Lithuania

Lithuania is a country located in the Baltic region of Europe and is officially known as the Republic of Lithuania. Positioned on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it functions as one of the three Baltic states.

Where is Lithuania geographically situated in Europe? The country shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, while also maintaining a maritime border with Sweden to the west.

What are the physical dimensions and spatial coverage of the territory? Lithuania spans an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi). Within these borders, ecosystems comprise natural and semi-natural areas such as forests, bogs, wetlands, and meadows, alongside anthropogenic agricultural and urban zones.

How do natural ecosystems distribute across the landscape? Forests stand out as particularly significant natural ecosystems, covering 33% of the country's territory. Meanwhile, wetlands including raised bogs, fens, and transitional mires cover 7.9% of the land, though historical drainage and peat extraction caused the loss of 70% of wetlands between 1960 and 1980.

What hydrological features mark the terrain? The landscape contains 29,000 rivers that create a combined length of 64,000 km, anchored predominantly by the Nemunas River basin, which occupies 74% of the country's territory. Agricultural land takes up 54% of the total territory, with roughly 70% of that agricultural share classified as arable land and the remaining 30% consisting of meadows and pastures.

For further geographical context, consult the Lithuania entry or review the GeoNames record for Lithuania.