Post by pieter on Jun 17, 2019 9:11:38 GMT -7
Lithuania
Lithuania, country of northeastern Europe, the southernmost and largest of the three Baltic states. Lithuania was a powerful empire that dominated much of eastern Europe in the 14th–16th centuries before becoming part of the Polish-Lithuanian confederation for the next two centuries.
Aside from a brief period of independence from 1918 to 1940, Lithuania was occupied by Russia beginning in 1795, was controlled by Germany for a brief period during World War II, and was incorporated into the U.S.S.R. in 1944 as one of its constituent republics. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania declared its independence by a unanimous vote of its newly elected parliament. The new Soviet parliament acknowledged Lithuania’s independence on September 6, 1991. Lithuania was admitted into the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2004. The capital is Vilnius.
Land
Lithuania is bounded by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland and the detached Russian oblast of Kaliningrad to the southwest, and the Baltic Sea to the west.
Relief
Underlying rock structures are of little significance for the contemporary Lithuanian terrain, which basically is a low-lying plain scraped by Ice Age glaciers that left behind thick, ridgelike terminal deposits known as moraines. The Baltic coastal area is fringed by a region characterized by geographers as the maritime depression, which rises gradually eastward. Sand dunes line an attractive coast; the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuanian: Kuršiu Marios), almost cut off from the sea by the Curonian Spit, a thin 60-mile (100-km) sandspit, forms a distinctive feature. It is bounded by the Žemaičiai Upland to the east, which gives way to the flat expanses of the Middle Lithuanian Lowland.
Lithuanian Lowland
The lowland, consisting of glacial lake clays and boulder-studded loams, stretches in a wide band across the country from north to south; some portions of it are heavily waterlogged. The elevated Baltic Highlands, adjacent to the central lowland, thrust into the eastern and southeastern portions of the country; their rumpled glacial relief includes a host of small hills and numerous small lakes. The Švenčioniai and the Ašmena highlands—the latter containing Mount Juozapinė, at 957 feet (292 metres) above sea level the highest point in Lithuania—are located in the extreme east and southeast.
Biosphere Reserve Žuvintas is located in the southern part of the Middle Lithuanian Lowlands. It represents approximately 59,000 ha and includes lakes, wetlands, mires, peatbogs, and pine tree stands. Its great variety of habitats and vegetation renders this location very rich in biodiversity.
Drainage
The Neman, Nemunas, Nyoman, Niemen or Memel, a major Eastern European river. It rises in Belarus and flows through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon, and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda.
Lithuanian rivers drain to the Baltic and generally have the slow, meandering characteristics of lowland rivers. The Neman River (Nemunas), cutting north and then west through the heart of the country, is the largest. Its main tributaries are the Merkys, Neris, Nevėžis, Dubysa, Jūra, Minija, and Šešupė. A distinctive feature of the Lithuanian landscape is the presence of about 3,000 lakes, mostly in the east and southeast. The boggy regions produce large quantities of peat that, dried by air, is used in both industry and agriculture.
One of Lithuania's many beautiful lakes
Neman River, Liškiava, Lithuania.
People
Ethnic groups, languages, and religion
Ethnic Lithuanians make up more than four-fifths of the country’s population; there are also Russians and Poles and lesser numbers of Belarusians, Ukrainians, Latvians, Tatars, Roma (Gypsies), and others. There was a significant Jewish community in Lithuania prior to World War II, and an influx of Jews from German-controlled Poland in 1941 boosted this population to nearly 250,000. By 1944, however, the majority of the population had been murdered, deported, or sent to concentration camps (see Holocaust).
The official language of Lithuania is Lithuanian. Russian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, and other languages are spoken in the larger cities. Yiddish is commonly spoken by members of the tiny remaining Jewish community in Lithuania.
