Lithuania is one of three countries known as the Baltic States. Theother Baltic State countries are Estonia and Latvia. However theconcept of Baltic States is misleading as it implies some sort ofpolitical unity between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia which is not thecase.

Lithuania is situated on the eastern Baltic coast and borders Latvia in the north, the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation and Poland in the southwest, and Belarus in the southwest and east. The geometrical centre of Europe lies in eastern Lithuania near the village of Bernotai, 25km (16 miles) north of Vilnius. The landscape alternates between lowland plains and hilly uplands and has a dense, intricate network of rivers, including the Nemunas and the Neris. Around 1.5% of the country’s territory is made up of lakes, of which there are over 2,800. The majority of these lie in the east of the country and include Lake Druksiai and Lake Tauragnas.

Lithuania is the largest and southernmost of the Baltic States. Its territory is 65.300 sq. km and is larger than Belgium, Denmark or the Netherlands.

Lithuania borders Latvia, Belorus, Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia. The total length of the mainland borders is 1.747 km, with the sea coastline extending for another 99 km. From West to East the country is 373 km and from North to South the length is 276 km.

Lithuania is a part of the Eastern European Plain and is characterised by a highly diverse landscape. While predominantly flat, it alternates with three hilly uplands (Žemaičiai Upland, Aukštaičiai Upland and Eastern Upland) and three lowland plains (Pajūris Lowland, Middle Lowland and Eastern Lowland).

There are 816 rivers and over 2.830 lakes in Lithuania.

There are five national parks and a number of nature reserves throughout the country.