roundtable_vidmantas_tomkus.pdf|access-date=12 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411174553/https://www.eas.ee/images/doc/ettevotjale/innovatsioon/kosmos/roundtable1/baltic_roundtable_vidmantas_tomkus.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuania becomes eighth ESA Cooperating State|url=https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Welcome_to_ESA/Lithuania_becomes_eighth_ESA_European_Cooperating_State|website=Esa.int|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> [[Rimantas Stankevičius]] is the only ethnically Lithuanian [[astronaut]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Vienintelis Lietuvos kosmonautas R.Stankevičius tėvynės neiškeitė į vietą raketoje|url=https://www.delfi.lt/video/mokslas-ir-gamta/vienintelis-lietuvos-kosmonautas-rstankevicius-tevynes-neiskeite-i-vieta-raketoje.d?id=62705647#o8TgpziG|website=DELFI|access-date=12 April 2011}}</ref>
Lithuania in 2018 became Associated Member State of [[CERN]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuania becomes Associate Member State of CERN|url=https://home.cern/about/updates/2018/01/lithuania-becomes-associate-member-state-cern|website=home.cern|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314173513/https://home.cern/about/updates/2018/01/lithuania-becomes-associate-member-state-cern|archive-date=14 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Two CERN incubators in Vilnius and Kaunas will be hosted.<ref>{{cite web |title=Davos: Final decision on CERN business incubation centers in Lithuania |url=https://mission-geneva.mfa.lt/mission-geneva/en/news/davos-final-decision-on-cern-business-incubation-centers-in-lithuania |access-date=14 April 2019 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417192724/https://mission-geneva.mfa.lt/mission-geneva/en/news/davos-final-decision-on-cern-business-incubation-centers-in-lithuania |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Most advanced scientific research in Lithuania is being conducted at the Life Sciences Center,<ref>{{cite web|title=Life Sciences Center. Lithuania|url=http://www.gmc.vu.lt/en/|website=Gmc.vu.lt|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> Center For Physical Sciences and Technology.<ref>{{cite web|title=Center For Physical Sciences and Technology. Lithuania|url=https://www.ftmc.lt/en|website=Ftmc.lt|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref>
As of 2016 calculations, yearly growth of Lithuania's biotech and life science sector was 22% over the past 5 years. 16 academic institutions, 15 R&D centres (science parks and innovation valleys) and more than 370 manufacturers operate in the Lithuanian life science and biotech industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flandersinvestmentandtrade.com/export/sites/trade/files/market_studies/Life%20science%20and%20biotech%20industry_Lituania_2016.pdf|website=Flandersinvestmentandtrade.com|title=The life science industry in Lithuania|page=2|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref>
In 2008 the Valley development programme was started aiming to upgrade Lithuanian scientific research infrastructure and encourage business and science cooperation. Five R&D Valleys were launched – Jūrinis (maritime technologies), Nemunas (agro, bioenergy, forestry), Saulėtekis (laser and light, semiconductor), Santara (biotechnology, medicine), Santaka (sustainable chemistry and pharmacy).<ref>{{cite web |title=R&D in Lithuania |url=https://investlithuania.com/why-lithuania/innovation/ |website=investlithuania.com |access-date=6 October 2019}}</ref> Lithuanian Innovation Center is created to provide support for innovations and research institutions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuanian Innovation Center|url=http://lic.lt/en/|website=lic.lt|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref>
===Tourism===
{{Main|Tourism in Lithuania}}
[[File:Druskininkai fountain.jpg|thumb|[[Druskininkai]] is a popular [[spa town]].]]
Statistics from 2016 showed that 1.49 million tourists from foreign countries visited Lithuania and spent at least one night in the country. The largest number of tourists came from [[Germany]] (174,800), [[Belarus]] (171,900), [[Russia]] (150,600), [[Poland]] (148,400), [[Latvia]] (134,400), [[Ukraine]] (84,000), and the [[United Kingdom|UK]] (58,200).
The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to country GDP was €2,005.5 million, 5.3% of GDP in 2016, and is forecast to rise by 7.3% in 2017, and to rise by 4.2% pa to €3,243.5 million, 6.7% of GDP in 2027.<ref>{{cite web|title=TRAVEL & TOURISM ECONOMIC IMPACT 2017 LITHUANIA|url=https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-2017/lithuania2017.pdf|website=Wttc.org|access-date=19 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320105359/https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-2017/lithuania2017.pdf|archive-date=20 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hot air ballooning is very popular in Lithuania, especially in Vilnius and Trakai. Bicycle tourism is growing, especially in Lithuanian Seaside Cycle Route. [[EuroVelo]] routes EV10, EV11, EV13 go through Lithuania. Total length of bicycle tracks amounts to
3769 km (of which 1988 km is asphalt pavement).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Geography of Tourism of Central and Eastern European Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cf36DQAAQBAJ&q=bicycle+tourism+in+lithuania&pg=PA260|access-date=5 May 2018|isbn = 978-3-319-42205-3|last1 = Widawski|first1 = Krzysztof|last2 = Wyrzykowski|first2 = Jerzy|date = 24 January 2017}}</ref>
[[Nemunas Delta Regional Park]] and [[Žuvintas|Žuvintas biosphere reserve]] are known for birdwatching.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fatbirder. Lithuania|url=http://fatbirder.com/links_geo/europe/lithuania.html|website=Fatbirder.com|access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref>
Domestic tourism has been on the rise as well. Currently there are up to 1000 places of attraction in Lithuania. Most tourists visit the big cities—[[Vilnius]], [[Klaipėda]], and [[Kaunas]], seaside resorts, such as [[Neringa Municipality|Neringa]], [[Palanga]], and [[Spa town]]s – [[Druskininkai]], [[Birštonas]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Turizmas Lietuvoje 2016|url=http://www.tourism.lt/uploads/documents/Turizmas-Lietuvoje_2016.pdf|website=tourism.lt|access-date=18 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042530/http://www.tourism.lt/uploads/documents/Turizmas-Lietuvoje_2016.pdf|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Infrastructure==
===Communication===
{{Main|Telecommunications in Lithuania}}
[[File:Bures business centre in Vilnius (2016).jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Telia Company|Telia]] (skyscraper with the old [[Teo LT]] logo) and [[Huawei]] headquarters in [[Vilnius]]]]
Lithuania has a well developed communications infrastructure. The country has 2.8 million citizens<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ve.lt/naujienos/lietuva/lietuvos-naujienos/lietuvos-gyventoju-skaicius-sumazejo-dar-40-tukstanciu-1527125/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104123442/http://www.ve.lt/naujienos/lietuva/lietuvos-naujienos/lietuvos-gyventoju-skaicius-sumazejo-dar-40-tukstanciu-1527125/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Lietuvos gyventojų skaičius sumažėjo dar 40 tūkstančių|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> and 5 million SIM cards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/mokslas/technologijos/lietuvoje-3-mln-gyventoju-ir-5-mln-mobiliojo-rysio-naudotoju.d?id=60719345|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104123305/https://www.delfi.lt/mokslas/technologijos/lietuvoje-3-mln-gyventoju-ir-5-mln-mobiliojo-rysio-naudotoju.d?id=60719345|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Lietuvoje – 3 mln. gyventojų ir 5 mln. mobiliojo ryšio naudotojų – DELFI Mokslas|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> The largest LTE (4G) mobile network covers 97% of Lithuania's territory.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ryšio kokybės žemėlapis rodo: du operatoriai lygūs, trečias – iš paskos |url=https://www.15min.lt/mokslasit/straipsnis/technologijos/rysio-kokybes-zemelapis-rodo-du-operatoriai-lygus-o-trecias-is-paskos-646-767870 |website=15min.lt |access-date=13 March 2017 |archive-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222406/https://www.15min.lt/mokslasit/straipsnis/technologijos/rysio-kokybes-zemelapis-rodo-du-operatoriai-lygus-o-trecias-is-paskos-646-767870 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Usage of fixed phone lines has been rapidly decreasing due to rapid expansion of mobile-cellular services.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/mokslas/technologijos/laidinio-rysio-telefonams-gresia-isnykimas.d?id=58099004|title=Laidinio ryšio telefonams gresia išnykimas?|website=Delfi.lt|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>
In 2017, Lithuania was top 30 in the world by average mobile broadband speeds and top 20 by average fixed broadband speeds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.speedtest.net/global-index|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104105117/https://www.speedtest.net/global-index|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Speedtest Global Index – Monthly comparisons of internet speeds from around the world|date=4 January 2018|website=Speedtest.net|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>
Lithuania was also top 7 in 2017 in the [[List of countries by 4G LTE penetration]]. In 2016, Lithuania was ranked 17th in United Nations' e-participation index.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/en-us/about/overview/e-participation|title=E-Participation Index|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321192535/https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/en-us/about/overview/e-participation|archive-date=21 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/en-us/Data-Center|title=Data Center|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321192858/https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/en-us/Data-Center|archive-date=21 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
There are four TIER III datacenters in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uptimeinstitute.com/TierCertification/allCertifications.php?page=1&ipp=All&clientId=&countryName=Lithuania&tierLevel=3|title=Uptime Institute. Country: Lithuania, Tier Level: Tier III|access-date=19 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320044020/https://uptimeinstitute.com/TierCertification/allCertifications.php?page=1&ipp=All&clientId=&countryName=Lithuania&tierLevel=3|archive-date=20 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Lithuania is 44th globally ranked country on data center density according to Cloudscene.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cloudscene.com/market/data-centers-in-lithuania/all|title=Colocation Lithuania – Data Centers|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>
Long-term project (2005–2013) – Development of Rural Areas Broadband Network (RAIN) was started with the objective to provide residents, state and municipal authorities and businesses with fibre-optic broadband access in rural areas. RAIN infrastructure allows 51 communications operators to provide network services to their clients. The project was funded by the European Union and the Lithuanian government.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sumin.lrv.lt/en/news/strategic-project-for-lithuania-rain-2-won-the-international-award|title=Strategic project for Lithuania RAIN-2 won the international award|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=4988&usg=AOvVaw0HNGsJE3UEplZ5ekHB2MgY|title=RAIN project in Lithuania|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> 72% of Lithuanian households have access to internet, a number which in 2017 was among EU's lowest<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Internet_access_and_use_statistics_-_households_and_individuals|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104125212/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Internet_access_and_use_statistics_-_households_and_individuals|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Internet access and use statistics – households and individuals – Statistics Explained|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> and in 2016 ranked 97th by [[CIA World Factbook]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2153rank.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104130822/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2153rank.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> Number of households with internet access is expected to increase and reach 77% by 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eshopworld.com/blog-articles/lithuania-ecommerce-insights/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104125319/https://www.eshopworld.com/blog-articles/lithuania-ecommerce-insights/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Lithuania eCommerce will nearly triple its online shoppers in 4 years|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> Almost 50% of Lithuanians had smartphones in 2016, a number that is expected to increase to 65% by 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/568195/predicted-smartphone-user-penetration-rate-in-lithuania/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104125609/https://www.statista.com/statistics/568195/predicted-smartphone-user-penetration-rate-in-lithuania/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=• Lithuania: smartphone user penetration 2015–2022 – Forecast|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>
Lithuania has the highest FTTH (Fiber to the home) penetration rate in Europe (36.8% in September 2016) according to FTTH Council Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ftthcouncil.eu/documents/PressReleases/2016/PR20160217_FTTHranking_panorama_award.pdf|title=Breaking news from the FTTH Conference 2016: Croatia, Germany and Poland join the FTTH ranking|website=Ftthcouncil.eu|access-date=1 January 2017|archive-date=30 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430204430/https://www.ftthcouncil.eu/documents/PressReleases/2016/PR20160217_FTTHranking_panorama_award.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Transport===
{{Main|Transport in Lithuania}}
[[File:Lithuania-roads-(E).png|thumb|left|Major highways in Lithuania]]
Lithuania received its first railway connection in the middle of the 19th century, when the [[Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway]] was constructed. It included a stretch from [[Daugavpils]] via Vilnius and Kaunas to Virbalis. The first and only still operating [[Kaunas Railway Tunnel|tunnel]] was completed in 1860.
