Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/142.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 11.2 KB | 390 lines

@node Geography (Lithuania)
@section Geography (Lithuania)

@display

Location:
  Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia
Map references:
  Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  65,200 km2
 land area:
  65,200 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
  total 1,273 km, Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia
  (Kaliningrad) 227 km
Coastline:
  108 km
Maritime claims:
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  dispute with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) over the position of the Neman
  River border presently located on the Lithuanian bank and not in midriver as
  by international standards
Climate:
  maritime; wet, moderate winters
Terrain:
  lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
Natural resources:
  peat
Land use:
 arable land:
  49.1%
 permanent crops:
  0%
 meadows and pastures:
  22.2%
 forest and woodland:
  16.3%
 other:
  12.4%
Irrigated land:
  430 km2 (1990)
Environment:
  risk of accidents from the two Chernobyl-type reactors at the Ignalina
  Nuclear Power Plant; contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum
  products and chemicals at military bases



@end display

@node People (Lithuania)
@section People (Lithuania)

@display

Population:
  3,819,638 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  0.76% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  14.95 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  10.94 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  3.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  16.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  71.12 years
 male:
  66.39 years
 female:
  76.08 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2.03 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Lithuanian(s)
 adjective:
  Lithuanian
Ethnic divisions:
  Lithuanian 80.1%, Russian 8.6%, Polish 7.7%, Belarusian 1.5%, other 2.1%
Religions:
  Roman Catholic, Lutheran, other
Languages:
  Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian
Literacy:
  age 9-49 can read and write (1970)
 total population:
  100%
 male:
  100%
 female:
  100%
Labor force:
  1.836 million
 by occupation:
  industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 18%, other 40%
  (1990)



@end display

@node Government (Lithuania)
@section Government (Lithuania)

@display

Names:  conventional long form:
  Republic of Lithuania
 conventional short form:
  Lithuania
 local long form:
  Lietuvos Respublika
 local short form:
  Lietuva
 former:
  Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph:
  LH
Type:
  republic
Capital:
  Vilnius
Administrative divisions:
  NA districts
Independence:
  6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Constitution:
  adopted 25 October 1992
Legal system:
  based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 16 February
Political parties and leaders:
  Christian Democratic Party, Egidijus KLUMBYS, chairman; Democratic Labor
  Party of Lithuania, Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman; Lithuanian
  Democratic Party, Sauluis PECELIUNAS, chairman; Lithuanian Green Party,
  Irena IGNATAVICIENE, chairwoman; Lithuanian Humanism Party, Vytautas
  KAZLAUSKAS, chairman; Lithuanian Independence Party, Virgilijus CEPAITIS,
  chairman; Lithuanian Liberty League, Antanas TERLECKAS; Lithuanian Liberal
  Union, Vytautus RADZVILAS, chairman; Lithuanian Nationalist Union, Rimantas
  SMETONA, chairman; Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, Aloizas SAKALAS,
  chairman; Union of the Motherland, Vytavtas LANDSBERGIS, chairman
Other political or pressure groups:
  Sajudis; Lithuanian Future Forum; Farmers Union
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
 President:
  last held 14 February 1993 (next to be held NA); results - Algirdas
  BRAZAUSKAS was elected
 Seimas (parliament):
  last held 26 October and 25 November 1992 (next to be held NA); results -
  Democratic Labor Party 51%; seats - (141 total) Democratic Labor Party 73
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister, cabinet
Legislative branch:
  unicameral Seimas (parliament)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court, Court of Appeals
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  Seimas Chairman and Acting President Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 15
  November 1992); Deputy Seimas Chairmen Aloyzas SAKALAS (since NA December
  1992) and Egidius BICKAUSKAS (since NA December 1992)



@end display

@node Government (Lithuania 2. usage)
@section Government (Lithuania 2. usage)

@display

 Head of Government:
  Premier Adolfas SLEZEVICIUS (since NA)
Member of:
  CBSS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NACC, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Stasys LOZORAITIS, Jr.
 chancery:
  2622 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009
 telephone:
  [phone], 2639
 FAX:
  [phone]
 consulate general:
  New York
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Darryl N. JOHNSON
 embassy:
  Akmenu 6, Vilnius 232600
 mailing address:
  APO AE 09723
 telephone:
  011 [7] (012-2) 222-031
 FAX:
  011 [7] (012-2) 222-779
Flag:
  three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red



@end display

@node Economy (Lithuania)
@section Economy (Lithuania)

