Official name of the state: the Republic of Lithuania
Lithuanian: Lietuva; German: Litauen; French: Lithuania

Country code: LT

Flag: yellow-green-red
The old national flag was a white horseman in the centre of a red field. It was used from the early 15th century to 1795. The first ideas for a modern Lithuanian national flag date from the 19th century and were a combination of various colours: green - white - red, white - blue, white - red - blue, red - yellow - blue. In 1912 a red - green - yellow flag was devised and in 1914, a yellow - green - red one. The colours of the national flag were finally defined on 19 April 1918 by a commission made up of Jonas Basanavièius, Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and Tadas Daugirdas, and they were established by law in the same year. Yellow signified the sun, light and good; green symbolised natural beauty, freedom and hope; and red represented the earth, courage and blood spilled for the Fatherland.

National emblem:
The Lithuanian horseman called Vytis is one of the oldest state symbols still in use. It developed from 14th-century grand-ducal seals and signified the knight-defender of Lithuania driving the enemy from his land. Until 1795 the horseman argent on a shield gules represented the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; from 1918 and again since 11 March 1990, he represents the restored state of the Republic of Lithuania.
An armed knight argent on a field gules holds a raised sword argent with a hilt or above his head. On his left breast the knight carries a shield azure with a two-armed cross or. The steed's bridle, leather straps, saddle and short saddle-cloth are azure; the horseshoes, bit and stirrups, metal buckles on the leather straps and the knight's spurs are or.

Official language: Lithuanian
Lithuanian, as well as the kindred Latvian, belongs to the Baltic group of Indo-European languages. Lithuanian and Latvian are thought to have separated from a common source in the 7th century. Lithuanian has retained more of the old vocalic system and more morphological features than any other living Indo-European language.

Area: 65,300 km2

Borders with other countries: Latvia, Belarus, Poland, Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation

Administrative division: 10 counties, 44 rural districts and 12 towns. The largest cities are Vilnius (pop. 578,400), Kaunas (412,639], Klaipėda (202,451). Šiauliai (146,563), Panevėžys (133,695). Counties: Alytus. Kaunas, Klaipėda, Marijampolė. Panevėžys. Šiauliai, Tauragė, Telšiai, Utena. Vilnius.

Population: 3,692,600 (at the beginning of 2001)

Ethnic composition: 82.3% Lithuanians, 8.2% Russians, 6.9% Poles, 1.5% Belarussians, 1% Ukrainians, 0.1% Jews and 0.7% other nationalities

Type Of government: parliamentary republic
The Seimas (Parliament) iš the supreme body of statė power. It comprises 141 deputies elected for a period of four years. The President is the highest official, the head of the statė. The President is elected by citizens for a term of five years. The Prime Minister (who heads the government) is appointed or dismissed by the President with the approval of the Seimas.

Largest religious denominations: Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Lutheran, Baptist 

Capital city: Vilnius (pop. 578,400)

Main industries:
The most prosperous production sectors: electronics, light industry (textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, furniture and household appliances), chemicals, food processing, machine tooling, metai processing, construction materials, transport and services.

Independence day: 16 February