[[Rail transport in Lithuania]] consists of {{convert|1762|km|0|abbr=on}} of {{convert|1520|mm|ftin|1|abbr=on}} [[Russian gauge]] railway of which {{convert|122|km|0|abbr=on}} are electrified. This railway network is incompatible with European [[standard gauge]] and requires train switching. However, Lithuanian railway network also has {{convert|115|km|0|abbr=on}} of [[standard gauge]] lines.<ref>{{cite web|title=Geležinkelių infrastruktūra|url=http://infrastructure.litrail.lt/|website=Infrastructure.litrail.lt|access-date=24 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006220502/http://infrastructure.litrail.lt/|archive-date=6 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> More than half of all inland freight transported in Lithuania is carried by rail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Freight_transport_statistics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104135126/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Freight_transport_statistics|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Freight transport statistics – Statistics Explained|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> The Trans-European standard gauge [[Rail Baltica]] railway, linking [[Helsinki]]–[[Tallinn]]–[[Riga]]–[[Kaunas]]–[[Warsaw]] and continuing on to Berlin is under construction. In 2017, [[Lietuvos Geležinkeliai]], a company that operates most railway lines in Lithuania, received EU penalty for breaching EU's antitrust laws and restricting competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3622_en.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104135749/http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3622_en.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=European Commission – PRESS RELEASES – Press release – Antitrust: Commission fines Lithuanian Railways €28 million for hindering competition on rail freight market|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Marijampolės geležinkelio stotis - panoramio.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Marijampolė railway station]], completed in 1924]]
Transportation is the third largest sector in Lithuanian economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sumin.lrv.lt/en/news/lithuania-is-ready-to-implement-transport-investment-projects-of-a-strategic-importance|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104145320/https://sumin.lrv.lt/en/news/lithuania-is-ready-to-implement-transport-investment-projects-of-a-strategic-importance|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Lithuania is ready to implement transport investment project of a strategic importance – Ministry of Transport and Communications|date=4 January 2018}}</ref> Lithuanian transport companies drew attention in 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/Largest-Fleet-Order-from-Eastern-Europe-for-Mercedes-Benz-Trucks-in-Its-History-Major-order-of-1000-Mercedes-Benz-Actros-by-Girteka-Logistics.xhtml?oid=9918964|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104150306/http://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/Largest-Fleet-Order-from-Eastern-Europe-for-Mercedes-Benz-Trucks-in-Its-History-Major-order-of-1000-Mercedes-Benz-Actros-by-Girteka-Logistics.xhtml?oid=9918964|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Largest Fleet Order from Eastern Europe for Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Its History: Major order of 1,000 Mercedes-Benz Actros by Girteka Logistics – Daimler Global Media Site|date=4 January 2018}}</ref> and 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volvogroup.com/en-en/news/2017/sep/record-breaking-agreement-for-volvo-trucks.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104150048/http://www.volvogroup.com/en-en/news/2017/sep/record-breaking-agreement-for-volvo-trucks.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Record breaking agreement for Volvo Trucks – Volvo Group|date=4 January 2018}}</ref> with huge and record-breaking orders of trucks. Almost 90% of commercial truck traffic in Lithuania is international transports, the highest of any EU country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Freight_transport_statistics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104135126/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Freight_transport_statistics|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Freight transport statistics – Statistics Explained|date=4 January 2018}}</ref>
Lithuania has an extensive network of motorways. WEF grades Lithuanian roads at 4.7 / 7.0<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2017-2018/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2017%E2%80%932018.pdf|title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2017–2018|page=185|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> and Lithuanian road authority (LAKD) at 6.5 / 10.0.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://plius.lakd.lt/lt.php/naujienos/susumuoti_keliu_apziuros_rezultatai/11801;_wai;1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326104027/http://plius.lakd.lt/lt.php/naujienos/susumuoti_keliu_apziuros_rezultatai/11801;_wai;1|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 March 2018|title=Lietuvos automobilių kelių direkcija prie Susisiekimo ministerijos|date=26 March 2018}}</ref>
The [[Port of Klaipėda]] is the only commercial cargo port in Lithuania. In 2011 45.5 million tons of cargo were handled (including [[Būtingė oil terminal]] figures)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shortsea.lt/index.php/pagrindinis_meniu/naujienos/klaipedos_ir_kitu_baltijos_juros_rytines_pakrantes_uostu_krovos_apzvalga__m_sausiogruodzio_men_/1201|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019182532/http://www.shortsea.lt/index.php/pagrindinis_meniu/naujienos/klaipedos_ir_kitu_baltijos_juros_rytines_pakrantes_uostu_krovos_apzvalga__m_sausiogruodzio_men_/1201|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 October 2013|title=Short Sea|date=19 October 2013|website=shortsea.lt|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref> [[Port of Klaipėda]] is outside of EU's 20 largest ports,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Maritime_ports_freight_and_passenger_statistics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104132949/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Maritime_ports_freight_and_passenger_statistics|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Maritime ports freight and passenger statistics – Statistics Explained|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Top_20_container_ports_in_2015_-_on_the_basis_of_volume_of_containers_handled_in_(1000_TEUs).png|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104133109/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Top_20_container_ports_in_2015_-_on_the_basis_of_volume_of_containers_handled_in_(1000_TEUs).png|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=File:Top 20 container ports in 2015 - on the basis of volume of containers handled in (1000 TEUs).png – Statistics Explained|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> but it is the eighth largest port in the Baltic Sea region<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/good_for_business/?doc=90478|title=Riga and Klaipėda included in TOP-10 ports in Baltic Sea Region by container turnover :: The Baltic Course – Baltic States news & analytics|date=21 December 2017|website=Baltic-course.com|access-date=21 December 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221104115/http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/good_for_business/?doc=90478|archive-date=21 December 2017}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://actiaforum.pl/en/assets/files/realizacje/pdf/PM-17-EN.pdf|title=2016 – a better year for most of the Top 10 Baltic container ports|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104132642/http://actiaforum.pl/en/assets/files/realizacje/pdf/PM-17-EN.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> with ongoing expansion plans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://port.today/klaipeda-outer-port-constructed/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104132737/https://port.today/klaipeda-outer-port-constructed/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2018|title=Klaipėda outer port to be constructed – port.today|date=4 January 2018|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>
[[Vilnius International Airport]] is the largest airport in Lithuania, 91st busiest airport in Europe ([[List of the busiest airports in Europe|EU's 100 largest airports]]). It served 3.8 million passengers in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vilnius-airport.lt/en/news/?id=1930281 |title=The Lithuanian Airports Have Presented the Results for the Year 2016: the Number of Passengers Has Surged to Record Levels of 4.8 Million |date=12 January 2017 |access-date=24 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085407/http://www.vilnius-airport.lt/en/news/?id=1930281 |archive-date=4 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other international airports include [[Kaunas Airport|Kaunas International Airport]], [[Palanga International Airport]] and [[Šiauliai International Airport]]. [[Kaunas Airport|Kaunas International Airport]] is also a small commercial cargo airport which started regular commercial cargo traffic in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kaunozinios.lt/naujienos/kauno-oro-uoste-ivykdytas-pirmas-reguliarus-krovininis-reisas_36224.html|title=Kauno oro uoste įvykdytas pirmas reguliarus krovininis reisas|website=Kaunozinios.lt}}</ref> The inland river cargo port in Marvelė, linking Kaunas and Klaipėda, received first cargo in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marvelės uostą pasiekė pirmasis krovinys!|url=https://klaipeda.diena.lt/naujienos/kaunas/miesto-pulsas/marveles-uosta-pasieke-pirmasis-krovinys-910893 |website=klaipeda.diena.lt |access-date=3 May 2019 |language=LT}}</ref>
===Water supply and sanitation===
[[File:Heilquelle.JPG|thumb|upright=0.7|Mineral water spring in [[Birštonas]]]]
Lithuania has one of the largest fresh water supplies, compared with other countries in Europe. Lithuania and [[Denmark]] are the only countries in Europe, which are fully equipped with fresh groundwater. Lithuanians consume about 0.5 million cubic metres of water per day, which is only 12–14 percent of all explored fresh groundwater resources.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gėlo vandens ištekliais Lietuva išsiskiria iš kitų Europos šalių|url=http://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/137832/gelo-vandens-istekliais-lietuva-issiskiria-is-kitu-europos-saliu|website=LRT|date=25 May 2016|access-date=25 May 2016|language=lt}}</ref> Water quality in the country is very high and is determined by the fact that drinking water comes from deep layers that are protected from pollution on the surface of the earth. Drilling depth usually reaches 30–50 metres, but in [[Klaipėda Region]] it even reaches 250 metres. Consequently, Lithuania is one of very few European countries where groundwater is used for centralized water supply. With a large underground fresh water reserves, Lithuania exports mineral-rich water to other countries. Approved mineral water quantity is about 2.7 million cubic metres per year, while production is only 4–5 percent of all mineral water resources.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gėlas vanduo – milžiniškas turtas Lietuvos gelmėse|url=http://alkas.lt/2012/03/15/gelas-vanduo-milziniskas-turtas-lietuvos-gelmese/|website=alkas.lt|date=15 March 2012|access-date=15 March 2012|language=lt-LT}}</ref>
[[Vilnius]] is the only Baltic capital that uses centralized water supplying from deep water springs, which are protected from pollution and has no [[nitrates]] or [[nitrites]] that are harmful to the human body. Water is cleaned without chemicals in Lithuania. About 20% of the consumed water in the state is a non-filtered very high quality water.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Raudonis|first1=Jokūbas|title=Vilniaus turtas – švarus vanduo iš giluminių šaltinių|url=https://verslas.lrytas.lt/rinkos-pulsas/2013/05/08/news/vilniaus-turtas---svarus-vanduo-is-giluminiu-saltiniu-5024475/|website=lrytas.lt|date=8 May 2013|access-date=8 May 2013|language=lt-LT|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308021218/https://verslas.lrytas.lt/rinkos-pulsas/2013/05/08/news/vilniaus-turtas---svarus-vanduo-is-giluminiu-saltiniu-5024475/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Energy===
{{Main|Energy in Lithuania}} {{See also|Renewable energy in Lithuania}}
[[File:FSRU Independence in the port of Klaipėda, Lithuania.jpg|thumb|right|[[FSRU Independence|FSRU ''Independence'']] in port of Klaipėda]]
Systematic diversification of energy imports and resources is Lithuania's key energy strategy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lsta.lt/files/seminarai/2015-04-09_Ryga/03.-ey-bus-2015-rokas-masiulis.pdf|title=Lithuania's Energy Sector Development Trends|page=2|website=Lsta.lt|access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> Long-term aims were defined in National Energy Independence strategy in 2012 by Lietuvos Seimas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gamyba.le.lt/sites/default/files/media/dynamic/files/481/nationalenergyindependencestrategy.pdf|title=National Energy Independence Strategy |website=Gamyba.le.lt|access-date=13 April 2018}}</ref> It was estimated that strategic energy independence initiatives will cost €6.3–7.8 billion in total and provide annual savings of €0.9–1.1 billion.
After the decommissioning of the [[Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant]], Lithuania turned from electricity exporter to electricity importer. Unit No. 1 was closed in December 2004, as a condition of Lithuania's entry into the European Union; Unit No. 2 was closed down on 31 December 2009. Proposals have been made to construct a new – [[Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant]] in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuania shuts down Soviet-era NPP, but being a nuclear-free nation is still under question |url=http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2010/ignalina_shut_down |date=12 January 2010 |author=Andrei Ozharovsky, Maria Kaminskaya and Charles Digges |website=Bellona.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423155352/http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2010/ignalina_shut_down |archive-date=23 April 2010}}</ref> However, [[2012 Lithuanian nuclear power referendum|a non-binding referendum]] held in October 2012 clouded the prospects for the Visaginas project, as 63% of voters said no to a new nuclear power plant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-G-N/Lithuania/|title=Nuclear Power in Lithuania – Lithuanian Nuclear Energy – World Nuclear Association|website=World-nuclear.org|access-date=18 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126160031/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-G-N/Lithuania/|archive-date=26 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant.Lithuania.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant]]]]
The country's main primary source of electrical power is [[Elektrėnai Power Plant]]. Other primary sources of Lithuania's electrical power are [[Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant]] and [[Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant]]. [[Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant]] is the only in the Baltic states power plant to be used for regulation of the power system's operation with generating capacity of 900 MW for at least 12 hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kruoniohae.lt/lt/main/activity|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928033447/http://www.kruoniohae.lt/lt/main/activity|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 September 2012|title=Kruonio hidroakumuliacinė elektrinė > Veikla|date=28 September 2012|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref> {{As of|2015}}, 66% of electrical power was imported.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.litgrid.eu/index.php/energetikos-sistema/elektros-energetikos-sistemos-informacija/elektros-gamybos-ir-vartojimo-balanso-duomenys/2287|title=Litgrid|website=www.litgrid.eu|access-date=7 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118024627/http://www.litgrid.eu/index.php/energetikos-sistema/elektros-energetikos-sistemos-informacija/elektros-gamybos-ir-vartojimo-balanso-duomenys/2287|archive-date=18 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> First geothermal heating plant ([[Klaipėda Geothermal Demonstration Plant]]) in the Baltic Sea region was built in 2004.
