Vilnius, the capital of the Republic of Lithuania, with over 553 thousand inhabitants is one of the largest industrial, scientific and cultural centres of the Baltic States. The city is situated in a picturesque valley at the confluence of the Neris and the Vilnia rivers. Vilnius, one of the oldest Baltic cities, has a long history rich in events. In 1994, the Old Town of Vilnius was included into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Other major cities are: Kaunas  (360 thous. inhabitants), Klaipėda (187 thous. inhabitants), Šiauliai  (129 thous. inhabitants), Panevėžys (115 thous. inhabitants).
Population

The population of the country is 3,4 million; 66 % is urban population and 34 % rural population. The density is 52,1 people per sq. km.

The ethnic composition of the population is represented by 83,45 % of Lithuanians, 6,74 % of Poles, 6,31 % of Russians, 3,5 % of other minorities (Byelorussians, Ukrainians, Jews, Latvians, etc).
Language

The Lithuanian language is the official language of the Republic of Lithuania. Lithuanian is the oldest of the living Baltic tongues and belongs to the family of Indo-European languages.

Lithuanian is spoken by approximately three million people in Lithuania and by another million people in other countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain and the USA).
Religion

According to population census data for 2001, 83.6 % of respondents in Lithuania identified themselves as believers. 79 % of them identified themselves as Roman Catholics, 4.1 % – as Orthodox, 0.8 % – as Old Believers, 0.6 % – as Evangelical Lutherans, 0.2 % – as Evangelical Reformers, and by 0.1 % – as Jehovah’s Witness, Muslims Sunni, and Evangelical Christians Believers.
Climate

The climate is midway between maritime and continental - wet moderate winters and summers. The average temperature in January is - 4.9° C, in July it is +17° C. The growing season varies between 169 and 202 days.a