About Lithuania

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic States. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, and across the Baltic Sea to the west lie Sweden and Denmark. It shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and a Russian exclave (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest.

Government and politics

Lithuania is an independent democratic republic with a multi-party parliament. Our state's legislative power is vested in the Seimas (as we call our Parliament), the executive - in the Government. Lithuania’s foreign policy is carried out by the President and the Government.

The President’s term of office in our country is 5 years. The President is elected by all citizens of Lithuania who are over 18 years of age. The President can be elected for no more than two consecutive terms. Currently, our country is led by the seventh head of state after the Restoration of Independence and the first woman President - Dalia Grybauskaitė.

Seimas – is the name of our parliament, supreme legislative body. Seimas is a unicameral parliament with 141 members who are elected in direct and secret elections for a 4 year term. The first sitting of the Seimas after the elections is opened by the eldest member of the Seimas.

The Government is composed of Prime Minister (currently Andrius Kubilius), acting as its head, and a cabinet of 14 ministers – the country’s executive body.

Lithuania is a multi-party republic. The most popular parties in Lithuania are Homeland Union - Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Liberals.

Foreign relationships

Lithuania became a member of the United Nations on 18 September 1991, and is a signatory to a number of its organizations and other international agreements. It is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO and its adjunct North Atlantic Coordinating Council, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. Lithuania gained membership in the World Trade Organization on 31 May 2001. It also seeks membership in the OECD and other Western organizations.

Lithuania maintains foreign diplomatic missions in 94 countries on six continents and consular posts in two countries that are not represented by an embassy. Lithuania's liberal "zero-option" citizenship law has substantially erased tensions with its neighbors. Lithuania's suspension of two strongly ethnic Polish district councils on charges of blocking reform or disloyalty during the August 1991 coup had cooled relations with Poland, but bilateral cooperation markedly increased with the holding of elections in those districts and the signing of a bilateral Friendship Treaty in 1994. Although a similar bilateral friendship agreement was signed with Belarus in 1995, Lithuania has joined the United States and other European nations in urging the Government of Belarus to adopt democratic and economic reforms.

Lithuania has established diplomatic relations with 149 countries.

Prior to the global financial crisis of 2007–2010, Lithuania had one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. Lithuania became a full member of the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture and Lithuania celebrated the millennium of its name. Eurobasket 2011 will take place in Lithuania.

Foreign trade

PRESS RELEASE

Foreign trade of Lithuania in January–June 2011

Statistics Lithuania informs that, based on provisional data obtained from customs declarations and Intrastat reporting data, exports in June 2011 amounted to LTL 6.1 billion, imports – LTL 6.6 billion. Foreign trade deficit of Lithuania amounted to LTL 0.5 billion, which is by 19.1 per cent more than in the same period in 2010. Data on trade with the EU countries were adjusted after VAT returns data had been received.

In June 2011, compared to June 2010, exports and imports increased by 32.4 and 31.3 per cent respectively. Mineral products excluded, exports and imports grew by 32.7 and 25.9 per cent respectively. Exports of goods of Lithuanian origin grew by 24.2 per cent, mineral products excluded – by 24.1 per cent. An increase in exports was influenced by an increase in exports of petroleum products – by 29.4 per cent, ground vehicles – by 90.3 per cent, fertilisers – by 97.5 per cent, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts thereof – by 29.2 per cent. An increase in imports was influenced by a 35.3 per cent increase in imports of crude oil, 66.4 per cent – ground vehicles, 45 per cent – boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts thereof.

Over the month (June 2011, compared to May), exports grew by 0.4 per cent, while imports dropped by 2.9 per cent. Mineral products excluded, exports grew by 0.2 per cent, while imports dropped by 6.8 per cent. Exports of goods of Lithuanian origin grew by 1.6 per cent, mineral products excluded – by 3.6 per cent. An increase in exports was influenced by a 58.4 per cent increase in exports of ferrous waste and scrap, 21 per cent – milk and milk products. A decrease in imports was influenced by a 15.3 per cent decrease in imports of ground vehicles, 44.1 per cent – edible vegetables.

