Map of Lithuania
Lithuania is a country in Europe with its capital at Vilnius, home to about 2.89 million people across 65,300 km². The interactive map below plots 5 cities and towns, 2 rivers, 1 lakes and 2 ports recorded for Lithuania in YearMaps.
- Population
- 2.89 million
- Area
- 65,300 km²
- Capital
- Vilnius
- Continent
- Europe
Interactive Map of Lithuania
Centred on Vilnius at 54.6834° N, 25.3166° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), and has a population of 2.9 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities include Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians are the titular nation, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of Balts, and speak Lithuanian.
For millennia, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas, who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Subsequent expansion and consolidation resulted in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which by the 14th century was the largest country in Europe. In 1386, the grand duchy entered into a de facto personal union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The two realms were united into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, forming one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. The commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighbouring countries gradually dismantled it between 1772 and 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.
Towards the end of World War I, Lithuania declared independence in 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. In World War II, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany, before being reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence.
Lithuania is a developed country with a high-income and an advanced economy ranking very high in Human Development Index. Lithuania ranks highly in digital infrastructure, press freedom and happiness. It is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Eurozone, the Nordic Investment Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Schengen Agreement, NATO, OECD and the World Trade Organization. It also participates in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) regional co-operation format.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Lithuania (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Lithuania
Lithuanian lands were united under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, Lithuania extended its territory through alliances and conquest to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two countries into a union through a common ruler. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795 when surrounding countries partitioned its remnants. Lithuania regained its independence after World War I, but the USSR annexed it in 1940 -- an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. In 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until 1991. The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into West European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in 2004. In 2015, Lithuania joined the euro zone, and it joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2018.
- Location
- Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia, west of Belarus.
- Climate
- Transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers.
- Terrain
- Lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil.
- Highest point
- Aukstojas 294 m.
- Lowest point
- Baltic Sea 0 m.
- Coastline
- 90 km.
- Land borders
- Total: 1,545 km; border countries: Belarus 640 km; Latvia 544 km; Poland 100 km; Russia (Kaliningrad) 261 km.
- Major lakes
- Salt water lake(s): Curonian Lagoon (shared with Russia) - 1,620 sq km.
- Natural resources
- Peat, arable land, amber.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 45.9% (2023 est.); arable land: 36.8% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0.5% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 8.6% (2023 est.); forest: 35.3% (2023 est.); other: 18.8% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Occasional floods, droughts.
- Geographic note
- Fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits.
- Languages
- Lithuanian (official) 85.3%, Russian 6.8%, Polish 5.1%, other 1.1%, two mother tongues 1.7% (2021 est.)
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 74.2%, Russian Orthodox 3.7%, Old Believer 0.6%, Evangelical Lutheran 0.6%, Evangelical Reformist 0.2%, other (including Sunni Muslim, Jewish, Greek Catholic, and Karaite) 0.9%, none 6.1%, unspecified 13.7% (2021 est.)
- Ethnic groups
- Lithuanian 84.6%, Polish 6.5%, Russian 5%, Belarusian 1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.8% (2021 est.)
- Economy
- High-income EU and eurozone member, largest Baltic economy; recovery supported by private consumption and EU fund-driven investments; structural challenges include pension reform, aging workforce, and high energy-import costs.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Lithuania in Numbers
- Population
- 2.89 million
- GDP
- US$95.2 billion
- GDP per person
- US$32,959
- Life expectancy
- 77.2 years
- Population growth
- 0.02% a year
- Population density
- 46 per km²
- Urban population
- 69.1%
- Surface area
- 65,290 km²
- Forest cover
- 35.4%
- Arable land
- 36.7%
- Access to electricity
- 100.0%
- Internet users
- 89.2%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Lithuania in Depth
History
The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded about 10,000 years ago. The first people settled in the territory of Lithuania after the Last Glacial Period in the 10th millennium BC: Kunda, Neman and Narva cultures. They were traveling hunters. In the 8th millennium BC the climate became warmer and forests developed. The inhabitants of what is now Lithuania travelled less and engaged in local hunting, gathering and fresh-water fishing. The Indo-Europeans, who arrived in the 3rd – 2nd millennium BC, mixed with the local population and formed various Baltic tribes. The Balts did not maintain close cultural or political contacts with the Roman Empire, while maintaining trade contacts via the Amber Road.
Geography
Lithuania is located in the Baltic region of Europe and covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 53° and 57° N, and mostly between longitudes 21° and 27° E (part of the Curonian Spit lies west of 21°). It has around 99 kilometres (61.5 mi) of sandy coastline, with around 38 kilometres (24 mi) facing the open Baltic Sea. The rest of the coast is sheltered by the Curonian sand peninsula. The warm-water port at Klaipėda lies at the narrow mouth of the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuanian: Kuršių marios), a shallow lagoon extending south to Kaliningrad. The country's main and largest river, the Nemunas River, and some of its tributaries carry international shipping.
Lithuania lies at the edge of the North European Plain.
Economy
Lithuania has an open and mixed economy that is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank. As of 2017 the three largest sectors were services (63% of GDP), industry (24%) and agriculture (3%). On 1 January 2015, the euro became the national currency, replacing litas, which had been in circulation since 1993.