Lithuania–Sweden submarine electricity interconnection [[NordBalt]] and Lithuania–Poland electricity interconnection [[LitPol Link]] were launched at the end of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ceer.eu/documents/104400/3736793/C16_NR_Lithuania-EN.pdf/1c379f34-4e09-7311-e715-5974e45eab3f|title=Annual Report on Electricity and Natural Gas Markets of the Republic of Lithuania to the European Commission|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>
In order to break down [[Gazprom]]'s monopoly<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/33113758-8680-11e7-8bb1-5ba57d47eff7 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/33113758-8680-11e7-8bb1-5ba57d47eff7 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Lithuania becomes first ex-Soviet state to buy US natural gas | website=Financial Times |date=21 August 2017 | access-date=26 March 2018 | language=LT|last1=Sheppard |first1=David }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/lithuania-breaks-gazprom-s-monopoly-by-signing-first-lng-deal/ |title=Lithuania breaks Gazprom's monopoly by signing first LNG deal | website=Euractiv.com |date=21 August 2014 | access-date=26 March 2018 | language=LT}}</ref> in natural gas market of Lithuania, first large scale LNG import terminal ([[Klaipėda LNG FSRU]]) in the Baltic region was built in port of Klaipėda in 2014. The Klaipėda LNG terminal was called Independence, thus emphasising the aim to diversify energy market of Lithuania. Norvegian company [[Equinor]] supplies {{convert|540|e6m3|abbr=off}} of natural gas annually from 2015 until 2020.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://enmin.lrv.lt/uploads/enmin/documents/files/EN_Versija/Activities/Activity_benchmarks/Strategic_projects/Liquefied_natural_gas_terminal_in_Klaip%C4%97da/LNG_factsheet_EN.pdf | title=Klaipėda LNG terminal Factsheet | publisher=Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania | date=27 October 2014 | access-date=19 March 2018 | archive-date=19 March 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319214309/http://enmin.lrv.lt/uploads/enmin/documents/files/EN_Versija/Activities/Activity_benchmarks/Strategic_projects/Liquefied_natural_gas_terminal_in_Klaip%C4%97da/LNG_factsheet_EN.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> The terminal is able to meet the Lithuania's demand 100 percent, and Latvia's and Estonia's national demand 90 percent in the future.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/29/119304/klaipeda-lng-terminal-one-year-on-independence-or-responsibility |title= Klaipėda LNG Terminal one year on – independence or responsibility?|website=Lrt.lt| date=11 November 2015 | access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>
[[Gas Interconnection Poland–Lithuania]] (GIPL), also known as Lithuania–Poland pipeline, is a proposed natural gas pipeline interconnection between Lithuania and Poland that is expected to be finished by 2019. In 2018 synchronising the Baltic States' electricity grid with the [[Synchronous grid of Continental Europe]] has started.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-4285_en.htm |title= Questions and answers on the synchronisation of the Baltic States' electricity networks with the continental European network (CEN) | date=28 June 2018 | access-date=27 July 2018}}</ref>
In 2016, 20.8% of electricity consumed in Lithuania came from renewable sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Table_1-Share_of_renewables_in_gross_inland_energy_consumption_2016.png|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326100659/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Table_1-Share_of_renewables_in_gross_inland_energy_consumption_2016.png|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 March 2018|title=File:Table 1-Share of renewables in gross inland energy consumption 2016.png – Statistics Explained|date=26 March 2018}}</ref>
==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Lithuania}}
[[File:Population of Lithuania 1915-2014.png|thumb|upright=2|right|Population of Lithuania 1915–2014]]
[[File:Population density in municipalities of Lithuania modified.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Population density of Lithuania]]
Since the Neolithic period, the demographics of Lithuania have stayed fairly homogenous. There is a high probability that the inhabitants of present-day Lithuania have similar genetic compositions to their ancestors,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Česnys | first1 = G. | year = 1991 | title = Anthropological roots of the Lithuanians | journal = Science, Arts and Lithuania | volume = 1 | pages = 4–10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people=akad. Rimantas Jankauskas |date=6 May 2018|title="Mokslo ekspresas": tūkstantmečiai kapai atskleidžia Lietuvos priešistorės paslaptis|medium=Video |language=lt |url=https://www.delfi.lt/video/laidos/mokslo-ekspresas/mokslo-ekspresas-tukstantmeciai-kapai-atskleidzia-lietuvos-priesistores-paslaptis.d?id=77886901 |access-date=11 May 2018 |time=04:06}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region |authors=Alissa Mittnik, Chuan-Chao Wang, Saskia Pfrengle, Mantas Daubaras, Gunita Zariņa, Fredrik Hallgren, Raili Allmäe, Valery Khartanovich, Vyacheslav Moiseyev, Mari Tõrv, Anja Furtwängler, Aida Andrades Valtueña, Michal Feldman, Christos Economou, Markku Oinonen, Andrejs Vasks, Elena Balanovska, David Reich, Rimantas Jankauskas, Wolfgang Haak, Stephan Schiffels & Johannes Krause |journal=Nature Communications|volume=9 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-02825-9|pmid=29382937 |pmc=5789860 |issue=1|pages=442 |bibcode=2018NatCo...9..442M|year=2018}}</ref> although without being actually isolated from them.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Daiva Ambrasienė, Vaidutis Kučinskas|title=Genetic variability of the Lithuanian human population according to Y chromosome microsatellite markers|url=http://www.ebiblioteka.lt/resursai/LMA/Ekologija/E-89.pdf|page=89|journal=Ekologija|year=2003|volume=1}}</ref> The Lithuanian population appears to be relatively homogeneous, without apparent genetic differences among ethnic subgroups.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://images.katalogas.lt/maleidykla/act41/A-01.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227130058/http://images.katalogas.lt/maleidykla/act41/A-01.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2008 |title=Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Analysis in the Lithuanian Population |author=Dalia Kasperavičiūtė and Vaidutis Kučinskas |journal=Acta Medica Lituanica |year=2004 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1–6 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
A 2004 analysis of [[MtDNA]] in the Lithuanian population revealed that Lithuanians are genetically close to the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] and [[Finno-Ugric languages|Finno-Ugric]] speaking populations of Northern and Eastern Europe. [[Y chromosome|Y-chromosome]] SNP [[haplogroup]] analysis showed Lithuanians to be genetically closest to [[Latvians]] and [[Estonians]].<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=15469421 |author=D Kasperaviciūte, V Kucinskas and M Stoneking |url=http://www.eva.mpg.de/genetics/pdf/Kasperavicuite.2004.pdf |title=Y Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Variation in Lithuanians |year=2004 |volume=68 |issue=Pt 5 |pages=438–52 |doi=10.1046/j.1529-8817.2003.00119.x |journal=Annals of Human Genetics |s2cid=26562505 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225205400/http://www.eva.mpg.de/genetics/pdf/Kasperavicuite.2004.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2009}}</ref>
In 2021, the age structure of the population was as follows:
* 0–14 years, 14.86% (male 214,113/female 203,117)
* 15–64 years: 65.19% (male 896,400/female 934,467)
* 65 years and over: 19.95% (male 195,269/female 365,014).<ref name="population2022">{{cite web|title=The population of Lithuania (edition 2022)|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/lietuvos-gyventojai-2022/salies-gyventojai|publisher=[[Statistics Lithuania]]|access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>
The median age in 2022 was 44 years (male: 41, female: 47).<ref name="population2022" />
Lithuania has a [[sub-replacement fertility rate]]: the [[total fertility rate]] (TFR) in Lithuania was 1.34 children born per woman in 2021, and the mean age of women at childbirth was 30.3 years. The average age of first childbirth for women was 28.2 years. The [[human sex ratio]] is male leaning for the age categories 15–44, with 1.0352 males for every female.<ref name="population2022"/> {{As of|2021}}, 25.6% of births were to unmarried women. The mean [[age at first marriage]] in 2021 was 28.3 years for women and 30.5 years for men.<ref name="population2022"/>
===Functional urban areas===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
|-style="font-size:100%; text-align:center;"
!align=center|[[Larger urban zone|Functional urban areas]]<ref name="FUA,Euro">{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/URB_LPOP1/default/table?lang=en&category=urb.urb_luz|title=Eurostat|website=eurostat.ec.europa.eu}}</ref>
!align=center|Population <br />(2021)
|-
| [[Vilnius]]
| align=right|708,203
|-
| [[Kaunas]]
| align=right|391,153
|-
| [[Panevėžys]]
| align=right|124,526
|-
|
|}
===Ethnic groups===
{{Main|Lithuanians|Ethnic minorities in Lithuania}}{{Update section|date=April 2023}}{{bar box
| width = 300px
| float = right
| title = Residents of Lithuania by ethnicity (2021)<ref name="2011a">{{Cite web |url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/informaciniai-pranesimai?articleId=223122 |date=15 March 2013 |title=Ethnicity, mother tongue and religion |publisher=Statistics Lithuania |website=Official Statistics Portal |access-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215184122/https://osp.stat.gov.lt/informaciniai-pranesimai?articleId=223122 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| titlebar = #ddd
| bars =
{{bar percent|Lithuanians|green|84.6}}
{{bar percent|Poles|red|6.5}}
{{bar percent|Russians|blue|5.0}}
{{bar percent|Belarusians|purple|1.0}}
{{bar percent|Ukrainians|brown|0.5}}
{{bar percent|Others|gray|2.3}}
}}
Ethnic Lithuanians make up about five-sixths of the country's population. Furthermore, Lithuania has the most homogeneous population in the Baltic States. In 2015, the population of Lithuania was 2,921,262. 84.2% of that percentage are ethnic [[Lithuanian people|Lithuanians]] who speak [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], which is the official language of the country. Several sizeable minorities exist, such as [[Polish people|Poles]] (6.6%), [[Russians]] (5.8%), [[Belarusians]] (1.2%) and [[Ukrainians]] (0.5%).<ref name="2011a"/>
[[Poles in Lithuania]] are the largest minority, concentrated in southeast Lithuania (the [[Vilnius region]]). [[Russians in Lithuania]] are the second largest minority, concentrated mostly in [[Vilnius]] (12%)<ref>Delfi (2012) [http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/kas-penktas-klaipedietis-yra-rusas-vilnietis-kas-astuntas.d?id=59643343 Kas penktas klaipėdietis yra rusas, vilnietis – kas aštuntas]; Retrieved on 7 January 2017</ref> and [[Klaipėda]] (19.6%),<ref name="osp.stat.gov.lt">{{cite web|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/217110/Gyv_kalba_tikyba.pdf/1d9dac9a-3d45-4798-93f5-941fed00503f|format=PDF|title=GYVENTOJAI PAGAL TAUTYBĘ, GIMTĄJĄ KALBĄ IR TIKYBĄ : Lietuvos Respublikos 2011 metų visuotinio gyventojų ir būstų surašymo rezultatai|website=Ops.stat.gov.lt|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref> as well as [[Visaginas]] (52%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visaginas.lt/town/inhabit?lang=en |title=The inhabitants |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219181605/http://www.visaginas.lt/town/inhabit?lang=en |archive-date=19 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> About 3,000 [[Romani people|Roma]] live in Lithuania, mostly in Vilnius, [[Kaunas]] and [[Panevėžys]]; their organizations are supported by the National Minority and Emigration Department.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tspmi.vu.lt/files/mprojektai/finallithsecpapergalutinis.pdf |title=Lithuanian Security and Foreign Policy |website=Tspmi.vu.lt |access-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325051515/http://www.tspmi.vu.lt/files/mprojektai/finallithsecpapergalutinis.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009}}</ref> For centuries, a small [[Lipka Tatars|Tatar]] community has flourished in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/lithuanian_tatars.shtml|title=The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire|website=Eki.ee}}</ref>
The official language is [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], but in some areas there is a significant presence of minority languages such as [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]. The greatest presence of minorities and the use of these languages are in [[Šalčininkai District Municipality]], [[Vilnius District Municipality]] and [[Visaginas Municipality]]. [[Yiddish]] is spoken by members of the tiny remaining [[History of the Jews in Lithuania|Jewish community]] in Lithuania. The state laws guarantee education in minority languages and there are numerous publicly funded schools in the areas populated by minorities, with Polish as the language of instruction being the most widely available.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lrkm.lrv.lt/en/activities/national-minorities|title=Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, National Minorities|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>
According to the survey carried out within the framework of the [[Lithuanian census of 2021]], 85.33% of the country's population speak Lithuanian as their native language, 6.8% are native speakers of Russian and 5.1% of Polish. {{Asof|2021}}, 60.6% of residents speak Russian as a foreign language, 31.1% – English, 10.5% – Lithuanian, 8% – German, 7.9% – Polish, 1.9% – French, 2.6% – various others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/en/gyventoju-ir-bustu-surasymai1|title=Population by command of languages in municipality|access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref> Most Lithuanian schools teach English as the first foreign language, but students may also study German, or, in some schools, French or Russian. Around 80% of young people in Lithuania know English.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Employees fluent in three languages – it's the norm in Lithuania|url=https://investlithuania.com/news/employees-fluent-in-three-languages-its-the-norm-in-lithuania/|access-date=21 February 2021|website=Invest Lithuania}}</ref>
===Urbanization===
{{See also|List of cities in Lithuania}}
There has been a steady [[Urbanization|movement of population to the cities]] since the 1990s, encouraged by the planning of regional centres, such as [[Alytus]], [[Marijampolė]], [[Utena]], [[Plungė]], and [[Mažeikiai]]. By the early 21st century, about two-thirds of the total population lived in urban areas. {{As of|2021}}, 68.19% of the total population lives in urban areas.<ref name="population2022"/> Lithuania's [[Larger urban zone|functional urban areas]] include [[Vilnius]] (population 708,203), [[Kaunas]] (population 391,153), and [[Panevėžys]] (population 124,526).<ref name="FUA,Euro"/> The fDI of the Financial Times in their research ''Cities and Regions of the Future'' ranked Vilnius fourth in the mid-sized European cities category in the 2018–19 ranking, second in the 2022–23 ranking, second in 2023 ranking while the city claimed 24th spot in the worldwide overall ranking in 2021–22 and Vilnius county was ranked 10th in the small European regions category in 2018–19, fifth in 2022–23, fifth in 2023 rankings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fdiintelligence.com/content/download/71341/2038156/file/fDi%20European%20Cities%20and%20Regions%20of%20the%20Future%202018:19.pdf|website=Fdiintelligence.com|page=57,73|title=Cities and Regions of the Future 2018/19|access-date=5 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fdiintelligence.com/content/rankings-and-awards/fdis-global-cities-of-the-future-202122-overall-winners-79334 | title=FDi's Global Cities of the Future 2021/22 — overall winners |publisher=[[fDi Intelligence]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.s-ge.com/sites/default/files/article/downloads/fdi_170222_ecof.pdf|title=European Cities and Regions of the Future 2022/23|publisher=[[fDi Intelligence]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fdiintelligence.com/content/download/82064/2683542/file/fDi_0223_ECOF.pdf|title=European Cities and Regions of the Future 2023|publisher=[[fDi Intelligence]]}}</ref>
{{Largest cities
| country = Lithuania
| stat_ref = [[Department of Statistics (Lithuania)|Statistics Lithuania]] (2023)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=e3463ef2-cf9d-45a7-934e-f80229a9c6d3#/|title=Resident population by city/town at the beginning of the year|website=osp.stat.gov.lt|access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>
| list_by_pop = List of cities in Lithuania
| div_name = County
| div_link = Counties of Lithuania{{!}}County
| city_1 = Vilnius | div_1 = Vilnius County{{!}}Vilnius | pop_1 = 581,475 | img_1 = Vilnius Modern Skyline At Dusk, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg
| city_2 = Kaunas | div_2 = Kaunas County{{!}}Kaunas | pop_2 = 305,120 | img_2 = Vytautas the Great Bridge from hill, Kaunas, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg
| city_3 = Klaipėda | div_3 = Klaipėda County{{!}}Klaipėda | pop_3 = 158,420 | img_3 = Klaipėda. Senamiestis.jpg
| city_4 = Šiauliai | div_4 = Šiauliai County{{!}}Šiauliai | pop_4 = 104,300 | img_4 = Calle Vilnius, Siauliai, Lituania, 2012-08-09, DD 01.JPG
| city_5 = Panevėžys | div_5 = Panevėžys County{{!}}Panevėžys | pop_5 = 87,913
| city_6 = Alytus | div_6 = Alytus County{{!}}Alytus | pop_6 = 51,856
| city_7 = Marijampolė | div_7 = Marijampolė County{{!}}Marijampolė | pop_7 = 36,807
| city_8 = Mažeikiai | div_8 = Telšiai County{{!}}Telšiai | pop_8 = 33,249
| city_9 = Jonava | div_9 = Kaunas County{{!}}Kaunas | pop_9 = 27,134
| city_10 = Utena | div_10 = Utena County{{!}}Utena | pop_10 = 25,608
| city_11 = Kėdainiai | div_11 = Kaunas County{{!}}Kaunas | pop_11 = 23,447
| city_12 = Telšiai | div_12 = Telšiai County{{!}}Telšiai | pop_12 = 22,261
| city_13 = Tauragė | div_13 = Tauragė County{{!}}Tauragė | pop_13 = 21,416
| city_14 = Ukmergė | div_14 = Vilnius County{{!}}Vilnius | pop_14 = 21,048
| city_15 = Visaginas | div_15 = Utena County{{!}}Utena | pop_15 = 19,586
| city_16 = Palanga | div_16 = Klaipėda County{{!}}Klaipėda | pop_16 = 18,132
| city_17 = Plungė | div_17 = Telšiai County{{!}}Telšiai | pop_17 = 17,385
| city_18 = Kretinga | div_18 = Klaipėda County{{!}}Klaipėda | pop_18 = 17,207
| city_19 = Šilutė | div_19 = Klaipėda County{{!}}Klaipėda | pop_19 = 16,200
| city_20 = Gargždai | div_20 = Klaipėda County{{!}}Klaipėda | pop_20 = 15,932
}}
===Health===
{{Main|Health in Lithuania}}
[[File:Kauno klinikos 2006 07 23.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kaunas Clinics]], a medical institution in Lithuania]]
Lithuania provides free state-funded healthcare to all citizens and registered long-term residents.<ref>{{cite book |title=Health Care Systems in Transition – Lithuania |date=2000 |page=19 |url=http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/95127/E69920.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323173750/http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/95127/E69920.pdf |archive-date=23 March 2018 |access-date=23 March 2018 }}</ref> It co-exists with a significant private healthcare sector. In 2003–2012, the network of hospitals was restructured, as part of wider healthcare service reforms. It started in 2003–2005 with the expansion of ambulatory services and primary care.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://healthmanagement.org/c/hospital/issuearticle/the-healthcare-system-in-lithuania|title=The Healthcare System in Lithuania|website=healthmanagement.org|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>
In 2016, Lithuania ranked 27th in Europe in the [[Euro health consumer index]], a ranking of European healthcare systems based on waiting time, results and other indicators.
