COUNTRY PROFILE

Lithuania Flag, Capital and Country Facts

Lithuania lies on the southeastern Baltic Sea and is the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Vilnius is located inland, while the coast only touches a comparatively small part of the national territory. The yellow-green-red flag combines a simple striped image with a history ranging from medieval statehood to restored independence.

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Lithuania Flag: Meaning & Country Facts · supplied learning collection

Lithuania at a glance

Capital: Vilnius
Quiz continent: Europe
Languages in reference record: Lithuanian (official language); other minority languages
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Population: 2,888,774 (2025, World Bank)
Area: 65,300 km²
Coastal setting: Not landlocked
ISO codes: LT / LTU
Internet country suffix: .lt

Highest point: Aukštojas, around 294 m
Declaration of Independence: 16 February 1918
Restoration of independence: 11 March 1990
River Vilnius: Neris
Coastal landscape: Curious frying
Historical Great Power: Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Lithuania Flag: Design, Meaning and History

Three equally high horizontal stripes are in yellow, green and red among each other. The national flag does not carry a coat of arms. Their colours resemble several African tricolors, but the order with yellow on top and green in the middle provides a clear indication of Lithuania.

The Factbook Archive combines yellow with fields and sun, green with forests and hope, and red with courage and commitment to the homeland. The simple tricolor can be distinguished from the historical state flag with the rider Vytis. The quiz expressly shows the yellow-green-red national flag.

Capital: Vilnius

Vilnius is located in the south-eastern interior at the confluence of Neris and Vilnia. The city name is associated with the smaller river Vilnia. The inland location distinguishes Vilnius from Riga and Tallinn, the other two Baltic capitals with immediate Baltic Sea location.

The historic centre of Vilnius has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. The city was an important center of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and has a multi-layered religious and linguistic past. Today’s capital role can therefore be combined with a long city history without reducing all previous communities to a single modern national identity.

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Lithuania: Geography, History and Culture

Lithuania’s terrain consists mainly of lowlands and shallow hillside landscapes. The highest point of Aukštoja is only about 294 meters above sea level. Ice Age forms, lakes and rivers shape the space. The contrast to mountainous European countries is clear: Here, water bodies and gentle elevations rather than high passes and summits structure the landscape.

Lithuanian belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. The geographical designation “Baltic states” therefore does not mean a common language of all three countries: Latvian is also Baltic, while Estonian is Uralic. This distinction helps not to equate geographical groups and linguistic affinity. Within Lithuania, Polish- and Russian-speaking communities are also part of the country’s history.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a large political space in the Middle Ages and early modern times. Modern independence was established in 1918 and restored in 1990 after Soviet rule. Both dates therefore appear in national remembrance. The UNESCO heritage complements this political history with urban planning, archaeology, coastal landscapes and the scientific surveying of the earth.

Curious frying

The Curonian Spit has been a World Heritage Site since 2000 and is shared with Russia. The narrow strip of land separates the Kurische Haff from the Baltic Sea. It illustrates the interaction of water, sand and human use on the Lithuanian coast.

Modern Kaunas

Kaunas was included in the World Heritage List in 2023 with its modernist architecture from 1919 to 1939. The entry focuses on the 20th century. Lithuania’s architectural history thus does not consist exclusively of medieval old towns.

Struve arc

Lithuania has measuring points of the cross-border Struve arc. This World Heritage entry documents historical geodetic surveying. It connects the country historically with a long north-south chain of other European countries.