Lietuvos Respublika

Political Status: Independence from Russia declared February 16, 1918; absorption of independent state by the Soviet Union on August 3, 1940, repudiated on March 11, 1990, by the Lithuanian Supreme Council; independence recognized by the USSR State Council on September 6, 1991; current constitution approved by referendum of October 25, 1992.

Area: 25,174 sq. mi. (65,200 sq. km.).

Population: 3,483,972 (2001C); 3,394,000 (2006E). Substantial emigration occurred in the 1990s, as evidenced by a 1989 census count of 3,674,802, which continued after the 2001 tally.

Major Urban Centers (2005E): VILNIUS (541,000), Kaunas (364,000), Klaipėda (188,000), Šiauliai (130,000), PanevėŽys (116,000).

Official Language: Lithuanian.

Monetary Unit: Litas (official rate November 2, 2007: 2.38 litai = $1US). (The litas was pegged to the euro as of February 2, 2002. Lithuania joined ...