{{As of|2019}} Lithuanian [[life expectancy]] at birth was 76.0 (71.2 years for males and 80.4 for females)<ref>{{cite web|title=Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy, data by country|language=en|publisher=World Health Organization|url=https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.688|date=2020}}</ref> and the [[infant mortality]] rate was 2.99 per 1,000 births.<ref>{{cite web|title=Infant mortality rate - Total|publisher=[[UN]] Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation|url=https://childmortality.org/data/Lithuania}}{{Dead link|date=May 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The annual population growth rate increased by 0.3% in 2007. Lithuania has seen a dramatic rise in suicides in the 1990s.<ref name="who-suicide-data">{{cite web|title=Suicide rates. Data by country|url=http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.MHSUICIDE?lang=en|publisher=World Health Organization|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> The suicide rate has been constantly decreasing since, but it still remains the highest in the EU and the [[OECD]].<ref name="smhc-info">{{cite web|title=Savižudybių statistika|language=lt|publisher=State Mental Health Centre|url=https://vpsc.lrv.lt/lt/statistika/savizudybiu-statistika}}</ref> The suicide rate as of 2019 is 20.2 per 100,000 people.<ref name="who-suicide-data"/> [[Suicide in Lithuania]] has been a subject of research, but the main reasons behind the high rate are thought to be both psychological and economic, including: social transformations and economic recessions, alcoholism, lack of tolerance in the society, bullying.<ref name="lrt-suicide-reasons">{{cite web|title=Pradeda veikti Savižudybių prevencijos biuras|date=5 January 2015|access-date=19 May 2021|publisher=Lithuanian Radio and Television|language=lt|url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/tavo-lrt/15/88217/pradeda-veikti-savizudybiu-prevencijos-biuras}}</ref>
By 2000 the vast majority of Lithuanian health care institutions were non-profit-making enterprises and a private sector developed, providing mostly outpatient services which are paid for out-of-pocket. The [[Ministry of Health (Lithuania)|Ministry of Health]] also runs a few health care facilities and is involved in the running of the two major Lithuanian teaching hospitals. It is responsible for the State Public Health Centre which manages the public health network including ten county public health centres with their local branches. The ten [[Counties of Lithuania|counties]] run county hospitals and specialised health care facilities.<ref>{{cite book|title=Health Care Systems in Transition|date=2000|publisher=WHO|url=http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/95127/E69920.pdf?ua=1|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>
There is [[Taxation in Lithuania#Social security contributions|Compulsory Health Insurance]] for the Lithuanian residents. There are 5 Territorial Health Insurance Funds, covering Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Contributions for people who are economically active are 9% of income.<ref>{{cite web|title=Compulsory Health Insurance Contributions|url=http://www.vlk.lt/sites/en/health-insurance-in-Lithuania/compulsory-health-insurance-contributions/|publisher=VLK|access-date=3 July 2015|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227080202/http://www.vlk.lt/sites/en/health-insurance-in-Lithuania/compulsory-health-insurance-contributions/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Emergency medical services are provided free of charge to all residents. Access to the secondary and tertiary care, such as hospital treatment, is normally via referral by a [[general practitioner]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Accessing healthcare in Lithuania|url=http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/Pages/healthcareinLithuania.aspx|website=NHS Choices|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> Lithuania also has one of the lowest [[health care]] prices in Europe.<ref>{{cite book|title=Comparing Hospital and Health Prices and Volumes Internationally|date=6 August 2014|publisher=[[Eurostat]]|page=28|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/728703/728971/OECD-health-working-papers-75.pdf/a6e22472-95c4-4e77-bdb0-db3af4668e7f}}</ref>
===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Lithuania}}
{{See also|Lithuanian mythology}}
[[File:Hill-of-crosses-siauliai.jpg|thumb|upright=1.65|[[Hill of Crosses]] near [[Šiauliai]]]]
According to the 2021 census, 74.2% of residents of Lithuania were Catholics.<ref name="religion-stats"/> Catholicism has been the main religion since the official [[Christianisation of Lithuania]] in 1387. The Catholic Church was persecuted by the Russian Empire as part of the [[Russification]] policies and by the Soviet Union as part of the overall [[Religion in the Soviet Union|anti-religious campaigns]]. During the Soviet era, some priests actively led the resistance against the Communist regime, as symbolised by the [[Hill of Crosses]] and exemplified by ''[[The Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania]]''.
3.7% of the population are [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], mainly among the Russian minority.<ref name="religion-stats"/> The community of [[Old Believers]] (0.6% of population) dates back to the 1660s.
[[Protestants]] are 0.8%, of which 0.6% are [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] and 0.2% are [[Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church|Reformed]]. The [[Reformation]] did not impact Lithuania to a great extent as seen in [[East Prussia]], [[Estonia]], or [[Latvia]]. Before World War II, according to Losch (1932), the Lutherans were 3.3% of the total population.<ref name="lmaleidykla.lt">{{cite web |url=http://lmaleidykla.lt/publ/1392-1096/2004/2/Geo_026_33.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=25 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509100300/http://www.lmaleidykla.lt/publ/1392-1096/2004/2/Geo_026_33.pdf |archive-date=9 May 2016}}</ref> They were mainly [[Germans]] and [[Prussian Lithuanians]] in the [[Klaipėda Region]] (Memel territory). This population [[Flight and expulsion of Germans|fled or was expelled after the war]], and today Protestantism is mainly represented by ethnic Lithuanians throughout the northern and western parts of the country, as well as in large urban areas. Newly arriving [[Evangelicalism|evangelical churches]] have established missions in Lithuania since 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.2012693/k.AEBE/United_Methodists_evangelize_in_Lithuania_with_ads_brochures.htm |title=United Methodists evangelize in Lithuania with ads, brochures |website=Umc.org |date=11 August 2006 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014092015/http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.2012693/k.AEBE/United_Methodists_evangelize_in_Lithuania_with_ads_brochures.htm |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Hinduism is a minority religion and a fairly recent development in Lithuania. Hinduism is spread in Lithuania by Hindu organizations: [[ISKCON]], [[Sathya Sai Baba]], [[Brahma Kumaris]] and [[Osho Rajneesh]]. [[ISKCON]] (Lithuanian: Krišnos sąmonės judėjimas) is the largest and the oldest movement as the first Krishna followers date to 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.religija.lt/content/view/388/33/ |title=Krišnos sąmonės judėjimas |access-date=3 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020165549/http://www.religija.lt/content/view/388/33/ |archive-date=20 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It has three centres in Lithuania: in [[Vilnius]], [[Klaipėda]] and [[Kaunas]]. [[Brahma Kumaris]] maintains the Centre Brahma Kumaris in [[Antakalnis]], Vilnius.
The historical communities of [[Lipka Tatars]] maintain [[Islam in Lithuania|Islam]] as their religion. Lithuania was historically home to a significant [[History of the Jews in Lithuania|Jewish community]] and was an important centre of Jewish scholarship and culture from the 18th century until the eve of World War II. Of the approximately 220,000 Jews who lived in Lithuania in June 1941, almost all were killed during [[the Holocaust in Lithuania|the Holocaust]].<ref name="Bubnys_vanished219">{{cite book|author=Arūnas Bubnys |chapter=Holocaust in Lithuania: An Outline of the Major Stages and Their Results |title=The Vanished World of Lithuanian Jews |publisher=Rodopi |year=2004| isbn=978-90-420-0850-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdXRKbcyi5oC&pg=PA219 |pages=218–219}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Lithuania|url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005444|encyclopedia=Holocaust Encyclopedia|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|access-date=12 April 2012}}</ref> The Lithuanian Jewish community numbered about 4,000 at the end of 2009.<ref name="Stats">{{cite web|title=Population at the beginning of the year by ethnicity |url=http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/pages/view/?id=1731&PHPSESSID=a2cc98ebfc3a13b8297889cb6f68d571 |work=Statistics Lithuania |access-date=12 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604090852/http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/pages/view/?id=1731&PHPSESSID=311ec85274c89154e6f4befbc159a0e8 |archive-date=4 June 2007}}</ref>
[[Romuva (religion)|Romuva]], the [[neopagan]] revival of the [[Lithuanian mythology|ancient religious practices]], has gained popularity over the years. Romuva claims to continue living pagan traditions, which survived in folklore and customs.<ref>Dundzila (2007), pp. 279, 296–298.</ref><ref>Dundzila and Strmiska (2005), p. 247.</ref><ref>Ignatow (2007), p. 104.</ref> Romuva is a [[polytheism|polytheistic]] pagan faith, which asserts the sanctity of nature and has elements of [[ancestor worship]].<ref>Dundzila and Strmiska (2005), p. 244.</ref> According to the [[Lithuanian census of 2001|2001 census]], there were 1,270 people of Baltic faith in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.religija.lt/straipsniai/tyrimai-analize-nuomones/lietuvos-gyventojai-pagal-tikyba|title=Lietuvos gyventojai pagal tikybą 2001 m. – religija.lt|website=Religija.lt}}</ref> That number jumped to 5,118 in the 2011 census.<ref name="osp.stat.gov.lt"/>
===Education===
{{Main|Education in Lithuania}}
[[File:Vilnius University campus by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg|thumb|[[Vilnius University]], one of the oldest universities in the region.<ref>{{cite web|title=FOUR CENTURIES OF ENLIGHTENMENT: A Historic View of the University of Vilnius, 1579–1979|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1981_2/81_2_01.htm|author=Tomas Venclova|website=Lituanus.org|access-date=2 June 2018|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222449/http://www.lituanus.org/1981_2/81_2_01.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was established by [[Stephen Báthory]], King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1579.]]
