Short facts about the economy in Lithuania

Economy - overview:

Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has been slowly rebounding from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. High unemployment and weak consumption have held back recovery. GDP growth for 2000 - estimated at 2.9% - fell behind that of Estonia and Latvia, and unemployment is estimated at 10.8%, the country's highest since regaining independence in 1990. For 2001, Lithuanians forecast 3.2% growth, 1.8% inflation, and a fiscal deficit of 3.3%. In early 2001, the Lithuanian Government announced that it will repeg its currency, the litas, to the euro (the litas is currently pegged to the dollar) some time in 2002. Lithuania must ratify 25 agreements along with other legal documents and obligations by 1 May 2001 before gaining World Trade Organization membership. Lithuania was invited to the Helsinki summit in December 1999 and began EU accession talks in early 2000. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, remains a key challenge for 2001.

GDP:	purchasing power parity - $26.4 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.9% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture:  10% industry:  33% services:  57% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%:  3.1% highest 10%:  25.6% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

1% (2000 est.)

Labor force:

2 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate:

10.8% (2000)

Budget:

revenues:  $1.5 billion expenditures:  $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries:

metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber

Industrial production growth rate:

2.3% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:

13.567 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel:  23.89% hydro:  3.43% nuclear:  72.68% other:  0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:

9.817 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:

3.2 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:

400 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:

grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish

Exports:

$3.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities:

machinery and equipment 22%, mineral products 15%, chemicals 12%, textiles and clothing, foodstuffs (1999)

Exports - partners:

Germany 15.8%, Latvia 12.6%, Russia 6.9%, Belarus 5.8%, Denmark (1999)

Imports:

$4.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and equipment 18%, mineral products 16%, chemicals 10%, textiles and clothing 10%, transport equipment 7% (1999)

Imports - partners:

Russia 20.4%, Germany 16.5%, Denmark 3.8%, Belarus 2.2%, Latvia 2% (1999)

Debt - external:

$2.5 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

$228.5 million (1995)

Currency:

litas (LTL)

Currency code:

LTL

Exchange rates:

litai per US dollar - 4.000 (fixed rate since 1 May 1994); note - litai is the plural of litas

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Source: World Factbook