The first known record of the name of Lithuania ( Lithuanian: Lietuva) is in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno in the Quedlinburg Chronicle. It participates in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) regional co-operation format. Lithuania is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, eurozone, the Nordic Investment Bank, Schengen Agreement, NATO and OECD. Lithuania has experienced a gradual population decline since the 1990s, with social issues such as income inequality and high suicide rate remaining a problem. It ranks favourably in terms of civil liberties, press freedom and internet freedom. Lithuania is a developed country, with a high income advanced economy ranking very high in the Human Development Index. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania passed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, becoming the first Soviet republic to proclaim its independence. Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s.

Towards the end of the war in 1944, when the Germans were retreating, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania. In World War II, Lithuania was occupied first by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. As World War I ended, Lithuania's Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighbouring countries dismantled it in 1772–1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory. With the Union of Lublin of 1569, Lithuania and Poland formed a voluntary two-state personal union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were all lands of the Grand Duchy. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, founding the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages.įor millenia the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km 2 (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.8 million. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia ( Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest.

It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ( / ˌ l ɪ θj u ˈ eɪ n i ə/ ( listen) Lithuanian: Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. eu, shared with other European Union member states.Ĭoordinates: 55°N 24☎ / 55°N 24☎ / 55 24

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