The [[Constitution of Lithuania]] mandates ten-year education ending at age 16 and guarantees a free public higher education for students deemed 'good'.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania came into force on 2 November 1992|url=http://www3.lrs.lt/home/Konstitucija/Constitution.htm|access-date=6 April 2010|publisher=Republic of Lithuania}}</ref> The [[Ministry of Education and Science (Lithuania)|Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania]] proposes national educational policies and goals that are then voted for in the Seimas. Laws govern long-term educational strategy along with general laws on standards for higher education, vocational training, law and science, adult education, and special education.<ref name="edu1">{{cite web|url=http://www.european-agency.org/country-information/lithuania/lithuania-docs/education_lithuania.pdf|publisher=European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education|access-date=6 April 2010|title=Education in Lithuania|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215022049/http://www.european-agency.org/country-information/lithuania/lithuania-docs/education_lithuania.pdf|archive-date=15 December 2010}}</ref> 5.4% of GDP or 15.4% of total public expenditure was spent for education in 2016.<ref name=edumonitor>{{cite web|title=Education and Training Monitor 2017. Lithuania|url=https://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/monitor2017-lt_en.pdf|access-date=5 April 2018|page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406041020/https://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/monitor2017-lt_en.pdf|archive-date=6 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:GMC by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg|thumb|[[Vilnius University]] Life Sciences Center in the Sunrise Valley]]
According to the [[World Bank]], the literacy rate among Lithuanians aged 15 years and older is 100%.<ref>{{cite web|title=ICT at a Glance |url=http://devdata.worldbank.org/ict/ltu_ict.pdf |publisher=[[World Bank]] |access-date=7 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707184435/http://devdata.worldbank.org/ict/ltu_ict.pdf |archive-date=7 July 2007}}</ref> School attendance rates are above the EU average and school leave is less common than in the EU. According to [[Eurostat]] Lithuania leads among other countries of the [[European Union]] in people with secondary education (93.3%).<ref>{{cite web|title=Upper secondary education in EU|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00065|publisher=[[Eurostat]]|access-date=16 May 2014}}</ref> Based on OECD data, Lithuania is among the top 5 countries in the world in postsecondary (tertiary) education attainment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population with tertiary education|url=https://data.oecd.org/eduatt/population-with-tertiary-education.htm|website=data.oecd.org|access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref> {{As of|2016}}, 54.9% of the population aged 25 to 34, and 30.7% of the population aged 55 to 64 had completed tertiary education.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population with tertiary education|url=https://data.oecd.org/eduatt/population-with-tertiary-education.htm|website=data.oecd.org|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> The share of tertiary-educated 25–64-year-olds in STEM ([[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics]]) fields in Lithuania were above the OECD average (29% and 26% respectively), similarly to business, administration and law (25% and 23% respectively).<ref>{{cite web|title=Education at a glance 2017. Lithuania|url=http://gpseducation.oecd.org/Content/EAGCountryNotes/LTU.pdf|website=gpseducation.oecd.org|page=2|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808021023/http://gpseducation.oecd.org/Content/EAGCountryNotes/LTU.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Modern Lithuanian education system has multiple structural problems. Insufficient funding, quality issues, and decreasing student population are the most prevalent. Lithuanian teacher salaries are the lowest in the entire EU.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/ringas/politics/m-adomenas-lietuvos-svietimas-ka-daryciau-kitaip.d?id=71141632|title=M. Adomėnas. Lietuvos švietimas: ką daryčiau kitaip?|first=Mantas Adomėnas, TS-LKD frakcijos narys|last=Seime|website=Delfi.lt|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> Low teacher salaries was the primary reason behind national teacher strikes in 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/education/mokyklose-prasideda-neterminuotas-mokytoju-streikas.d?id=66552496|title=Mokyklose prasideda neterminuotas mokytojų streikas|website=Delfi.lt|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> 2015,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ve.lt/naujienos/visuomene/svietimas/mokytoju-streikas-pavyko-1419148/|title=Mokytojų streikas pavyko |website=Dienraštis Vakaru ekspresas|date=9 December 2015 |access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> and 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/svietimas/mokytoju-streikas-svarbiausi-faktai-233-591297|title=Mokytojų streikas: svarbiausi faktai|website=15min.lt|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/svietimas/mokytoju-streikas-tesiasi-110-ugdymo-istaigu-233-590739|title=Mokytojų streikas tęsiasi 110 ugdymo įstaigų|website=15min.lt|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> Salaries in the higher education sector are also low. Many Lithuanian professors have a second job to supplement their income.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tv3.lt/naujiena/934883/lietuvos-destytojai-bei-mokslininkai-atvirai-prabilo-kaip-prisiduria-prie-algos|title=Lietuvos dėstytojai bei mokslininkai atvirai prabilo, kaip prisiduria prie algos|website=Tv3.lt|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> PISA report from 2010 found that Lithuanian results in math, science and reading were below OECD average.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/46619703.pdf|title=PISA 2009 Results : Executive Summary|website=Oecd.org|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref> PISA report from 2015 reconfirmed these findings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf|title=Pisa 2015 : Results in Focus|website=Oecd.org|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref> The population ages 6 to 19 has decreased by 36% between 2005 and 2015. As a result, the student-teacher ratio is decreasing and expenditure per student is increasing, but schools, particularly in rural areas, are forced into reorganizations and consolidations.<ref name=edumonitor/> As with other Baltic nations, in particular [[Latvia]], the large volume of higher education graduates within the country, coupled with the high rate of spoken second languages is contributing to an education [[brain drain]].
{{As of|2008}}, there were 15 public and 6 private universities as well as 16 public and 11 private colleges in Lithuania (see: [[List of universities in Lithuania]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eui.eu/ProgrammesAndFellowships/AcademicCareersObservatory/AcademicCareersbyCountry/Lithuania.aspx|publisher=[[European University Institute]]|title=Lithuania, Academic Career Structure|access-date=7 April 2010}}</ref> [[Vilnius University]] is one of the [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|oldest universities in Northern Europe]] and the largest university in Lithuania. [[Kaunas University of Technology]] is the largest technical university in the Baltic States and the second largest university in Lithuania. In an attempt to reduce costs<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alfa.lt/straipsnis/12887651/universitetu-reforma-darbas-ant-durniaus|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113151138/https://www.alfa.lt/straipsnis/12887651/universitetu-reforma-darbas-ant-durniaus|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2018|title=Alfa.lt – Universitetų reforma – "darbas ant durniaus"|date=13 January 2018}}</ref> and adapt to sharply decreasing number of high-school students,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ve.lt/naujienos/visuomene/svietimas/pristatyta-aukstuju-mokyklu-tinklo-pertvarka-1550590/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113151028/http://www.ve.lt/naujienos/visuomene/svietimas/pristatyta-aukstuju-mokyklu-tinklo-pertvarka-1550590/|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2018|title=Pristatyta aukštųjų mokyklų tinklo pertvarka|date=13 January 2018}}</ref> Lithuanian parliament decided to reduce the number of universities in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diena.lt/naujienos/lietuva/salies-pulsas/vyriausybe-pritare-universitetu-pertvarkos-planui-838745|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113151301/http://www.diena.lt/naujienos/lietuva/salies-pulsas/vyriausybe-pritare-universitetu-pertvarkos-planui-838745|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2018|title=Vyriausybė pritarė universitetų pertvarkos planui – Diena.lt|date=13 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/seimas-po-svarstymo-pritare-valstybiniu-universitetu-pertvarkos-planui.d?id=75022448|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113151333/https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/seimas-po-svarstymo-pritare-valstybiniu-universitetu-pertvarkos-planui.d?id=75022448|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2018|title=Seimas po svarstymo pritarė valstybinių universitetų pertvarkos planui – DELFI|date=13 January 2018}}</ref> In early 2018, [[Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences]] and [[Aleksandras Stulginskis University]] were merged into [[Vytautas Magnus University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/education/seimas-pritare-3-universitetu-sujungimui-formuojamas-naujas-darinys.d?id=76893227|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113152341/https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/education/seimas-pritare-3-universitetu-sujungimui-formuojamas-naujas-darinys.d?id=76893227|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2018|title=Seimas pritarė 3 universitetų sujungimui: formuojamas naujas darinys – DELFI|date=13 January 2018}}</ref>
==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Lithuania}}
===Lithuanian language===
{{Main|Lithuanian language}}
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The [[Lithuanian language]] (''lietuvių kalba'') is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the [[official language]]s of the [[European Union]]. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 0.2 million abroad.
Lithuanian is a [[Baltic languages|Baltic language]], closely related to [[Latvian language|Latvian]], although they are not [[mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]]. It is written in an adapted version of the [[Latin alphabet|Roman script]]. Lithuanian is believed to be the [[conservative (language)|linguistically most conservative]] living [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European tongue]], retaining many features of [[Proto Indo-European language|Proto Indo-European]].<ref name="zinkevicius">{{cite book | author = Z. Zinkevičius | title = Rytų Lietuva praeityje ir dabar | publisher = Vilnius: [[Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Centre|Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla]] | year = 1993| page = 9| quote=...linguist generally accepted that Lithuanian language is the most archaic among live Indo-European languages...| isbn = 978-5-420-01085-3}}</ref> Lithuanian language studies are important for [[comparative linguistics]] and for reconstruction of [[Proto-Indo-European language]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_3_02.htm |title=THE IMPORTANCE OF LITHUANIAN FOR INDO-EUROPEAN LINGUISTICS |access-date=21 March 2018 |archive-date=9 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509145609/http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_3_02.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Lithuanian was studied by linguists such as [[Franz Bopp]], [[August Schleicher]], [[Adalbert Bezzenberger]], [[Louis Hjelmslev]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Key Thinkers in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQ6CTNgAbPMC&q=danis+hjelmslev+studied+lithuanian&pg=PA124|format=PDF|page=124|access-date=4 March 2018|isbn = 978-0-19-518768-7|last1 = Chapman|first1 = Siobhan|last2 = Routledge|first2 = Christopher|year = 2005}}</ref> [[Ferdinand de Saussure]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Why Lithuanian Accentuation Mattered to Saussure|url=http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~josephj/LHI_Joseph%5b1%5d.pdf|website=Lel.ed.ac.uk|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> [[Winfred P. Lehmann]], [[Vladimir Toporov]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Vladimir Toporov|url=http://www.lituanus.org/2007/07_2_01%20Sabaliauskas.html|website=Lituanus.org|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224180000/http://www.lituanus.org/2007/07_2_01%20Sabaliauskas.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and others.
[[File:The earliest known Lithuanian glosses (~1520–1530), words (tepridaužia, ubagystė).jpg|thumb|left|The earliest known Lithuanian glosses (between 1520 and 1530) written in the margins of [[Johann Herolt]] book ''Liber Discipuli de eruditione Christifidelium''. Words: ''teprÿdav[ſ]ʒÿ'' (let it strike), ''vbagÿſte'' (indigence).]]
There are two main dialects of the Lithuanian language: [[Aukštaitian dialect]] and [[Samogitian dialect]]. Aukštaitian dialect is mainly used in the central, southern and eastern parts of Lithuania while Samogitian dialect is used in the western part of the country.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Lietuvių kalbos tarmės|url=http://geografija6-8.mkp.emokykla.lt/lt/mo/zinynas/lietuviu_kalbos_tarmes/|access-date=27 June 2020}}</ref> The Samogitian dialect also has many completely different words and is even considered a separate language by some linguists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dr. Juozas Pabrėža: "Stipriausia kalba Lietuvoje yra žemaičių"|url=http://www.santarve.lt/aktualijos/seniunijoje/dr-juozas-pabreza-stipriausia-kalba-lietuvoje-yra-zemaiciu/|website=santarve.lt|access-date=17 February 2018|archive-date=3 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503154650/http://www.santarve.lt/aktualijos/seniunijoje/dr-juozas-pabreza-stipriausia-kalba-lietuvoje-yra-zemaiciu/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nowadays, the distinguishing feature between the two main Lithuanian dialects is the unequal pronunciation of accented and unaccented two-vowels uo and ie.<ref name="auto"/>
The groundwork for written Lithuanian was laid in 16th and 17th centuries by Lithuanian noblemen and scholars, who promoted Lithuanian language, created dictionaries and published books – [[Mikalojus Daukša]], [[Stanislovas Rapolionis]], [[Abraomas Kulvietis]], [[Jonas Bretkūnas]], [[Martynas Mažvydas]], [[Konstantinas Sirvydas]], Simonas Vaišnoras-Varniškis.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vaišnoras Simonas (Varniškis) apie 1545 – †1600 XI 16|url=http://www.varniai-museum.lt/index.php?mid=11&art=460&langID=1|website=Varniai-museum.lt|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225162228/http://www.varniai-museum.lt/index.php?mid=11&art=460&langID=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The first grammar book of the Lithuanian language ''Grammatica Litvanica'' was published in Latin in 1653 by [[Daniel Klein (grammarian)|Danielius Kleinas]].
[[Jonas Jablonskis]]' works and activities are especially important for the Lithuanian literature moving from the use of dialects to a standard Lithuanian language. The linguistic material which he collected was published in the 20 volumes of [[Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian]] and is still being used in research and in editing of texts and books. He also introduced the letter ''ū'' into Lithuanian writing.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Šlekonytė|first1=Jūratė|title=Lietuvių tautosakos populiarintojas Jonas Jablonskis|url=http://www.llti.lt/failai/23_Sukaktys_Jablonskis.pdf|website=llti.lt|access-date=17 February 2018}}</ref>
===Literature===
{{Main|Lithuanian literature}}
[[File:Mažvydo Katekizmas, Vilnius.jpg|thumb|upright|The first Lithuanian [[printing|printed]] book, ''[[Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas]]'' (1547, Königsberg)]]
[[File:Radivilias.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|The title page of ''Radivilias'' (1592, Vilnius). The poem celebrating commander [[Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł|Mikalojus Radvila Rudasis]] (1512–1584) and recounts the [[Battle of Ula|famous victory]] of [[Lithuanian Armed Forces]] over Moscow troops (1564).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Radvanas |first1=Jonas |title=Radivilias, sive De vita, et rebus praeclarissime gestis immortalis memoriae |url=http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/exhibition-reading-europe/detail.html?id=97294 |website=theeuropeanlibrary.org |publisher=ex officina Ioannis Kartzani |access-date=14 July 2018}}</ref>]]
There is a great deal of Lithuanian literature written in [[Latin]], the main scholarly language of the Middle Ages. The edicts of the Lithuanian King [[Mindaugas]] are the prime example of the literature of this kind. The [[Letters of Gediminas]] are another crucial heritage of the Lithuanian Latin writings.
