Lithuania Economy - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Economic overview

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.

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$102.66 billion (2020 est.)

$103.56 billion (2019 est.)

$99.25 billion (2018 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

4.33% (2019 est.)

3.99% (2018 est.)

4.37% (2017 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$36,700 (2020 est.)

$37,100 (2019 est.)

$35,400 (2018 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$54.597 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.3% (2019 est.)

2.7% (2018 est.)

3.7% (2017 est.)

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: A (2020)

Moody's rating: A3 (2015)

Standard & Poors rating: A+ (2020)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 3.5% (2017 est.)

industry: 29.4% (2017 est.)

services: 67.2% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

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.)

Agricultural products

wheat, milk, sugar beet, rapeseed, barley, triticale, potatoes, oats, peas, beans

Industries

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

Industrial production growth rate

5.9% (2017 est.)

Labor force

1.333 million (2020 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 9.1%

industry: 25.2%

services: 65.8% (2015 est.)

Unemployment rate

8.4% (2019 est.)

8.5% (2018 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 14.3%

male: 14%

female: 14.7% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

20.6% (2018 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

37.3 (2017 est.)

35 (2014)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.2%

highest 10%: 28.8% (2015)

Budget

revenues: 15.92 billion (2017 est.)

expenditures: 15.7 billion (2017 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

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

Taxes and other revenues

33.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

$1.817 billion (2019 est.)

$131 million (2018 est.)

Exports

$41.48 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$42.3 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$40.36 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports - partners

Russia 13%, Latvia 9%, Poland 8%, Germany 7%, Estonia 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

refined petroleum, furniture, cigarettes, wheat, polyethylene (2019)

Imports

$36.06 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$39.46 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$39.38 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

Poland 12%, Russia 12%, Germany 12%, Latvia 7%, Netherlands 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

crude petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, refined petroleum, electricity (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$4.45 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$1.697 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Debt - external

$37.859 billion (2019 est.)

$41.999 billion (2018 est.)

Exchange rates

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 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lithuania 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lithuania 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.