in 1918; the Czech
Republic insists that restitution does not go back before February
1948, when the communists seized power

======================================================================

@Lithuania
---------

Geography

Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between
Latvia and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 24 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 65,200 sq km
land: 65,200 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area--comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
total: 1,273 km
border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km,
Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km

Coastline: 99 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: transitional, between maritime and continental; wet,
moderate winters and summers

Terrain: lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 m

Natural resources: peat

Land use:
arable land: 35%
permanent crops: 12%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 31%
other: 15% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 430 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment--current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater
with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

People

Population: 3,584,966 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20% (male 365,149; female 350,070)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,156,161; female 1,239,145)
65 years and over: 13% (male 160,963; female 313,478) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.4% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 10.52 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 12.93 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.96 years
male: 62.91 years
female: 75.31 years (1999 est.)

Tota