In January–June 2011, compared to the same period in 2010, exports and imports increased by 41.2 and 41.9 per cent respectively. Mineral products excluded, exports and imports grew by 40.5 per cent each. Exports of goods of Lithuanian origins grew by 31.7 per cent, mineral products excluded – by 28.3 per cent. An increase in exports was influenced by a 44.6 per cent increase in exports of petroleum products, 2.1 times – ground vehicles, 97.3 per cent – fertilisers. An increase in imports was influenced by a 47.2 per cent increase in imports of crude oil, 97.6 per cent – ground vehicles, 57.1 per cent – boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts thereof.

In January–June 2011, the most important partners in exports were Russia (15.9 per cent), Latvia (9.5 per cent), Germany (9.1 per cent), and Poland (7.4 per cent), in imports – Russia (32.4 per cent), Germany (10 per cent), Poland (8.9 per cent), and Latvia (6.5 per cent).

In January–June 2011, the largest share in exports fell within mineral products (24.4 per cent), vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment (9.7 per cent), products of the chemical or allied industries (9.6 per cent), in imports – mineral products (34.3 per cent), machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical equipment (11.8 per cent), products of the chemical or allied industries (10.5 per cent).

Table 1. Foreign trade balance
LTL million

	Exports	Imports	Balance
January–June 2011	33344.7	37814.4	-4469.7
January	4958.5	5724.8	-766.3
February	5161.5	5779.0	-617.5
March	5664.5	6528.1	-863.6
I quarter	15784.5	18032.0	-2247.5
April**	5301.6	6315.8	-1014.2
May**	6117.4	6833.9	-716.5
June	6141.3	6632.7	-491.4
II quarter	17560.3	19782.5	-2222.2
January–June 2010	23609.9	26655.8	-3045.9
I quarter	10519.1	12046.0	-1526.9
June	4637.8	5050.3	-412.5
II quarter	13090.8	14609.8	-1519.0
III quarter	14405.3	16486.4	-2081.1
IV quarter	16023.6	17810.6	-1787.0
2010	54038.8	60952.8	-6914.0

** Revised data.

Table 2. Structure of and changes in foreign trade by BEC

BEC	January–June 2011
	exports		imports		change, compared to the same period in 2010, per cent
	value, LTL million	share, per cent	value, LTL million	share, per cent	exports	imports
Total	33344.7	100.0	37814.4	100.0	41.2	41.9
Capital goods	2754.5	8.3	3985.6	10.5	19.8	66.9
Intermediate goods	17017.9	51.0	24590.7	65.0	42.9	41.3
Consumption goods	8500.1	25.5	7446.3	19.7	32.0	25.8
Motor spirit	2956.4	8.9	28.2	0.1	36.3	-58.1
Passenger motor cars	2018.4	6.1	1750.6	4.6	2.8 t.	99.3
Other	97.5	0.3	13.0	0.0	-	-

Table 3. Structure of and changes in trade with key foreign partners

Exports	January–June 2011				Imports	January–June 2011
Exports	value, LTL million	share of goods of Lithuanian origin, per cent	share, per cent	change, compared to the same period in 2010, per cent	Imports	value, LTL million	share, per cent	change, compared to the same period in 2010, per cent
Total	33344.7	65.0	100.0	41.2	Total	37814.4	100.0	41.9
EU	20055.8	79.7	60.1	36.3	EU	21278.2	56.3	42.7
CIS¹	9510.5	22.9	28.5	64.7	CIS¹	13662.6	36.1	41.1
EFTA²	711.3	91.4	2.1	2.5	EFTA²	289.9	0.8	62.5
Russia	5287.6	20.0	15.9	62.0	Russia	12244.8	32.4	37.1
Latvia	3151.6	55.4	9.5	46.3	Germany	3763.4	10.0	36.6
Germany	3050.6	87.3	9.1	22.3	Poland	3379.6	8.9	41.8
Poland	2457.9	71.3	7.4	46.1	Latvia	2440.6	6.5	53.3
Belarus	2358.2	10.3	7.1	88.0	Netherlands	1954.1	5.2	77.5
Netherlands	2036.7	95.9	6.1	64.6	Sweden	1305.1	3.5	46.3
Estonia	1937.6	68.2	5.8	53.8	Belgium	1212.2	3.2	30.8
United Kingdom	1476.8	93.1	4.4	20.7	Italy	1159.2	3.1	38.3
France	1280.4	91.4	3.8	61.4	Estonia	1058.1	2.8	50.1
Sweden	1148.7	90.8	3.4	25.7	France	1000.6	2.6	40.8
United States	1093.4	99.4	3.3	99.6	Belarus	852.1	2.3	87.7
Other	8065.2	77.7	24.2	-	Other	7444.6	19.5	-

¹Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
²Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.