@display

Overview:
  Lithuania is striving to become an independent privatized economy. Although
  it was substantially above average in living standards and technology in the
  old USSR, Lithuania historically lagged behind Latvia and Estonia in
  economic development. The country has no important natural resources aside
  from its arable land and strategic location. Industry depends entirely on
  imported materials that have come from the republics of the former USSR.
  Lithuania benefits from its ice-free port at Klaipeda on the Baltic Sea and
  its rail and highway hub at Vilnius, which provides land communication
  between Eastern Europe and Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Belarus. Industry
  produces a small assortment of high-quality products, ranging from complex
  machine tools to sophisticated consumer electronics. Because of nuclear
  power, Lithuania is presently self-sufficient in electricity, exporting its
  surplus to Latvia and Belarus; the nuclear facilities inherited from the
  USSR, however, have come under world scrutiny as seriously deficient in
  safety standards. Agriculture is efficient compared with most of the former
  Soviet Union. Lithuania held first place in per capita consumption of meat,
  second place for eggs and potatoes, and fourth place for milk and dairy
  products. Grain must be imported to support the meat and dairy industries.
  Lithuania is pressing ahead with plans to privatize at least 60% of
  state-owned property (industry, agriculture, and housing), having already
  sold almost all housing and many small enterprises using a voucher system.
  Other government priorities include encouraging foreign investment by
  protecting the property rights of foreign firms and redirecting foreign
  trade away from Eastern markets to the more competitive Western markets. For
  the moment, Lithuania will remain highly dependent on Russia for energy, raw
  materials, grains, and markets for its products. In 1992, output plummeted
  by 30% because of cumulative problems with inputs and with markets, problems
  that were accentuated by the phasing out of the Russian ruble as the medium
  of exchange.
National product:
  GDP $NA
National product real growth rate:
  -30% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  10%-20% per month (first quarter 1993)
Unemployment rate:
  1% (February 1993); but large numbers of underemployed workers
Budget:
  revenues $258.5 million; expenditures $270.2 million, including capital
  expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports:
  $NA
 commodities:
  electronics 18%, petroleum products 5%, food 10%, chemicals 6% (1989)
 partners:
  Russia 40%, Ukraine 16%, other former Soviet republics 32%, West 12%
Imports:
  $NA
 commodities:
  oil 24%, machinery 14%, chemicals 8%, grain NA% (1989)
 partners:
  Russia 62%, Belarus 18%, former Soviet republics 10%, West 10%
External debt:
  $650 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -50% (1992 est.)



@end display

@node Economy (Lithuania 2. usage)
@section Economy (Lithuania 2. usage)

@display

Electricity:
  5,925,000 kW capacity; 25,000 million kWh produced, 6,600 kWh per capita
  (1992)
Industries:
  employs 25% of the labor force; shares in the total production of the former
  USSR are: metal-cutting machine tools 6.6%; electric motors 4.6%; television
  sets 6.2%; refrigerators and freezers 5.4%; other branches: petroleum
  refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food
  processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment,
  electronic components, computers, and amber
Agriculture:
  employs around 20% of labor force; sugar, grain, potatoes, sugarbeets,
  vegetables, meat, milk, dairy products, eggs, fish; most developed are the
  livestock and dairy branches, which depend on imported grain; net exporter
  of meat, milk, and eggs
Illicit drugs:
  transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia to
  Western Europe; limited producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic
  consumption
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $NA million;
  Communist countries (1971-86), $NA million
Currency:
  using talonas as temporary currency (March 1993), but planning introduction
  of convertible litas (late 1993)
Exchange rates:
  NA
Fiscal year:
  calendar year



@end display

@node Communications (Lithuania)
@section Communications (Lithuania)

@display

Railroads:
  2,100 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
  44,200 km total 35,500 km hard surfaced, 8,700 km earth (1990)
Inland waterways:
  600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
  crude oil 105 km, natural gas 760 km (1992)
Ports:
  coastal - Klaipeda; inland - Kaunas
Merchant marine:
  46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 282,633 GRT/332,447 DWT; includes 31
  cargo, 3 railcar carrier, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 11 combination bulk
Airports:
 total:
  96
 useable:
  19
 with permanent-surface runways:
  12
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  5
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  11
Telecommunications:
  better developed than in most other former USSR republics; operational
  NMT-450 analog cellular network in Vilnius; fiber optic cable installed
  beween Vilnius and Kaunas; 224 telephones per 1000 persons; broadcast
  stations - 13 AM, 26 FM, 1 SW, 1 LW, 3 TV; landlines or microwave to former
  USSR republics; leased connection to the Moscow international switch for
  traffic with other countries; satellite earth stations - (8 channels to
  Norway); new international digital telephone exchange in Kaunas for direct
  access to 13 countries via satellite link out of Copenhagen, Denmark



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Lithuania)
@section Defense Forces (Lithuania)

@display

Branches:
  Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Security Forces (internal and border
  troops), National Guard (Skat)
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 933,245; fit for military service 739,400; reach military
  age (18) annually 27,056 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $NA, 5.5% of GDP (1993 est.)



@end display