Mineral products comprised the largest share of exports (14%) in 2024; other major sectors include machinery and appliances, electrical equipment (14%), chemical products (11%), food, beverages and tobacco products (9%). The largest markets for exports were Latvia (12%), Poland (10%), and Germany (9%). Exports equaled 88% of GDP in 2022.
GDP experienced very high real growth rates for the decade up to 2009, peaking at 11% in 2007.
Demographics
Since the Neolithic period, the demographics of Lithuania have stayed fairly homogeneous. There is a high probability that the inhabitants of present-day Lithuania have similar genetic compositions to their ancestors, although without being actually isolated from them. The population has little apparent genetic differences among ethnic subgroups. A 2004 analysis of MtDNA revealed that Lithuanians are genetically close to the Slavic and Finno-Ugric speaking populations of northern and eastern Europe.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Lithuania (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lithuania: Key Facts
| Official language | Lithuanian |
|---|---|
| Head of state | Gitanas Nausėda |
| Head of government | Mindaugas Sinkevičius |
| Form of government | semi-presidential system, parliamentary republic |
| Calling code | +370 |
| Internet domain | .lt |
| Highest point | Aukštojas Hill |
| Lowest point | Nemunas Delta |
| Established | 11 March 1990 |
Facts from Wikidata Q37 (CC0).
History of Lithuania: Empires and States
The atlas records 16 polities whose mapped territory included part of Lithuania, from Kievan Rus' in 990 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| Kievan Rus' | 990–1235 CE | A small part |
| Principality of Polotsky | 1056–1110 CE | A small part |
| Principality of Minsk | 1111–1249 CE | A small part |
| Grand Duchy of Lithuania | 1220–1449 CE | Most |
| Polish-Lithuania Kingdom | 1395–1449 CE | Most |
| The Holy Roman Empire | 1402–1414 CE | Most |
| Teutonic Order | 1402–1414 CE | Most |
| Vassalage of Kingdom of Bohemia to Holy Roman Empire | 1402–1414 CE | Most |
| House of Jagiellon | 1450–1571 CE | Most |
| Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | 1572–1793 CE | Most |
| Pro-Swedish Poland | 1706–1712 CE | Most |
| The Russian Empire | 1794–1915 CE | Most |
| Kingdom of Lithuania | 1919–1939 CE | Most |
| Second Polish Republic | 1920–1939 CE | A small part |
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | 1940–1989 CE | Nearly all |
| Republic of Lithuania | 1990–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Lithuania
Lithuania on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Lithuania
Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva) is one of the three Baltic states of northeast Europe. It's a low-lying, mostly agricultural country bordered by Latvia to the north and east, Belarus to the south, Poland to the southwest, Kaliningrad exclave of Russia to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the northwest. It broke away from the Soviet Union to become an independent republic in 1990, soon followed by Latvia and Estonia, the other two Baltic states. It is the largest of the three Baltic states, extending to about 65,300 square kilometres with a population of 2.9 million in 2025.
Vilnius, the capital, is the country's star attraction. Beyond is a compact yet diverse country of modern cities, unique small towns, traditional villages, forests, castles, manors, churches, lakes, rivers, hillforts and strange sculptures and monuments attesting to its pagan past.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Lithuania (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Lithuania
5 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vilnius | 542,366 | Vilniaus | National capital |
| 2 | Kaunas | 374,643 | Kauno | Populated place |
| 3 | Klaipėda | 192,307 | Klaipedos | Populated place |
| 4 | Šiauliai | 133,528 | Šiauliai | Populated place |
| 5 | Panevežys | 127,405 | Panevezio | Populated place |
Largest Lakes in Lithuania
1 lake recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kauno marios | 47 km² | Reservoir |
Rivers in Lithuania
2 rivers recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.
Ports in Lithuania
2 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klaipeda | 38.4 m | Minor | Baltic Sea | medium vessels |
| 2 | Butinge Oil Terminal | 12.8 m | Very Small | Baltic Sea | large vessels |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Lithuania
5 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vilnius Old Town | 1994 | Cultural | (ii) (iv) |
| 2 | Curonian Spit | 2000 | Cultural | (v) |
| 3 | Cultural Reserve of Kernavė | 2004 | Cultural | (iii) (iv) |
| 4 | Struve Geodetic Arc | 2005 | Cultural | (ii) (iii) (vi) |
| 5 | Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939 | 2023 | Cultural | (iv) |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Lithuania
2 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Europe | 11.24M km² | Continent | Europe |
| 2 | Northern European Plain | 774,604 km² | Plain | Europe |
Countries Bordering Lithuania
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Europe
Lithuania: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Lithuania?
- The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius.
- What is the population of Lithuania?
- Lithuania has a population of about 2.89 million, the #140 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Lithuania?
- Lithuania covers 65,300 km², ranking #125 by area, with about 44 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Lithuania in?
- Lithuania is in Europe.
- Which countries border Lithuania?
- Lithuania shares a land or maritime border with Sweden, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Latvia.
- What is the largest city in Lithuania?
- Vilnius is the largest city in Lithuania, with a metropolitan population of about 542,366.
- What is the largest lake in Lithuania?
- The largest lake recorded in or bordering Lithuania is Kauno marios, at roughly 47 km².