Transcript LIETUVA
Location: Eastern Europe Bordering The Baltic Sea Latvia Belarus Poland Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave Lithuania is the biggest of the three Baltic countries Area 65,300 square km, smaller than Georgia and Sri Lanka 2 and a bit larger than Latvia or Croatia Population: 3,555,179 (July 2009 est.) Urbanization:urban population: 67% of total population Ethnic groups: Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other 3.6% (2001 census) There are more than 300000 cows in the country, so it is the second largest population Religions: Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census) Languages: Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census) Education expenditures: 5% of GDP Country comparison to the world: 72 15 STATE UNIVERSITIES 7 PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES 15 COLLEGES 12 PRIVATE COLLEGES 200 000 STUDENTS Vilnius University Government type: parliamentary democracy Independence: 11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union) National holiday: Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union Constitution: adopted 25 October 1992; last amended 13 July 2004 Economy overview: GDP (purchasing power parity): $63.25 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 83 GDP - per capita (PPP): $17,700 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 69 Internet users: 0.333 million (2007) country comparison to the world: 75 Executive branch: Chief of state: President Head of government: Prime Minister Cabinet: Council of Ministers - appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term prime minister appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament Legislative branch: Unicameral Parliament or Seimas 141 seats 71 members are elected by popular vote 70 are elected by proportional representation Serves four-year terms Judicial branch: Constitutional Court Supreme Court Court of Appeal Judges for all courts appointed by the president Lithuania is a member of the European Union and NATO from 2004 It is also a member of the World Trade Organization. 10 LANGUAGE The Lithuanian language is the most archaic of all the living Indo-European languages, modern reference language for students of language history all over the world. 11 BALTIC SEA COAST All Lithuanians love the Baltic Sea coast. At least once a year, everybody travels there … 12 A GREEN COUNTRY In Lithuania you can benefit from a good environmental quality of air, water and grounds. The country has an abundance of parks, forests lakes and nature reserves. 13 14 M. K. Čiurlionis (1846–1914) Lithuanian painter and composer Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch Romain Gary (1914 – 1980) A Lithuanian–born French novelist The only person to win the Prix Goncourt twice: 1956 for Les racines du ciel 1975 for La vie devant soi under the pseudonym of Émile Ajar in 1975 Chaim Soutine (1893 – 1943) Expressionist painter, a forerunner of Abstract Expressionism From 1910–1913 he studied in Vilnius at the Vilna Academy of Fine Arts A Friend of Modigliani. Modigliani painted Soutine's portrait several times Modigliani Portrait of Soutine, 1916 Chaim Soutine Piece de boeuf,1923 A PASSION FOR SPORT Basketball in Lithuania is like a second religion that leaves no one indifferent. Lithuanian basketball players are stars whose talent is admired by basketball fans all over the world. 18 FROM TRADITIONAL BREAD TO INTERNATIONAL DELICACIES The most popular of the Lithuanian staples are black bread, cottage cheese, cold beet soup, cepelinai, vėdarai, žagareliai (twig biscuits) and šakotis (tree cake) 19