One of the first Lithuanian authors who wrote in Latin was [[Mikołaj Hussowczyk|Nicolaus Hussovianus]] (around 1480 – after 1533). His poem ''Carmen de statura, feritate ac venatione bisontis'' (''A Song about the Appearance, Savagery and Hunting of the Bison''), published in 1523, describes the Lithuanian landscape, way of life and customs, touches on some actual political problems, and reflects the clash of paganism and Christianity. A person under the pseudonym {{ill|Michalo Lituanus|lt}} (around 1490 – 1560) wrote a treatise ''[[De moribus tartarorum, lituanorum et moscorum]]'' (''On the Customs of Tatars, Lithuanians and Muscovites'') in the middle of the 16th century, but it was not published until 1615. An extraordinary figure in the cultural life of Lithuania in the 16th century was the lawyer and poet of Spanish origin Petrus Roysius Maurus Alcagnicensis (around 1505 – 1571). The publicist, lawyer, and mayor of Vilnius, [[Augustinus Rotundus]] (around 1520–1582) wrote a no longer existent history of Lithuania in Latin around the year 1560. loannes Radvanus, a humanist poet of the second half of the 16th century, wrote an epic poem imitating the [[Aeneid]] of [[Virgil|Vergil]]. His ''Radivilias'', intended to become the Lithuanian national epic, was published in Vilnius in 1588.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dambrauskaitė |first1=Ramunė |title=A Latin Funeral Oration From Vilnius (1594) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=101lb8v-bJcC&pg=PA253 |publisher=Leuven University Press, Humanistica Lovaniensia |access-date=13 July 2018 |location=Leuven |page=253 |date=1995|isbn=978-90-6186-680-0}}</ref>
17th century Lithuanian scholars also wrote in Latin – Kazimieras Kojelavičius-Vijūkas, [[Žygimantas Liauksminas]] are known for their Latin writings in theology, rhetorics and music. Albertas Kojalavičius-Vijūkas wrote first printed Lithuanian history ''Historia Lithuania''.
Lithuanian literary works in the [[Lithuanian language]] started being first published in the 16th century. In 1547 [[Martynas Mažvydas]] compiled and published the first printed Lithuanian book ''Katekizmo prasti žodžiai'' (''The Simple Words of Catechism''), which marks the beginning of literature, printed in Lithuanian. He was followed by [[Mikalojus Daukša]] with ''Katechizmas''. In the 16th and 17th centuries, as in the whole Christian Europe, Lithuanian literature was primarily religious.
The evolution of the old (14th–18th century) Lithuanian literature ends with [[Kristijonas Donelaitis]], one of the most prominent authors of the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. Donelaitis' poem ''Metai'' (''[[The Seasons (poem)|The Seasons]]'') is a landmark of the Lithuanian fiction literature, written in [[hexameter]].<ref name="INST">Institute of Lithuanian Scientific Society. {{cite web|url=http://anthology.lms.lt/ |title=Lithuanian Classic Literature |access-date=16 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204191505/http://anthology.lms.lt/ |archive-date=4 February 2005}}</ref>
With a mix of [[Classicism]], [[Sentimentalism (literature)|Sentimentalism]] and [[Romanticism]], the Lithuanian literature of the first half of the 19th century is represented by [[Maironis]], [[Antanas Baranauskas]], [[Simonas Daukantas]], [[Oscar Milosz]], and [[Simonas Stanevičius]].<ref name="INST" /> During the Tsarist annexation of Lithuania in the 19th century, the [[Lithuanian press ban]] was implemented, which led to the formation of the [[Knygnešiai]] (Book smugglers) movement. This movement is thought to be the very reason the Lithuanian language and literature survived until today.
20th-century Lithuanian literature is represented by [[Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas]], [[Antanas Vienuolis]], [[Bernardas Brazdžionis]], [[Antanas Škėma]], [[Balys Sruoga]], [[Vytautas Mačernis]] and [[Justinas Marcinkevičius]].
In 21st century debuted [[Kristina Sabaliauskaitė]], Renata Šerelytė, Valdas Papievis, [[Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė]], [[Ruta Sepetys|Rūta Šepetys]].
===Architecture===
{{See also|Lithuanian design}}
[[File:Wilno Katedra.jpg|thumb|left|180px|[[Vilnius Cathedral]] by [[Laurynas Gucevičius]] ]]
Several [[List of architects from Lithuania|famous Lithuania-related architects]] are notable for their achievements in the field of architecture. [[Johann Christoph Glaubitz]], [[Marcin Knackfus]], [[Laurynas Gucevičius]] and [[Karol Podczaszyński]] were instrumental in introducing [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] and [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] architectural movements to the Lithuanian architecture during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuanian Baroque architecture|url=http://www.kpd.lt/uploads/EN/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/9_LITHUANIAN_BAROQUE_ARCHITECTURE.pdf|website=kpd.lt|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808021028/http://www.kpd.lt/uploads/EN/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/9_LITHUANIAN_BAROQUE_ARCHITECTURE.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Vilnius]] is considered as a capital of the Eastern Europe Baroque.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vilniaus barokas|url=http://www.ivilnius.lt/apie-vilniu/architektura/barokas/|website=iVilnius.lt|access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref> [[Vilnius Old Town]] that is full of astonishing Baroque churches and other buildings is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Vilnius Historic Centre|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/541|website=whc.unesco.org|access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Grycia, 2007-04-21.jpg|thumb|''Gryčia'' (traditional dwelling house, built in the 19th century)]]
Lithuania is also known for [[List of castles in Lithuania|numerous castles]]. About twenty castles exist in Lithuania. Some castles had to be rebuilt or survive partially. Many [[Lithuanian nobility|Lithuanian noble]]s' historic [[List of palaces and manor houses in Lithuania|palaces and manor houses]] have remained till the nowadays and were reconstructed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos dvarų duomenų bazė|url=http://www.heritage.lt/dvarai/|website=heritage.lt|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209184503/http://www.heritage.lt/dvarai/|archive-date=9 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lithuanian village life has existed since the days of [[Vytautas the Great]]. [[Zervynos]] and [[Kapiniškiai]] are two of many [[ethnographic village]]s in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ethnographic settlements of Lithuania|url=http://www.kpd.lt/uploads/EN/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/23_ETHNOGRAPHIC_SETTLEMENTS_OF_LITHUANIA.pdf|website=kpd.lt|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808021041/http://www.kpd.lt/uploads/EN/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/Heritage%20in%20Lithuania/23_ETHNOGRAPHIC_SETTLEMENTS_OF_LITHUANIA.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Rumšiškės]] is an open space museum where old ethnographic architecture is preserved.
During the [[interwar period]], [[Art Deco]], Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural style buildings were constructed in the Lithuania's temporary capital [[Kaunas]]. Its architecture is regarded as one of the finest examples of the European Art Deco and has received the [[European Heritage Label]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kaunas of 1919–1940, Lithuania|url=https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/actions/heritage-label/sites/kaunas-1919-1940_en|website=ec.europa.eu|access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref>
===Arts and museums===
{{Main|List of museums in Lithuania}}
[[File:Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis - FAIRY TALE (FAIRY TALE OF KINGS) - 1909.jpg|thumb|right|''Kings' Fairy Tale'' (1908–1909) by [[Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis]]]]
The [[Lithuanian Art Museum]] was founded in 1933 and is the largest museum of art conservation and display in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ldm.lt/LDM/History_LAM_en.htm |title=History of the Lithuanian Art Museum |website=Ldm.lt |access-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510013109/http://www.ldm.lt/LDM/History_LAM_en.htm |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref> Among other important museums are the [[Palanga Amber Museum]], where [[amber]] pieces comprise a major part of the collection, National Gallery of Art, presenting collection of Lithuanian art of the 20th and 21st century, [[National Museum of Lithuania]] presenting Lithuanian archaeology, history and ethnic culture. In 2018 two private museums were opened – [[MO Museum]] devoted to modern and contemporary Lithuanian art and ''Tartle'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tartle.lt/en/news.html |title=Tartle |website=tartle.lt |access-date=1 November 2018 | quote=The Art Centre TARTLE opened in Užupis district in Vilnius will provide an opportunity to get acquainted with Lithuanian art treasures and historical artefacts from cultural heritage of the pagan times to the contemporary art. The target of the collection and the art centre is not only to collect and bring back to homeland the Lithuanian cultural and historical heritage scattered all over the world..}}</ref> exhibiting a collection of Lithuanian art heritage and artefacts.
Perhaps the most renowned figure in Lithuania's art community was the composer [[Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis]] (1875–1911), an internationally renowned musician. The [[2420 Čiurlionis]] [[asteroid]], identified in 1975, honors his achievements. The [[M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum]], as well as the only military museum in Lithuania, [[Vytautas the Great War Museum]], are located in Kaunas.
[[Franciszek Smuglewicz]], [[Jan Rustem]], [[Józef Oleszkiewicz]] and [[Kanuty Rusiecki]] are the most prominent Lithuanian painters of the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lietuvos tapyba |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-tapyba/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=12 February 2022 |language=lt}}</ref>
===Theatre===
Lithuania has some very famous theatre directors well known in the country and abroad. One of them is [[Oskaras Koršunovas]]. He was awarded more than forty times with special prizes. Possibly most prestigious award is Swedish Commander Grand Cross: [[Order of the Polar Star]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Oskaras Koršunovas|url=https://www.okt.lt/kurejai/oskaras-korsunovas/|website=Okt.lt|access-date=18 February 2018|language=lt-LT}}</ref> Today's the most famous theatres in Lithuania are in [[Vilnius]], [[Kaunas]], [[Klaipėda]] and [[Panevėžys]]. It is [[Lithuanian National Drama Theatre]], ''[[Keistuolių Teatras|Keistuolių teatras]]'' (Theatre of Freaks) in Vilnius, [[Kaunas State Drama Theatre]], Theatre of Oskaras Koršunovas, Klaipėda Drama Theatre, Theatre of [[Gytis Ivanauskas]], Miltinis Drama Theatre in Panevėžys, The Doll's Theatre, [[Old Theatre of Vilnius]] and others.<ref>{{cite web|title=Teatras|url=https://lrkm.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/teatras|website=lrkm.lrv.lt|access-date=18 February 2018|language=lt|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222206/https://lrkm.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/teatras|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are some very popular theatre festivals like ''Sirenos'' (Sirens), ''TheATRIUM'', ''Nerk į teatrą'' (Dive into the Theatre) and others.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sirenos|url=http://www.sirenos.lt/|website=sirenos.lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=FESTIVALIS "TheATRIUM"|url=http://kldt.lt/festivalis-the-atrium/|website=kldt.lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Festivalis "Nerk į teatrą"|url=http://dramosteatras.lt/lt/projektai/festivalis-nerk-i-teatra/|website=dramosteatras.lt}}</ref> The figures dominating in Lithuanian theatre world are directors like [[Eimuntas Nekrošius]], [[Jonas Vaitkus]], Cezaris Graužinis, Gintaras Varnas, [[Dalia Ibelhauptaitė]], Artūras Areima; number of talented actors like Dainius Gavenonis, Rolandas Kazlas, Saulius Balandis, Gabija Jaraminaitė and many others.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nariai|url=http://teatrosajunga.lt/member/|website=teatrosajunga.lt|access-date=18 February 2018|language=lt-LT}}</ref>
===Cinema===
{{Main|Cinema of Lithuania}}
[[File:Kinas Romuva.JPG|thumb|[[Romuva Cinema]], the oldest still operational [[movie theater|cinema]] in Lithuania]]
On 28 July 1896, [[Thomas Edison]] live photography session was held in the Concerts Hall of the [[Botanical Garden of Vilnius University]]. After a year, similar American movies were available with the addition of special [[phonograph record]]s that also provided sound. In 1909, Lithuanian cinema pioneers {{ill|Antanas Račiūnas|lt}} and [[Ladislas Starevich]] released their first movies. Soon the Račiūnas' recordings of Lithuania's views became very popular among the [[Lithuanian Americans]] abroad. In 1925, Pranas Valuskis filmed movie ''Naktis Lietuvoje'' (Night in Lithuania) about [[Lithuanian book smugglers]] that left the first bright Lithuanian footprint in [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]]. The most significant and mature Lithuanian American movie of the time ''Aukso žąsis'' (Golden goose) was created in 1965 by {{ill|Birutė Pūkelevičiūtė|lt}} that featured motifs from the [[Brothers Grimm]] fairy tales. In 1940, [[Romuva Cinema]] was opened in [[Kaunas]] and currently is the oldest still operational cinema in Lithuania. After the occupation of the state, movies mostly were used for the [[Soviet propaganda]] purposes, nevertheless Almantas Grikevičius, Gytis Lukšas, Henrikas Šablevičius, Arūnas Žebriūnas, Raimondas Vabalas were able to overcome the obstacles and create valuable films. After the restoration of the independence, [[Šarūnas Bartas]], [[Audrius Stonys]], [[Arūnas Matelis]], Audrius Juzėnas, [[Algimantas Puipa]], {{ill|Janina Lapinskaitė|lt}}, Dijana and her husband Kornelijus Matuzevičius received success in international movie festivals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kino Lietuvoje istorija |url=https://sites.google.com/site/lietuvoskinas19/lietuvos-kinas |website=sites.google.com |access-date=26 June 2018 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225094905/https://sites.google.com/site/lietuvoskinas19/lietuvos-kinas |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2018, 4,265,414 cinema tickets were sold in Lithuania with the average price of €5.26.<ref>{{cite web |title=Faktai ir statistika |url=http://www.lkc.lt/faktai-ir-statistika/ |website=lkc.lt |access-date=22 September 2019 |language=lt-LT}}</ref>
===Music===
{{Main|Music of Lithuania}}
{{See also|Lithuanian folk music}}
{{multiple image
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| footer = Lithuanians dancing at ''Skamba skamba kankliai'' festival and singing at [[Lithuanian Song Festival|Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival]] in [[Vingis Park]]
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Lithuanian folk music belongs to [[Baltic languages|Baltic]] music branch which is connected with [[neolithic]] [[corded ware]] culture. Two instrument cultures meet in the areas inhabited by Lithuanians: stringed ([[Kanklės|kanklių]]) and wind instrument cultures. Lithuanian folk music is archaic, mostly used for ritual purposes, containing elements of [[paganism]] faith. There are three ancient styles of singing in Lithuania connected with ethnographical regions: [[monophony]], [[heterophony]] and [[polyphony]]. Folk song genres: Sutartinės (Multipart Songs),<ref>{{cite web|title=Sutartinės, Lithuanian multipart songs|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/sutartines-lithuanian-multipart-songs-00433|website=ich.unesco.org|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> Wedding Songs, War-Historical Time Songs, Calendar Cycle and Ritual Songs and Work Songs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Anthology of Lithuanian ethnoculture|url=http://www.lnkc.lt/eknygos/eka/|website=Lnkc.lt|access-date=23 January 2018}}</ref>
Italian artists organized the first [[opera]] in Lithuania on 4 September 1636 at the [[Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania|Palace of the Grand Dukes]] by the order of [[Władysław IV Vasa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Operos dieną Valdovų rūmuose vainikuos pasaulinis šedevras – K. Monteverdžio opera "Orfėjas"|url=http://valdovurumai.lt/aktualijos/claudio-monteverdi-opera-orfejas-lorfeo|website=valdovurumai.lt|access-date=7 September 2015|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308060834/https://www.valdovurumai.lt/aktualijos/claudio-monteverdi-opera-orfejas-lorfeo|url-status=dead}}</ref> Currently, operas are staged at the [[Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre]] and also by independent troupe [[Vilnius City Opera]].
