Economy—overview: Lithuania has benefited from its disciplined approach to market reform and its adherence to strict fiscal and monetary policies imposed by the IMF, measures that have helped constrain the growth of the money supply, reduce inflation to 5.1%, and support GDP growth of 6% in 1997 and 4.5% in 1998. Foreign direct investment and the privatization program maintained their momentum in 1998. However, the current account deficit has hovered around 8% to 10% of GDP annually since 1995—the result of greater demand for consumer goods and falling growth in exports. Reducing this deficit is the immediate economic challenge for 1999.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$17.6 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 4.5% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$4,900 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 32%
services: 55% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 28% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.1% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 1.8 million

Labor force—by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 20%, other 38% (1997)

Unemployment rate: 6.7% (January 1998)

Budget:
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber

Industrial production growth rate: 4.7% (1998 est.)

Electricity—production: 14.51 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 9.65%
hydro: 3.03%
nuclear: 87.32%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 9.58 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 5.23 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 300 million kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish

Exports: $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports—commodities: machinery and equipment 19%, mineral products 16%, textiles 15%, chemicals 8%, foodstuffs 8% (1997)

Exports—partners: Russia 24%, Germany 11%, Belarus 10%, Latvia 9%, Ukraine 9% (1997)

Imports: $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment 30%, mineral products 18%, chemicals 9%, textiles 8%, foodstuffs (1997)

Imports—partners: Russia 24%, Germany 19%, Poland, Denmark, Finland (1997)

Debt—external: $NA

Economic aid—recipient: $228.5 million (1995)

Currency: 1 Lithuanian litas = 100 centas

Exchange rates: litai per US$1—4.000 (fixed rate since 1 May 1994), 3.978 (1994), 4.344 (1993), 1.773 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year