Lithuania was the last pagan country in Europe, accepting Roman Catholicism in the late 14th century. About four-fifths of the population is Roman Catholic; there are smaller groups of Evangelical Lutherans and other Protestants, as well as people of other faiths. Elements of the pagan religion have survived in the countryside.
Economy
Even before independence from the U.S.S.R. was formally established, the Lithuanian government had embarked on a program of dismantling the Soviet economic system. Beginning in February 1991, laws were passed to facilitate privatization. Complications marred the government’s aspirations, however. Foremost, the bulk of Lithuania’s trade was still closely linked to the former republics of the U.S.S.R., which were themselves in the throes of economic collapse. Second, Lithuania was dependent on critically important foreign oil and natural gas and industrial raw materials. Finally, the transition to a market economy had caused high rates of inflation and unemployment. Nevertheless, the succeeding governments continued to implement stringent stabilization policies; by 1995 inflation had been reduced, and the country’s trade balance was positive for the first time since independence. Lithuania was admitted to the EU in 2004.
Lithuania entered the euro (currency) zone in January 2015, and is now working to complete the OECD accession roadmap it received in July 2015. In 2017, joined the OECD Working Group on Bribery, an important step in the OECD accession process.
The Lithuanian economy was severely hit by the 2008-09 global financial crisis, but it has rebounded and become one of the fastest growing in the EU. Increases in exports, investment, and wage growth that supported consumption helped the economy grow by 3.6% in 2017. In 2015, Russia was Lithuania’s largest trading partner, followed by Poland, Germany, and Latvia; goods and services trade between the US and Lithuania totaled $2.2 billion. Lithuania opened a self-financed liquefied natural gas terminal in January 2015, providing the first non-Russian supply of natural gas to the Baltic States and reducing Lithuania’s dependence on Russian gas from 100% to approximately 30% in 2016.
Lithuania’s ongoing recovery hinges on improving the business environment, especially by liberalizing labor laws, and improving competitiveness and export growth, the latter hampered by economic slowdowns in the EU and Russia. In addition, a steady outflow of young and highly educated people is causing a shortage of skilled labor, which, combined with a rapidly aging population, could stress public finances and constrain long-term growth.
Based on OECD data, Lithuania is among the top 5 countries in the world by postsecondary (tertiary) education attainment. Educated workforce attracted investments especially in ICT sector during the past years. The Lithuanian government and the Bank of Lithuania simplified procedures for obtaining licences for the activities of e-money and payment institutions. Positioning the country as one of the most attractive for the FinTech initiatives in EU.
Lithuania’s economy has grown faster than most other OECD economies over the past 10 years, unemployment continues to fall and public finances have stabilised after a long period of deficits and rising debt. In a new report, however, the OECD says productivity has remained subdued, slowing down the convergence process as income remains at around two thirds of the OECD average. Income inequality is high and an ageing and declining population is putting pressure on the pension system.
To improve innovation, better coordination between business and research sectors is needed. Collaborative research should be privileged when allocating funds to public institutions. Lithuania’s economy is growing however and even exceeding its potential. But despite that fact the SEB Lithuania Bank stated in its forecast in November 2018 for 2019 that the Lithuanian economy will be growing slower than in 2018, thence the more modest growth in the population’s income.
Lithuania in the 21st century
Between 2000 and 2017, the Lithuanian GDP grew by 308%.
One of the most important factors contributing to Lithuania's economic growth was its accession to the WTO in 2001 and the EU in 2004, which allows free movement of labour, capital, and trade among EU member states. On the other hand, rapid growth caused some imbalances in inflation and balance of payments. The current account deficit to GDP ratio in 2006–2008 was in the double digits and reached its peak in the first quarter of 2008 at a threatening 18.8%. This was mostly due to rapid loan portfolio growth as Scandinavian banks provided cheap credit under quite lax rules in Lithuania. The volume of loans to acquire lodgings has grown from 50 million LTL in 2004 up to 720 million LTL in 2007. Consumption was affected by credit expansion as well. This led to high inflation of goods and services, as well as trade deficit. A housing bubble was formed.