[[File:Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis photo portrait.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Painter and composer [[Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis|M.K. Čiurlionis]]]]
[[Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis]] is the most renowned Lithuanian painter and composer. During his short life he created about 200 pieces of music. His works have had profound influence on modern Lithuanian culture. His [[symphonic poem]]s ''In the Forest'' (''Miške'') and ''The Sea'' (''Jūra'') were performed only [[Posthumous work|posthumously]]. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. He has been considered one of the pioneers of abstract art in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Painting {{!}} M. K. Čiurlionis|url=http://ciurlionis.eu/en/painting/|website=ciurlionis.eu|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref>
In Lithuania, [[choral music]] is very important. [[Vilnius]] is the only city with three choirs laureates (Brevis, Jauna Muzika and Chamber Choir of the Conservatoire) at the [[European Grand Prix for Choral Singing]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murauskaitė |first1=Rasa |title=Trys meilės chorui dešimtmečiai. Pokalbis su Vaclovu Augustinu |url=https://www.15min.lt/kultura/naujiena/muzika/trys-meiles-chorui-desimtmeciai-pokalbis-su-vaclovu-augustinu-284-1207238 |website=[[15min.lt]] |access-date=31 October 2019 |language=lt}}</ref> There is a long-standing tradition of the ''Dainų šventė'' ([[Lithuanian Song Festival|Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival]]). The first one took place in [[Kaunas]] in 1924. Since 1990, the festival has been organised every four years and summons roughly 30,000 singers and folk dancers of various professional levels and age groups from across the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lithuanian Song Festival|url=http://www.dainusvente.lt/en/history/|website=DainuSvente.lt|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=11 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611213024/https://www.dainusvente.lt/en/history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival together with its [[Latvian Song and Dance Festival|Latvian]] and [[Estonian Song Festival|Estonian]] versions was inscribed as [[UNESCO]] [[Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity|Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity|date=2005|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|page=50|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001473/147344e.pdf}}</ref> ''Gatvės muzikos diena'' (Street Music Day) gathers musicians of various genres annually.<ref>{{cite web|title=Street Music Day|url=http://gmd.lt/en|website=gmd.lt|access-date=10 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311021339/http://gmd.lt/en|archive-date=11 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Conductor [[Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla]] performing on the scenes of Rome, New York and Birmingham.
Modern classical composers emerged in seventies – [[Bronius Kutavičius]], Feliksas Bajoras, [[Osvaldas Balakauskas]], [[Onutė Narbutaitė]], [[Vidmantas Bartulis]] and others. Most of those composers explored archaic Lithuanian music and its harmonic combination with modern minimalism and neoromanticism.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Modern Music of Lithuania: Past & Present|url=http://www.mic.lt/en/database/classical/history/|website=Mic.lt|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref>
Jazz scene was active even during the years of Soviet occupation. The real breakthrough would occur in 1970–71 with the coming together of the Ganelin/Tarasov/Chekasin trio, the alleged instigators of the Vilnius Jazz School.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jazz in Lithuania|url=http://www.vilniusjazz.lt/press/99jil.php|website=Vilniusjazz.lt|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> Most known annual events are [[Vilnius Jazz Festival]], [[Kaunas Jazz]], Birštonas Jazz.
[[Music Information Centre Lithuania]] (MICL) collects, promotes and shares information on Lithuanian musical culture.
====Rock and protest music====
{{Main|Rock music in Lithuania}}
[[File:Antis rock band on stage during the first edition of the Rock March (Vilnius, Lithuania, 1987).jpg|thumb|Rock band [[Antis (band)|Antis]], which under firm [[Censorship in the Soviet Union|censorship]] actively mocked the [[Soviet Union]] regime by using [[metaphor]]s in their lyrics, during an [[Anti-Sovietism]], [[Anti-communism]] concert in 1987]]
After the [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1944)|Soviet reoccupation of Lithuania in 1944]], the [[Censorship in the Soviet Union|Soviet's censorship]] continued firmly controlling all artistic expressions in Lithuania, and any violations by criticizing the regime would immediately result in punishments.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sinitsyna|first1=Olga|title=CENSORSHIP IN THE SOVIET UNION AND ITS CULTURAL AND PROFESSIONAL RESULTS FOR ARTS AND ART LIBRARIES|date=1999|url=https://forge.fh-potsdam.de/~IFLA/INSPEL/99-1sino.pdf}}</ref> The first local rock bands started to emerge around 1965 and included ''Kertukai'', ''Aitvarai'' and ''Nuogi ant slenksčio'' in Kaunas, and [[Kęstutis Antanėlis]], ''Vienuoliai'', and ''Gėlių Vaikai'' in Vilnius, among others. Unable to express their opinions directly, the Lithuanian artists began organizing patriotic [[Roko maršas|Roko Maršai]] and were using [[metaphor]]s in their songs' lyrics, which were easily identified for their true meanings by the locals.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tilvikaitė|first1=Patricija|title=Ir lietuviškas rokas padėjo Lietuvai atkurti Nepriklausomybę|url=http://www.universitetozurnalistas.kf.vu.lt/2016/08/ir-lietuviskas-rokas-padejo-lietuvai-atkurti-nepriklausomybe/|website=Universitetozurnalistas.kf.vu.lt|access-date=23 August 2016|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A. Mamontovas: "Roko maršai" buvo toks įrankis, koks dabar yra internetas|url=http://kauno.diena.lt/naujienos/lietuva/salies-pulsas/mamontovas-roko-marsai-buvo-toks-irankis-koks-dabar-yra-internetas-801615|website=Kauno diena / LRT|access-date=12 March 2017|language=lt}}</ref> [[Postmodernist]] [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Antis (band)|Antis]] and its vocalist [[Algirdas Kaušpėdas]] were one of the most active performers who mocked the Soviet regime by using metaphors. For example, in the song ''Zombiai'' (Zombies), the band indirectly sang about the [[Red Army]] soldiers who occupied the state and its military base in [[Ukmergė]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ukmergės karinis miestelis|url=http://www.autc.lt/lt/architekturos-objektai/1558|website=Autc.lt|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222917/http://www.autc.lt/lt/architekturos-objektai/1558|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Knyga "Antiška" (II dalis): iki "Anties" lietuviai nežinojo, kas yra zombis (ištrauka, video)|url=https://kultura.lrytas.lt/literatura/knyga-antiska-ii-dalis-iki-anties-lietuviai-nezinojo-kas-yra-zombis-istrauka-video.htm|website=[[Lrytas.lt]]|access-date=29 July 2013|language=lt-LT|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222913/https://kultura.lrytas.lt/literatura/knyga-antiska-ii-dalis-iki-anties-lietuviai-nezinojo-kas-yra-zombis-istrauka-video.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Vytautas Kernagis]]' song ''Kolorado vabalai'' ([[Colorado potato beetle|Colorado beetles]]) was also a favourite due to its lyrics in which true meaning of the Colorado beetles was intended to be the Soviets decorated with the [[Ribbon of Saint George|Ribbons of Saint George]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bacanskas|first1=Benas|title=Dainos teatras – Kolorado vabalai (1991-12-25)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDLmyqENH3U| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809142047/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDLmyqENH3U| archive-date=2021-08-09|website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=19 December 2014|date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
In the early independence years, rock band [[Foje]] was particularly popular and gathered tens of thousands of spectators to the concerts.<ref>{{cite web|title=A. Mamontovas: padėsime galutinį tašką "Foje" istorijoje – LRT|url=http://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kalba-vilnius/32/26683/a-mamontovas-padesime-galutini-taska-foje-istorijoje|website=LRT|date=6 October 2013|access-date=6 October 2013|language=lt}}</ref> After disbanding in 1997, Foje vocalist [[Andrius Mamontovas]] remained one of the most prominent Lithuanian performers and an active participant in various [[Charity (practice)|charity]] events.<ref>{{cite web|title=A. Mamontovas: populiarumą išnaudoju geriems darbams|url=http://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/26/117983/a-mamontovas-populiaruma-isnaudoju-geriems-darbams|website=LRT|date=31 October 2015|access-date=31 October 2015|language=lt}}</ref> [[Marijonas Mikutavičius]] is famous for creating unofficial Lithuania sport anthem ''Trys milijonai'' (Three million) and official anthem of the [[EuroBasket 2011]] ''Nebetyli sirgaliai'' (English version was named ''Celebrate Basketball'').<ref>{{YouTube|fmmg3Wl86kQ|Marijonas Mikutavičius – Trys milijonai}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Marijonas Mikutavičius, Mantas, Mia – Nebetyli sirgaliai|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TyDEPzXr3M|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109115739/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TyDEPzXr3M&gl=US&hl=en|archive-date=9 January 2019|website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=15 October 2014|date=15 October 2014|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>
===Cuisine===
{{Main|Lithuanian cuisine}}
[[File:Juoda duona.JPG|thumb|upright=.80|Lithuanian dark [[rye bread]]]]
[[File:Karmėlavos Cepelinas.JPG|thumb|upright=.80|''[[Cepelinai]]'', a [[potato]]-based dumpling dish characteristic of [[Lithuanian cuisine]] with meat, [[curd]] or mushrooms]]
Lithuanian cuisine features the products suited to the cool and [[Maritime climate|moist]] [[Continental climate|northern climate]] of Lithuania: [[barley]], [[potato]]es, [[rye]], [[beet]]s, greens, berries, and [[mushroom]]s are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialties. [[Fish]] dishes are very popular in the coastal region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tradicinė lietuviška virtuvė|url=https://www.delfi.lt/gyvenimas/receptai/tradicine-lietuviska-virtuve.d?id=12788805|website=DELFI|access-date=8 April 2007}}</ref> Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Northern Europe, Lithuanian cuisine has some similarities to [[Scandinavian cuisine]]. Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by a variety of influences during the country's long and difficult history.
Dairy products are an important part of traditional Lithuanian cuisine. These include white cottage cheese (''varškės sūris''), curd (''varškė''), soured milk (''rūgpienis''), sour cream (''grietinė''), butter (''sviestas''), and sour cream butter ''kastinis''. Traditional meat products are usually seasoned, matured and smoked – smoked sausages (''dešros''), lard (''lašiniai''), ''[[skilandis]]'', smoked ham (''kumpis''). Soups (''sriubos'') – boletus soup (''baravykų sriuba''), cabbage soup (''kopūstų sriuba''), beer soup (''alaus sriuba''), milk soup (''pieniška sriuba''), cold-beet soup (''šaltibarščiai'') and various kinds of porridges (''košės'') are part of tradition and daily diet. Freshwater fish, herring, wild berries and mushrooms, honey are highly popular diet to this day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos virtuvė|url=https://maistologija.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/lietuvos-virtuve/|website=maistologija.wordpress.com|date=7 August 2010|access-date=25 March 2018|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The only guide to Lithuanian cuisine you will ever need|url=https://www.urbanadventures.com/blog/guide-lithuanian-cuisine.html|website=Urbanadventures.com|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406041111/https://www.urbanadventures.com/blog/guide-lithuanian-cuisine.html|archive-date=6 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Biržų 1686 Jubiliejinis Alus (9834933134).jpg|thumb|upright=.65|left|Lithuania has longlasting [[Beer in Lithuania|beer brewing traditions]].]]
