Lithuania
Lithuania is a country in northern Europe on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania is a member of the European Union, NATO, and several other organizations.
Vilnius is the capital and largest city. About 3,500,000 people live there. The official language is Lithuanian which is spoken by more than 82% of the people.
The colors of the Lithuanian flag are yellow (at the top), for the sun, green (in the middle), for the fields, and red (at the bottom), for the blood of Lithuanians fighting for its independence.
History.
Lithuania began to turn into a country in the 7thâ€'9th centuries from Baltic nations group. The Baltics, the ancestors of Lithuanians and Latvians, came to area between Nemunas, Daugava rivers and the Baltic sea, from a supposed original homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. Many scientists think they came there sometime in the 3rd millennium BC.
The traditional date of the beginning of the country is 1236 when the Battle of Å iauliai (Battle of Sun) took place and was won by the Lithuanians.
Lithuania (at that time - The Grand Duchy of Lithuania) had made a Treaty with Poland in 1569. The country was taken over by the Russian Empire in 1795. It got back its independence on the February 16, 1918. It was taken over by Germany from 1941-1944 and then the Soviet Union from 1944-1990. Lithuania re-declared its independence on March 11, 1990. Currently Lithuania is an independent, semi-presidential, democratic republic.
Politics.
Lithuania has been a member of NATO and the European Union since 2004.
Lithuania is a semi presidential republic, that restored its independence and democracy in 1990. Since then, very important reforms were made and Lithuania is now declared as a democratic state that grants the human rights.
The Constitution that was adopted in 1992 declares, that the leader of the country is the President, who must be elected to take his office. The elections are held each 5 years. If President broke his/her an oath, he/she can be fired by the Parliament. The President also represents Lithuania and he is also a commander-in-chief.
The legislative power of Lithuania is Seimas, or the Parliament. There are 141 members of Seimas who are elected for 4-year-terms. Seimas passes the laws that must be executed by the Government, that is formed in Seimas and it must be accepted by the President. The Prime Minister is set and fired by the President.
The justice is under the power of the courts. The supreme court in Lithuania is the Constitutional Court.
Administrative subdivisions.
The county governor rules the county. He or she must be appointed by the central government. Municipalities are governed by the Municipal Councils that are elected for 4 year terms. The head of a municipality is the mayor. The elderates are governed by the elders. The elders are appointed by the municipal councils.
Geography.
Lithuania is a country in north Europe. Its neighbours are Poland in the south west, Russia (Kaliningrad) in west, Latvia in north and Belarus in the east. Lithuania borders the Baltic sea and 99 kilometres of it belong to Lithuania. The highest hill is Aukštojas (294 metres high), the largest lake is Drūkšiai Lake. 31 % of the land suitable for farms.
Economy.
Lithuania has a fast growing economy. It grew up to 7 % in the first quarter of 2008.
GDP per capita, based on purchasing power parity is estimated to be $19 730 in 2008. The nominal GDP per capita is estimated to be $14 213 at the same year. According to these numbers, Lithuanian per capita GDP reaches only 61% of EU average. However, it is impresive that only in 8 years, since 2000 it grew up from 30% of EU average.
Emigration still contains a problem. Acoording to the official data, emigration in 2006 was 30% lower than previous year, with 3 483 people leaving in four months.
Demographics.
Lithuanian is spoken by 82% of the people and it is the only official language. Polish is used mostly in Vilnius County where Polish politicians are elected to represent the Polish minority. The documents and street names must be in Lithuanian.
The biggest cities are Vilnius, 542,287 people, Kaunas, 358,107 people, and KlaipÄ—da, 185,899 people.
Education.
The nursery schools and the kindergartens are the first-level education forms. However, they are not necessary to attend. The children, aged 7 start attending the primary school, where educational programs last for 4 years, then they must start attending the secondary school (5th to 10th grades). After finishing 8th or 10th grade, the student can continue learning at the high school or choose courses at the vocational college. The students who finish the high school can join colleges and universities. Higher education is free for the students whose annual median of grades is 8 or higher. The others have to pay 500 Litass per semester at least.
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