The global credit crunch which started in 2008 affected the real estate and retail sectors. The construction sector shrank by 46.8% during the first three quarters of 2009 and the slump in retail trade was almost 30%. GDP plunged by 15.7% in the first nine months of 2009.
Lithuania was the last among the Baltic states to be hit by recession because its GDP growth rate in 2008 was still positive, followed by a slump of more than 15% in 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, compared to the previous quarter, GDP again grew by 6.1% after five-quarters with negative numbers. Austerity policy (four-fifths of the fiscal adjustment consisted of expenditure cuts) introduced by the Kubilius government helped to balance the current account from -15.5 in 2007 to 1.6 in 2009. Economic sentiment and confidence of all business activities have rebounded from a record low at the beginning of the year 2009.
Sectors related to domestic consumption and real estate still suffer from the economic crisis, but exporters have started making profits even with lower levels of revenue. The catalysts of growing profit margins are lower raw material prices and staff expense.
At the end of 2017, investment of Lithuania’s enterprises abroad amounted to EUR 2.9 billion. The largest investment was made in Netherlands (24.1 per cent of the total direct investment abroad), Cyprus (19.8 per cent), Latvia (14.9 per cent), Poland (10.5 per cent) and Estonia (10.3 per cent). Lithuania’s direct investment in the EU member states totalled EUR 2.6 billion, or 89.3 per cent of the total direct investment abroad.
Based on the Eurostat’s data, in 2017, the value of Lithuanian exports recorded the most rapid growth not only in the Baltic countries, but also across Europe, which was 16.9 per cent.
Trade
Lithuania’s chief trading partners include Russia, Latvia, Germany, Poland, and Estonia. Imports include crude petroleum, machinery, foodstuffs, chemical products, and metals. Lithuania exports refined petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery, textiles, and transport equipment (mainly automotive parts). Lithuania joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Sources:
www.britannica.com/place/Lithuania
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Lithuania
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/lh.html
Lithuania, country of northeastern Europe, the southernmost and largest of the three Baltic states. Lithuania was a powerful empire that dominated much of eastern Europe in the 14th–16th centuries before becoming part of the Polish-Lithuanian confederation for the next two centuries.
Aside from a brief period of independence from 1918 to 1940, Lithuania was occupied by Russia beginning in 1795, was controlled by Germany for a brief period during World War II, and was incorporated into the U.S.S.R. in 1944 as one of its constituent republics. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania declared its independence by a unanimous vote of its newly elected parliament. The new Soviet parliament acknowledged Lithuania’s independence on September 6, 1991. Lithuania was admitted into the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2004. The capital is Vilnius.
Land
Lithuania is bounded by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland and the detached Russian oblast of Kaliningrad to the southwest, and the Baltic Sea to the west.
Relief
Underlying rock structures are of little significance for the contemporary Lithuanian terrain, which basically is a low-lying plain scraped by Ice Age glaciers that left behind thick, ridgelike terminal deposits known as moraines. The Baltic coastal area is fringed by a region characterized by geographers as the maritime depression, which rises gradually eastward. Sand dunes line an attractive coast; the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuanian: Kuršiu Marios), almost cut off from the sea by the Curonian Spit, a thin 60-mile (100-km) sandspit, forms a distinctive feature. It is bounded by the Žemaičiai Upland to the east, which gives way to the flat expanses of the Middle Lithuanian Lowland.
Lithuanian Lowland
The lowland, consisting of glacial lake clays and boulder-studded loams, stretches in a wide band across the country from north to south; some portions of it are heavily waterlogged. The elevated Baltic Highlands, adjacent to the central lowland, thrust into the eastern and southeastern portions of the country; their rumpled glacial relief includes a host of small hills and numerous small lakes. The Švenčioniai and the Ašmena highlands—the latter containing Mount Juozapinė, at 957 feet (292 metres) above sea level the highest point in Lithuania—are located in the extreme east and southeast.
