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LITHUANIA  GEOGRAFIC LOCATION: the Republic of Lithuania lies on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. In the north, the country borders on Latvia (588 km), in the east – on Belarus (660 km), in the south – on Poland (103 km) and Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation (273 km). Lithuania holds a 90 kilometre long area of the Baltic Sea coast. As the National Geographic Institute of France confirmed in 1989, the geographic centre of Europe lies just 24 kilometres northwest of Vilnius.
TERRITORY: 65,301 sq. km. Nearly one third of the territory is covered by forests, 4.5% – by inland waters.
POPULATION: 3.43 million.
 CAPITAL: Vilnius. The city was officially established in 1323. But a fortified castle at the confluence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers was set up earlier. The Old Town of Vilnius is one of the largest (360 ha) and prettiest in the Eastern and Central Europe included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The city boasts excellent public transport with trolleybus, bus and minibus routes; plenty of taxis available.
OTHER MAIN CITIES: Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Marijampolė.
LANGUAGE: the state language is Lithuanian. All correspondence and official communication is conducted in Lithuanian.
ETHNIC COMPOSITION: Lithuanians – 83.5%, Polish – 6.7%, Russians – 6.3%, Belarusian – 1.2%, others – 2.3%. Lithuania is home to as many as 115 ethnic groups. Based on ethnic composition, Lithuania is the most indigenous of all the Baltic countries.
ETHNIC REGIONS: Based on cultural and dialect differences, Lithuania is divided into five ethnic regions: Aukštaitija (north-eastern and eastern Lithuania), Dzūkija (south-eastern and southern Lithuania), Suvalkija (southern and south-western Lithuania south of the Nemunas River), Žemaitija (north-western and western Lithuania), Lithuania Minor (south-western and western edge of Lithuania).
RELIGION: Roman Catholic (approximately 80% of the total population). Other confessions include Orthodox, Old Believers, Lutheran, Reformat, Judaist, Sunni, Karaite and other communities.
CURRENCY: National currency is the Lithuanian Litas (LTL). It is pegged to the Euro at the exchange rate of EUR 1 = LTL 3.4528. Cash payments will be accepted only in the Litas, however many shopping centers and other service outlets take credit cards.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS. The country is divided into 10 counties spanning the country's 60 administrative districts and towns.
CLIMATE: oceanic/continental. Average temperature in July is +17°C, in January –4.9°C. However, temperatures can soar up to +30 C in summer, and drop down to -32 C in winter. Summers here are pleasantly mild, whereas not every winter offers abundance of snow.
LOCAL TIME: Lithuania lies in the Central European Time zone (GMT + 2 hours).
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS:
January 1 New Year’s Day
February 16 Day of Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania (Independence Day)
March 11 Day of Restitution of Independence of Lithuania
Sunday-Monday (March-April) Easter (in the Western Christian tradition)
May 1 International Labour Day
First Sunday of May Mother's Day
June 24 St. John’s Day, Midsummer Day (Joninės, Rasos)
July 6 Day of the Statehood (the Crowning Day of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas)
August 15 Assumption Day (Žolinės)
November 1 All Saints’ Day (Vėlinės)
December 25-26 Christmas
MOBILE GSM NETWORKS: There are three major mobile service providers in the country: Omnitel, Bitė GSM and Tele2. Excellent connections are ensured not only in Lithuania but also throughout many other countries.
INTERNET: Cities are teeming with Internet cafes, while smaller towns and villages feature over 500 public Internet access points (in libraries, post offices, tourist information centres, etc.). Internet access points are marked with an @ sign.
EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 112. Dial this number from all public telephone networks anywhere in Lithuania. Calls to this number are free of charge at any time of the day, from any service provider, mobile or fixed line. Dial this number to report criminal offences, life-threatening conditions, health, safety or environmental hazards, and call respective emergency services.
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