Table 4. Commodity structure of and changes in exports

CN sections		January–June 2011
CN sections		value, LTL million	share of goods of Lithuanian origin, per cent	share, per cent	change, compared to the same period in 2010, per cent
	Total	33344.7	65.0	100.0	41.2
27	Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes	8089.9	94.6	24.3	43.4
87	Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof	3128.8	9.9	9.4	2.1 t.
39	Plastics and articles thereof	1967.1	81.6	5.9	18.2
84	Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof	1866.7	24.1	5.6	41.6
31	Fertilisers	1731.7	94.9	5.2	97.3
94	Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like; prefabricated buildings	1653.8	90.0	5.0	25.7
85	Electrical machinery and equipment and part thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles	1331.6	40.4	4.0	31.8
44	Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal	1155.5	85.7	3.5	35.7
04	Dairy produce; birds’ eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included	754.3	96.5	2.3	34.9
	Other	11665.3	53.8	34.8	-

Table 5. Commodity structure of and changes in exports of goods of Lithuanian origin

CN sections		January–June 2011
CN sections		value, LTL million	share, per cent	change, compared to the same period in 2010, per cent
	Total	21679.1	100.0	31.7
27	Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes	7655.8	35.3	38.4
31	Fertilisers	1642.6	7.6	99.9
39	Plastics and articles thereof	1605.1	7.4	18.6
94	Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like; prefabricated buildings	1488.0	6.9	23.0
44	Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal	990.3	4.6	36.0
04	Dairy produce; birds’ eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included	727.6	3.4	36.2
85	Electrical machinery and equipment and part thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles	537.5	2.5	19.6
84	Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof	449.2	2.1	28.2
24	Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes	398.5	1.8	75.3
	Other	6184.5	28.4	-

Table 6. Commodity structure of and changes in imports

CN sections		January–June 2011
CN sections		value, LTL million	share, per cent	change, compared to the same period in 2010, per cent
	Total	37814.4	100.0	41.9
27	Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes	12508.5	33.1	44.4
87	Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof	3420.6	9.0	97.6
84	Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof	2617.2	6.9	57.1
85	Electrical machinery and equipment and part thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles	1855.8	4.9	31.0
39	Plastics and articles thereof	1317.9	3.5	30.1
29	Organic chemicals	1201.1	3.2	23.2
30	Pharmaceutical products	1067.5	2.8	17.5
72	Iron and steel	797.8	2.1	69.4
08	Edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons	716.6	1.9	55.0
	Other	12311.4	32.6	-

Table 7. Changes in imports and exports

Period	Exports		Exports of goods of Lithuanian origin		Imports		Balance
Period	value, LTL million	change, compared to the previous month, per cent	value, LTL million	change, compared to the previous month, per cent	value, LTL million	change, compared to the previous month, per cent	LTL million
2010-06	4637.8	7.7	3252.4	10.1	5050.3	10.0	-412.5
2010-07	4521.0	-2.5	3079.2	-5.3	5490.0	8.7	-969.0
2010-08	4924.0	8.9	3339.3	8.4	5274.8	-3.9	-350.8
2010-09	4960.3	0.7	3368.4	0.9	5721.6	8.5	-761.3
2010-10	5359.0	8.0	3527.8	4.7	5743.6	0.4	-384.6
2010-11	5249.7	-2.0	3399.5	-3.6	6081.5	5.9	-831.8
2010-12	5414.9	3.1	3476.2	2.3	5985.5	-1.6	-570.6
2011-01	4958.5	-8.4	3578.7	2.9	5724.8	-4.4	-766.3
2011-02	5161.5	4.1	3431.7	-4.1	5779.0	0.9	-617.5
2011-03	5664.5	9.7	3441.2	0.3	6528.1	13.0	-863.6
2011-04	5301.6	-6.4	3209.8	-6.7	6315.8	-3.3	-1014.2
2011-05	6117.4	15.4	3977.3	23.9	6833.9	8.2	-716.5
2011-06	6141.3	0.4	4040.3	1.6	6632.7	-2.9	-491.4