POPULATION

Lithuania: Total: 3,693,900; 2.5 million urban residents and 1.2 million rural.
Ethnic Composition: 81.3% Lithuanians, 7% Russians, 7% Poles, 1.5% Byelarussians, 1% Ukrainians, 0.1% Latvians, 0.1% Jews, 0.6% others.
Vilnius: Total 578,000
Ethnic Composition: 52.8% Lithuanians, 19.2% Poles, 19.2% Russians, 4.8% Byelorussians, 0.7% Jews, 3.3% others.

GEOGRAPHY

Territory: Covering 65,300km², Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic countries, twice the size of Belgium and a tad smaller than Ireland. North to south, the greatest distance is 276 km, east to west - 373 km.
Borders: Inland borders with Latvia, Belarus, Poland and Russia (Kaliningrad) total 1,747 km. The Belarusian border is the longest, at 724 km. Coastline totals only 99 km.
Elevation: Vilnius stands 213 m above sea level. The highest point (depending on who you ask) is either Juozapine or Kruopine, both 293 to 294 m high.

LOCAL TIME

Lithuania is in the Eastern European Time Zone: GMT + 2 hours. Lithuania has no Daylight Savings Time.

CLIMATE

In 1999 there were 1883 hours of sunshine.
Total precipitation: 518.4 mm
Weather Forecast (in English): Infomedija, tel. 1588

NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

January 1 New Year’s Day & National Flag Day
* January 13 Defenders of Freedom Day
February 16 Independence Day
March 11 Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence
April Easter
May Mother’s Day
* June 14 Day of Mourning and Hope
July 6 Crowning of Mindaugas (Day of Statehood)
August 15 Þoline (Feast of the Assumption)
* August 23 Black Ribbon Day (Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact)
* September 8 Crowning of Vytautas the Great
* October 25 Constitution Day
November 1 All Saint’s Day
December 25, 26 Christmas

* Indicates commemorative (working) holidays. During the others, most businesses and schools are closed.

ELECTRICITY

The electric current is 220 volts AC, 50 Hz. European plugs are required, but some sockets are still only compatible with thinner-pinned Russian plugs.

MONEY

The litas introduced on June 25, 1993. Currency comes in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 litas notes, however the majority of the 1, 2 and 5 notes have now been replaced by coins. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centas and one, two and five litas. The litas is pegged to the US dollar at 4:1.

VISAS

More and more countries are signing visa-free travel agreements with Lithuania. To date, these total 50, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, the US, the UK, the Nordic countries and EU countries. Call you local consulate, or the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tel +370 2620147 for more information.aracter and charm.