Biosphere Reserve Žuvintas is located in the southern part of the Middle Lithuanian Lowlands. It represents approximately 59,000 ha and includes lakes, wetlands, mires, peatbogs, and pine tree stands. Its great variety of habitats and vegetation renders this location very rich in biodiversity.
Drainage
The Neman, Nemunas, Nyoman, Niemen or Memel, a major Eastern European river. It rises in Belarus and flows through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon, and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda.
Lithuanian rivers drain to the Baltic and generally have the slow, meandering characteristics of lowland rivers. The Neman River (Nemunas), cutting north and then west through the heart of the country, is the largest. Its main tributaries are the Merkys, Neris, Nevėžis, Dubysa, Jūra, Minija, and Šešupė. A distinctive feature of the Lithuanian landscape is the presence of about 3,000 lakes, mostly in the east and southeast. The boggy regions produce large quantities of peat that, dried by air, is used in both industry and agriculture.
One of Lithuania's many beautiful lakes
Neman River, Liškiava, Lithuania.
People
Ethnic groups, languages, and religion
Ethnic Lithuanians make up more than four-fifths of the country’s population; there are also Russians and Poles and lesser numbers of Belarusians, Ukrainians, Latvians, Tatars, Roma (Gypsies), and others. There was a significant Jewish community in Lithuania prior to World War II, and an influx of Jews from German-controlled Poland in 1941 boosted this population to nearly 250,000. By 1944, however, the majority of the population had been murdered, deported, or sent to concentration camps (see Holocaust).
The official language of Lithuania is Lithuanian. Russian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, and other languages are spoken in the larger cities. Yiddish is commonly spoken by members of the tiny remaining Jewish community in Lithuania.
Lithuania was the last pagan country in Europe, accepting Roman Catholicism in the late 14th century. About four-fifths of the population is Roman Catholic; there are smaller groups of Evangelical Lutherans and other Protestants, as well as people of other faiths. Elements of the pagan religion have survived in the countryside.
Economy
Even before independence from the U.S.S.R. was formally established, the Lithuanian government had embarked on a program of dismantling the Soviet economic system. Beginning in February 1991, laws were passed to facilitate privatization. Complications marred the government’s aspirations, however. Foremost, the bulk of Lithuania’s trade was still closely linked to the former republics of the U.S.S.R., which were themselves in the throes of economic collapse. Second, Lithuania was dependent on critically important foreign oil and natural gas and industrial raw materials. Finally, the transition to a market economy had caused high rates of inflation and unemployment. Nevertheless, the succeeding governments continued to implement stringent stabilization policies; by 1995 inflation had been reduced, and the country’s trade balance was positive for the first time since independence. Lithuania was admitted to the EU in 2004.
Lithuania entered the euro (currency) zone in January 2015, and is now working to complete the OECD accession roadmap it received in July 2015. In 2017, joined the OECD Working Group on Bribery, an important step in the OECD accession process.
The Lithuanian economy was severely hit by the 2008-09 global financial crisis, but it has rebounded and become one of the fastest growing in the EU. Increases in exports, investment, and wage growth that supported consumption helped the economy grow by 3.6% in 2017. In 2015, Russia was Lithuania’s largest trading partner, followed by Poland, Germany, and Latvia; goods and services trade between the US and Lithuania totaled $2.2 billion. Lithuania opened a self-financed liquefied natural gas terminal in January 2015, providing the first non-Russian supply of natural gas to the Baltic States and reducing Lithuania’s dependence on Russian gas from 100% to approximately 30% in 2016.
Lithuania’s ongoing recovery hinges on improving the business environment, especially by liberalizing labor laws, and improving competitiveness and export growth, the latter hampered by economic slowdowns in the EU and Russia. In addition, a steady outflow of young and highly educated people is causing a shortage of skilled labor, which, combined with a rapidly aging population, could stress public finances and constrain long-term growth.
