Lietuvos Respublika Republic of Lithuania
Flag Coat of arms Motto: "Tautos jėga vienybėje" "The strength of the nation lies in unity" Anthem: Tautiška giesmė	Location of  Lithuania  (orange) – on the European continent  (camel & white) – in the European Union  (camel)[Legend]
Capital (and largest city) Vilnius 54°41′N, 25°19′E Official languages Lithuanian Demonym Lithuanian Government Parliamentary republic  -  President Valdas Adamkus  -  Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas  -  Seimas Speaker Česlovas Juršėnas Independence from the Russian Empire (1918)   -  Lithuania mentioned February 14, 1009   -  Statehood July 6, 1253   -  Personal union with Poland February 2, 1386   -  Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth declared 1569   -  Russian/Prussian occupation 1795   -  Independence declared February 16, 1918   -  1st Soviet occupation June 15, 1940   -  2nd Soviet occupation 1944   -  Independence restored March 11, 1990  EU accession 1 May 2004 Area  -  Total 65,200 km² (123rd) 25,173 sq mi   -  Water (%) 1,35%	Population  -  2007 estimate 3,369,600 (130th)  -  Density 52/km² (120th) 134/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate  -  Total $66 billion[1] (75th)  -  Per capita $19, 730 (49th) GDP (nominal) 2008 IMF April estimate  -  Total $48, 132 billion [2] (75th)  -  Per capita $14, 273 (53rd) Gini (2003) 36 (medium)  HDI (2007) ▲ 0.862 (high) (43rd) Currency Lithuanian litas (Lt) (LTL) Time zone EET (UTC+2)  -  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Internet TLD .lt1 Calling code +370 1 Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states.

Lithuania [ˌlɪθuˈeɪniə] (help·info), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika) is a country defined as being part of Northern Europe.[2] Situated along the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, sharing borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of the Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest. Lithuania is a member of NATO and of the European Union. Its population is 3.4 million. The largest city and capital is Vilnius.

During the 1300s, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe, as present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the Lublin Union of 1569 Poland and Lithuania formed a new state: the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was finally destroyed by its neighboring countries in 1795. Most of Lithuania's territory was annexed by the Russian Empire, until the Act of Independence was signed on February 16, 1918, which declared re-establishment of a sovereign state. Between 1940 and 1945 Lithuania was occupied by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany at different times. When World War II was near its end in 1944 and the Nazis retreated, Lithuania would again be merged into the Soviet Union. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare its renewed independence.

Present-day Lithuania has one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. Lithuania became a full member of the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007.[3] In 2009, Lithuania will celebrate the millennium of its name.