One of the oldest and most fundamental Lithuanian food products was and is rye bread. Rye bread is eaten every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bread played an important role in family rituals and agrarian ceremonies.<ref>{{cite web|title=LITHUANIAN TRADITIONAL FOODS – BREAD|url=http://www.lnkc.lt/eknygos/eka/food/bread.html|website=Lnkc.lt|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref>
Lithuanians and other nations that once formed part of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] share many dishes and beverages. [[German cuisine|German traditions]] also influenced Lithuanian cuisine, introducing pork and potato dishes, such as potato pudding (''kugelis'' or kugel) and [[Kishka (food)|potato sausages]] (''vėdarai''), as well as the baroque tree cake known as ''[[Šakotis]]''. The most exotic of all the influences is Eastern (Karaite) cuisine – the ''[[kibinai]]'' are popular in Lithuania. Lithuanian noblemen usually hired French chefs, so [[French cuisine]] influence came to Lithuania in this way.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kokią įtaką Lietuvos virtuvei padarė prancūzai?|url=https://www.15min.lt/maistas/naujiena/virtuve/kokia-itaka-lietuvos-virtuvei-padare-prancuzai-1044-719414|website=15min.lt|access-date=26 March 2018|language=lt}}</ref>
[[Balts]] were using [[mead]] (''[[midus]]'') for thousands of years.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Astrauskas|first1=Antanas|title=Per barzdą varvėjo: svaigiųjų gėrimų istorija Lietuvoje|date=2008|publisher=Baltos lankos|location=Vilnius|isbn=978-9955-23-141-7}}</ref> Beer (''alus'') is the most common alcoholic beverage. Lithuania has a long farmhouse [[Beer in Lithuania|beer tradition]], first mentioned in 11th century chronicles. Beer was brewed for ancient Baltic [[Festival|festivities]] and rituals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.llti.lt/failai/05_Laurinkienes.pdf|website=Llti.lt|page=18|title=Alus – apeiginis baltų gėrimas|access-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808021048/http://www.llti.lt/failai/05_Laurinkienes.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Farmhouse brewing survived to a greater extent in Lithuania than anywhere else, and through accidents of history the Lithuanians then developed a commercial brewing culture from their unique farmhouse traditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.garshol.priv.no/download/lithuanian-beer-guide/book.pdf|website=Garshol.priv.no|page=5|title=Lithuanian beer – A rough guide|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/253.html|website=Garshol.priv.no|title=Trying to understand Lithuanian beer|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> Lithuania is top 5 by consumption of beer per capita in Europe in 2015, counting 75 active breweries, 32 of them are microbreweries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brewersofeurope.org/uploads/mycms-files/documents/publications/2016/stats_2016_web.pdf|website=Brewersofeurope.org|title=Beer statistics – 2016 edition|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> The microbrewery scene in Lithuania has been growing in later years, with a number of bars focusing on these beers popping up in Vilnius and also in other parts of the country.
Eight Lithuanian restaurants are listed in the White Guide Baltic Top 30.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whiteguide-nordic.com/nyheter/there-is-no-better-time-than-now-to-visit-baltic-restaurants|website=Whiteguide-nordic.com|title=The best restaurants in the Nordics|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=24 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124174247/http://www.whiteguide-nordic.com/nyheter/there-is-no-better-time-than-now-to-visit-baltic-restaurants|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Media===
{{main|Mass media in Lithuania}}
The [[Constitution of Lithuania]] provides for [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press|press]], and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to promote these freedoms. However, the constitutional definition of freedom of expression does not protect certain acts, such as incitement to national, racial, religious, or social hatred, violence and discrimination, or slander, and disinformation. It is a crime to deny or "grossly trivialize" Soviet or Nazi German crimes against Lithuania or its citizens, or to deny genocide, [[crimes against humanity]], or [[war crimes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204308|title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017|website=State.gov|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref>
In 2021, the best-selling daily national newspapers in Lithuania were ''[[Lietuvos rytas]]'' (5.4% of all weekly [[List of newspapers in India by readership#Readership vs Circulation|readers]]), ''{{ill|Vakaro žinios|lt}}'' (3.2%), ''[[Kauno diena]]'' (2.9%). Best-selling weekly newspapers were ''{{ill|lt=Savaitė|Savaitė (1999)|lt}}'' (16.5%), ''{{ill|lt=Žmonės|Žmonės (žurnalas)|lt}}'' (8.4%), ''Prie kavos'' (4.1%), ''[[Lietuvos rytas|Savaitgalis]]'' (3.9%) and ''[[Verslo žinios]]'' (3.2%).<ref name="Kantar21">{{cite web |title=Annual Review of Media Surveys 2021 |url=https://www.kantar.lt/data/files/Metines_apzvalgos/Annual_Review_of_Media_Surveys_2021.pdf |publisher=Kantar |access-date=14 June 2023}}</ref>
In 2021, the most popular national [[television channel]]s in Lithuania were [[TV3 Lithuania|TV3]] (34.6% of the daily auditorium), [[LNK (television station)|LNK]] (32.3%), [[Lithuanian National Radio and Television]] (31.6%), [[BTV (Lithuania)|BTV]] (17.3%), [[Lietuvos rytas TV]] (16.2%), [[TV6 (Lithuanian TV channel)|TV6]] (15.3%).<ref name="Kantar21"/>
The most popular [[radio station]]s in Lithuania were [[M-1 (Lithuanian radio station)|M-1]] (14.5% of daily listeners), ''Lietus'' (12.7%), ''[[Radiocentras (Lithuanian radio station)|Radiocentras]]'' (9.1%) and ''[[LRT Radijas]]'' (8.5%).<ref name="Kantar21"/>
===Public holidays and festivals===
{{main|Public holidays in Lithuania}}
As a result of a thousand-years history, Lithuania has two [[National day]]s. First one is the [[Statehood Day (Lithuania)|Statehood Day]] on 6 July, marking the establishment of the medieval [[Kingdom of Lithuania]] by [[Mindaugas]] in 1253. Creation of modern Lithuanian state is commemorated on 16 February as a [[Act of Independence of Lithuania|Lithuanian State Reestablishment Day]] on which declaration of independence from Russia and Germany was declared in 1918. [[Joninės]] (previously known as ''Rasos'') is a public holiday with [[pagan]]ic roots that celebrates a [[solstice]]. As of 2018, there are 13 public holidays (which come with a day off).<ref>{{cite web|title=National Holidays|url=http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/en/media/cultural-events/national-holidays/|access-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628125054/http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/en/media/cultural-events/national-holidays/|archive-date=28 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Kaziuko mugė]] is an annual [[fair]] held since the beginning of the 17th century that commemorates the anniversary of [[Saint Casimir|Saint Casimir's]] death and gathers thousands of visitors and many craftsmen. Other notable festivals are [[Vilnius International Film Festival]], [[Kauno Miesto Diena]], [[Klaipėda Sea Festival]], [[Mados infekcija]], [[Vilnius Book Fair]], [[Vilnius Marathon]], [[Devilstone Open Air]], {{ill|Apuolė 854|lt}}, [[Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Festival]].
{{Holidays of Lithuania}}
===Sports===
{{Main|Sport in Lithuania}}
[[Basketball]] is the most popular and [[national sport]] of Lithuania. The [[Lithuania men's national basketball team|Lithuania national basketball team]] has had significant success in international basketball events, having won the [[EuroBasket]] on three occasions ([[Eurobasket 1937|1937]], [[Eurobasket 1939|1939]] and [[Eurobasket 2003|2003]]), as well a total of 8 other medals in the Eurobasket, the [[FIBA World Championship|World Championships]] and the [[Basketball at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]. The men's national team also has extremely high TV ratings as about 76% of the country's population watched their games live in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lietuvos krepšinio rinktinės kovas šįmet matė per 2 mln. televizijos žiūrovų|url=http://www.15min.lt/naujiena/sportas/krepsinis/lietuvos-krepsinio-rinktines-kovas-simet-mate-per-2-mln-televizijos-ziurovu-23-466445|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150127002110/http://www.15min.lt/naujiena/sportas/krepsinis/lietuvos-krepsinio-rinktines-kovas-simet-mate-per-2-mln-televizijos-ziurovu-23-466445|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 January 2015|website=15min.lt|access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref> Lithuania hosted the Eurobasket in 1939 and [[Eurobasket 2011|2011]]. The historic Lithuanian basketball team [[BC Žalgiris]], from Kaunas, won the European basketball league [[Euroleague]] in 1999. Lithuania has produced a number of [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] players, including [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] inductees [[Arvydas Sabonis]] and [[Šarūnas Marčiulionis]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers-index/ |title=The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – Hall of Famers Index |website=Hoophall.com |access-date=30 April 2016}}</ref> and current NBA players [[Jonas Valančiūnas]], [[Domantas Sabonis]], and [[Ignas Brazdeikis]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://pr.nba.com/nba-rosters-international-players-2016-17/ |title=NBA rosters feature record 113 international players from 41 countries and territories |publisher=National Basketball Association |date=25 October 2016 |access-date=11 September 2017}}</ref>
[[File:La selección de Lituania celebra su tercer puesto en el Mundial de baloncesto 2010.jpg|thumb|left|[[Lithuania men's national basketball team]] is ranked eighth worldwide in [[FIBA Rankings]].]]
Lithuania has won a total of [[Lithuania at the Olympics|26 medals at the Olympic Games]], including 6 gold medals in [[Sport of athletics|athletics]], [[modern pentathlon]], [[Shooting sport|shooting]], and [[Swimming (sport)|swimming]]. Numerous other Lithuanians won Olympic medals representing Soviet Union. [[Discus throw]]er [[Virgilijus Alekna]] is the most successful Olympic athlete of independent Lithuania, having won gold medals in the [[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]] and [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens]] games, as well as a bronze in [[2008 Summer Olympics]] and numerous [[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championship]] medals. More recently, the gold medal won by a then 15-year-old swimmer [[Rūta Meilutytė]] at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in London sparked a rise in popularity for the sport in Lithuania.
Lithuania has produced prominent athletes in athletics, modern pentathlon, [[road bicycle racing|road]] and [[track cycling]], [[chess]], [[rowing (sport)|rowing]], [[aerobatics]], [[World's Strongest Man|strongman]], [[wrestling]], [[boxing]], [[mixed martial arts]], [[Kyokushin|Kyokushin Karate]], and other sports.
Lithuania hosted the [[2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup]], the first time Lithuania had hosted a FIFA tournament.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Three cities set to host the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021™ |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/futsalworldcup/lithuania2021/media-releases/origin1904-p.cxm.fifa.comthree-cities-set-to-host-the-fifa-futsal-world-cup-lithuania-2020tm |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=www.fifa.com |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Few Lithuanian athletes have found success in [[winter sports]], although facilities are provided by several ice rinks and skiing slopes, including [[Snow Arena]], the first indoor ski slope in the [[Baltics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kauno.diena.lt/naujienos/sveikata/sveikata/ziemos-sportas-lietuvoje-podukros-vietoje-674533#.VRUtQaM1jct |title=Žiemos sportas Lietuvoje – podukros vietoje |language=lt |website=Kauno.diena.lt |date=10 February 2015 |access-date=30 April 2016}}</ref> In 2018 [[Lithuania men's national ice hockey team]] won gold medals at the [[2018 IIHF World Championship Division I]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jie tai padarė! Lietuviai žaibiškai atsitiesė po šalto dušo ir iškovojo istorinį titulą|url=https://www.15min.lt/sportas/naujiena/ziemos-sportas/jie-tai-padare-lietuviai-zaibiskai-atsitiese-po-salto-duso-ir-iskovojo-istorini-titula-295-963998|website=15min.lt|access-date=28 April 2018}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Lithuania|Europe}}
* [[Index of Lithuania-related articles]]
* [[List of Lithuanians]]
* [[Outline of Lithuania]]
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Sister project links|Lithuania|voy=Lithuania}}
{{EB1922 Poster|Lithuania, Republic of}}
; Government
* [https://www.lrp.lt/en The Lithuanian President] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115013011/https://www.lrp.lt/en |date=15 January 2016 }} – Official site of the President of the Republic of Lithuania
* [https://www.lrs.lt/sip/portal.show?p_k=2 The Lithuanian Parliament] – Official site of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania
* [https://lrv.lt/en The Lithuanian Government] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406001528/https://lrv.lt/en/ |date=6 April 2021 }} – Official site of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
* [https://www.stat.gov.lt/en Statistics Lithuania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005094900/https://www.stat.gov.lt/en |date=5 October 2022 }} – Official site of Department of Statistics to the Government of Lithuania
* [https://lithuania.travel/en/ Lithuania – Real is Beautiful] – The Official Travel Guide by the Lithuanian National Tourism Development Agency
; General information
*{{WorldCat|lh|The Baltic States and geopolitics}}[https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=su%3AGeopolitics+Baltic+States.&qt=hot_subject/LH.html The Baltic States and geopolitics]
* [https://lietuva.lt/en/ Lithuania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602011848/https://lietuva.lt/en/ |date=2 June 2021 }} – Lithuanian internet gates
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/lithuania/ Lithuania]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/world-leaders-1/LH.html Lithuania. CIA Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016161247/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/world-leaders-1/LH.html |date=16 October 2020 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061242/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/lithuania.htm Lithuania] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* {{curlie|Regional/Europe/Lithuania}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17536867 Lithuania] from the [[BBC News]]
* {{wikiatlas|Lithuania}}
; Other
* [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=LT Key Development Forecasts for Lithuania] from [[International Futures]]
* [http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Lithuania Heraldry] of Lithuania
* {{osmrelation-inline|72596}}
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