Overview

Located in northeastern Europe on the east coast of the Baltic Sea, Lithuania is the most southern of the Baltic Republics—a trio of countries that were formed in 1918. Lithuania measures 25,174 square miles (64,445 square kilometers) and is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east, and Russia and Poland to the south and southwest. Its capital is Vilnius, which has a population of 590,000, making it the largest city in the country.

The 1993 census estimated the population of Lithuania at just over 3.75 million people; approximately 80 percent of the citizens are ethnic Lithuanians, 9 percent are Russians, and the remaining 11 percent are largely of Polish, Latvian, and Ukrainian descent. Roman Catholics constitute the largest religious group in Lithuania (85 percent), with smaller numbers of Lutherans, Orthodox Christians, and Jews. The official language of the country is Lithuanian, and the country's flag consists of three equal horizontal bands...