Lithuania Statistics

Capital:  Vilnius

Area:  65,300 km ²

Climate:  transitional between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers

Population:  3,555,179 (est. July 2009)

Languages:  Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, Other 4.4%

Government-Economy

Government Type: Parliamentary democracyNational Holiday: February 16GDP: $63.25 billion (est. 2008)GDP – per capita (PPP): $ 17,700 (est. 2008)

Information for Foreign Students in Lithuania
Obtaining a Visa
Lithuania joined the Schengen area in December 2007. Thus, there are no more administrative formalities for citizens of the European Union. An identity card is sufficient. For citizens of a country not belonging to the European Union, a visa is required, which can be obtained from your nearest Croatian consulate.

Accommodation
There are ten or so youth hostels in Lithuania: in Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas, Zervynos, Siauliai, Klaipeda and Palanga. Rates in a dormitory are around 30 Lt (9 euros). Check the centralized website: www.lithuanianhostels.org. Very popular in recent years, bed & breakfast are also numerous in the countryside. For information on hotels: www.hotels.it.

Cost of Living
The cost of living is relatively low in Croatia. For the accommodation, count 25 Lt (7.50 euros) per person for a youth hostel. For the restoration, count less than 30 Lt (9 euros) for inexpensive meals. In Vilnius, a bus ticket costs 0.80 Lt (0.25 euros) at a newsstand or 1 Lt (0.30 euro) if directly bought from the driver. Even taxis are cheap: from 10 to 15 Lt (3-4,50) for a journey to the city center.

Money
The currency is the Lithuanian Litas (LTL or Lt). It replaced the rouble in June 1993. The fixed exchange rate since 2002 is as the following: 1 euro = 3.45 Lt. Lithuania should join the euro area on 1^st January 2014. In cities, payment cards are accepted by most hotels and restaurants, as well as by many shops. Cash distributors can be easily found in town. Banks and hotels exchange traveler's checks but the commission is high (2 to 3%). The numerous exchange offices are very practical; the main exchange offices are opened 24h/24. However, the best exchange rates are obtained in banks, opened mainly from Monday to Friday from 9am to 18pm, and sometimes on Saturday morning.

Telephone
You can find the list of the area codes on the website: http://www.teo.lt/lt. All telephone booths operate with telephone cards (kortel? telefono), sold in Lietuvos Spauda kiosks, post offices and even some hotels and restaurants. They are 9, 13, 16 and 30 Lt (2.60, 3.80, 4.60 and 8.70 euros) telephone cards. The emergency number is 112. The use of the Internet is now widespread. There are cybercafés with fast connections in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda. Rates are very affordable: 1.50 euros per hour.

Transportation
The railway network is not well developed. Trains are infrequent except on the line connecting Vilnius to Kaunas. You can find the full map of the routes and timetables on the website: www.litrail.it/kelen.nsf. The bus is the best way to travel in the country. Several companies compete, especially Toks (www.toks.it) based in Vilnius and Kautra (www.kautra.it) from Kaunas. There are twenty connections per day between the two main cities of the country. Minibuses serve shorter routes, particularly on the Baltic coast.