Based on OECD data, Lithuania is among the top 5 countries in the world by postsecondary (tertiary) education attainment. Educated workforce attracted investments especially in ICT sector during the past years. The Lithuanian government and the Bank of Lithuania simplified procedures for obtaining licences for the activities of e-money and payment institutions. Positioning the country as one of the most attractive for the FinTech initiatives in EU.
Lithuania’s economy has grown faster than most other OECD economies over the past 10 years, unemployment continues to fall and public finances have stabilised after a long period of deficits and rising debt. In a new report, however, the OECD says productivity has remained subdued, slowing down the convergence process as income remains at around two thirds of the OECD average. Income inequality is high and an ageing and declining population is putting pressure on the pension system.
To improve innovation, better coordination between business and research sectors is needed. Collaborative research should be privileged when allocating funds to public institutions. Lithuania’s economy is growing however and even exceeding its potential. But despite that fact the SEB Lithuania Bank stated in its forecast in November 2018 for 2019 that the Lithuanian economy will be growing slower than in 2018, thence the more modest growth in the population’s income.
Lithuania in the 21st century
Between 2000 and 2017, the Lithuanian GDP grew by 308%.
One of the most important factors contributing to Lithuania's economic growth was its accession to the WTO in 2001 and the EU in 2004, which allows free movement of labour, capital, and trade among EU member states. On the other hand, rapid growth caused some imbalances in inflation and balance of payments. The current account deficit to GDP ratio in 2006–2008 was in the double digits and reached its peak in the first quarter of 2008 at a threatening 18.8%. This was mostly due to rapid loan portfolio growth as Scandinavian banks provided cheap credit under quite lax rules in Lithuania. The volume of loans to acquire lodgings has grown from 50 million LTL in 2004 up to 720 million LTL in 2007. Consumption was affected by credit expansion as well. This led to high inflation of goods and services, as well as trade deficit. A housing bubble was formed.
The global credit crunch which started in 2008 affected the real estate and retail sectors. The construction sector shrank by 46.8% during the first three quarters of 2009 and the slump in retail trade was almost 30%. GDP plunged by 15.7% in the first nine months of 2009.
Lithuania was the last among the Baltic states to be hit by recession because its GDP growth rate in 2008 was still positive, followed by a slump of more than 15% in 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, compared to the previous quarter, GDP again grew by 6.1% after five-quarters with negative numbers. Austerity policy (four-fifths of the fiscal adjustment consisted of expenditure cuts) introduced by the Kubilius government helped to balance the current account from -15.5 in 2007 to 1.6 in 2009. Economic sentiment and confidence of all business activities have rebounded from a record low at the beginning of the year 2009.
Sectors related to domestic consumption and real estate still suffer from the economic crisis, but exporters have started making profits even with lower levels of revenue. The catalysts of growing profit margins are lower raw material prices and staff expense.
At the end of 2017, investment of Lithuania’s enterprises abroad amounted to EUR 2.9 billion. The largest investment was made in Netherlands (24.1 per cent of the total direct investment abroad), Cyprus (19.8 per cent), Latvia (14.9 per cent), Poland (10.5 per cent) and Estonia (10.3 per cent). Lithuania’s direct investment in the EU member states totalled EUR 2.6 billion, or 89.3 per cent of the total direct investment abroad.
Based on the Eurostat’s data, in 2017, the value of Lithuanian exports recorded the most rapid growth not only in the Baltic countries, but also across Europe, which was 16.9 per cent.
Trade
Lithuania’s chief trading partners include Russia, Latvia, Germany, Poland, and Estonia. Imports include crude petroleum, machinery, foodstuffs, chemical products, and metals. Lithuania exports refined petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery, textiles, and transport equipment (mainly automotive parts). Lithuania joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Sources:
www.britannica.com/place/Lithuania
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Lithuania
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/lh.html