After the country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, Lithuania faced an initial dislocation that is typical during transitions from a planned economy to a free-market economy. Macroeconomic stabilization policies, including privatization of most state-owned enterprises, and a strong commitment to a currency board arrangement led to an open and rapidly growing economy and rising consumer demand. Foreign investment and EU funding aided in the transition. Lithuania joined the WTO in May 2001, the EU in May 2004, and the euro zone in January 2015, and is now working to complete the OECD accession roadmap it received in July 2015. In 2017, joined the OECD Working Group on Bribery, an important step in the OECD accession process.
The Lithuanian economy was severely hit by the 2008-09 global financial crisis, but it has rebounded and become one of the fastest growing in the EU. Increases in exports, investment, and wage growth that supported consumption helped the economy grow by 3.6% in 2017. In 2015, Russia was Lithuania’s largest trading partner, followed by Poland, Germany, and Latvia; goods and services trade between the US and Lithuania totaled $2.2 billion. Lithuania opened a self-financed liquefied natural gas terminal in January 2015, providing the first non-Russian supply of natural gas to the Baltic States and reducing Lithuania’s dependence on Russian gas from 100% to approximately 30% in 2016.
Lithuania’s ongoing recovery hinges on improving the business environment, especially by liberalizing labor laws, and improving competitiveness and export growth, the latter hampered by economic slowdowns in the EU and Russia. In addition, a steady outflow of young and highly educated people is causing a shortage of skilled labor, which, combined with a rapidly aging population, could stress public finances and constrain long-term growth.
4.33% (2019 est.)
3.99% (2018 est.)
4.37% (2017 est.)
2.3% (2019 est.)
2.7% (2018 est.)
3.7% (2017 est.)
Fitch rating: A (2020)
Moody's rating: A3 (2015)
Standard & Poors rating: A+ (2020)
$103.756 billion (2019 est.)
$99.442 billion (2018 est.)
$95.675 billion (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2010 dollars
$54.597 billion (2019 est.)
$37,231 (2019 est.)
$35,496 (2018 est.)
$33,827 (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2010 dollars
20.8% of GDP (2019 est.)
20.8% of GDP (2018 est.)
20% of GDP (2017 est.)
agriculture: 3.5% (2017 est.)
industry: 29.4% (2017 est.)
services: 67.2% (2017 est.)
household consumption: 63.9% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 16.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 18.8% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: -1.3% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 81.6% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -79.3% (2017 est.)
Overall score: 81.6 (2020)
Starting a Business score: 93.3 (2020)
Trading score: 97.8 (2020)
Enforcement score: 78.8 (2020)
wheat, milk, sugar beet, rapeseed, barley, triticale, potatoes, oats, peas, beans
metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, televisions, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture, textiles, food processing, fertilizer, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, lasers, electronic components, computers, amber jewelry, information technology, video game development, app/software development, biotechnology
5.9% (2017 est.)
1.333 million (2020 est.)
agriculture: 9.1%
industry: 25.2%
services: 65.8% (2015 est.)
8.4% (2019 est.)
8.5% (2018 est.)
20.6% (2018 est.)
37.3 (2017 est.)
35 (2014)
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 28.8% (2015)
revenues: 15.92 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: 15.7 billion (2017 est.)
33.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
39.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
40.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: official data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions
calendar year
$1.817 billion (2019 est.)
$131 million (2018 est.)
$45.358 billion (2019 est.)
$41.433 billion (2018 est.)
$38.763 billion (2017 est.)
Russia 13%, Latvia 9%, Poland 8%, Germany 7%, Estonia 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, furniture, cigarettes, wheat, polyethylene (2019)
$43.733 billion (2019 est.)
$41.131 billion (2018 est.)
$38.745 billion (2017 est.)
Poland 12%, Russia 12%, Germany 12%, Latvia 7%, Netherlands 5% (2019)
crude petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, refined petroleum, electricity (2019)
$4.45 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.697 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$37.859 billion (2019 est.)
$41.999 billion (2018 est.)
litai (LTL) per US dollar -
0.82771 (2020 est.)
0.90338 (2019 est.)
0.87789 (2018 est.)
0.9012 (2014 est.)
0.7525 (2013 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Lithuania on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lithuania 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lithuania 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.