The two Baltic states - Latvia and Lithuania - have consonant names, and their neighboring location leads to the fact that these countries are often confused. The article discusses in detail the similarities and differences between Latvia and Lithuania.
Location of States
In order to understand the difference between Latvia and Lithuania, it will be most vivid to simultaneously examine certain aspects of the economy, politics, geography, etc. of these countries. Let's start with the location.
Both states are located in central Europe. Often they are attributed to the East European countries, given that they were once part of the Russian Empire, and then the USSR. However, from a geographical point of view, they are located exactly in the center of Europe, which extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains.
Latvia borders with the following states and seas:
- with Estonia in the north;
- Russia and Belarus in the east;
- Lithuania in the south;
- The Baltic Sea in the northwest and west.
Lithuania, in turn, is adjacent to:
- with Latvia in the north;
- Belarus in the southeast;
- Poland in the south;
- Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) in the southwest;
- The Baltic Sea in the west.
The border between Latvia and Lithuania is 588 km long and separates the north of one country from the south of another.
Based on the analysis of the given lists of borders, we can say that the countries are surrounded by the same countries (the exception is that Latvia borders with Estonia, and Lithuania borders with Poland).
Latvia and Lithuania have a border with Russia. Nevertheless, in the first case we are talking about the neighborhood with the main territory of the Russian Federation (Pskov region), and in the second case with the enclave of our country (Kaliningrad region).
As for access to the Baltic Sea, it is necessary to emphasize the difference between Latvia and Lithuania in that the former has a very long coastline (about 500 km), including the Gulf of Riga, the sea border of the second country is only 90 km.
Terrain and climate features
Since the two countries are very small in size (indicated below) and located in the neighborhood, they have almost the same relief and climate. So, both Latvia and Lithuania are countries of a flat character, there are no mountains, and the maximum heights of the hills reach about 300 meters.
Most of the territory of one or the other country is covered with forests. There are many wetlands and lakes. Perhaps the only difference here is the fact that the area of Lithuanian inland waters is approximately 2.5 times larger than that of Latvia (4% versus 1.5% of the territory, respectively).
As for the climate, in the Baltic countries it is typical for the temperate zone: long, cold and snowy winters (peak temperatures drop to -40 ° C) and short and cool summers (average temperature is about +17 ° C).
General story
Since the Baltic states are small in size and located between the main military powers of Europe (Russia, Germany, Poland and Sweden), they were often subjected to capture and occupation by a stronger neighbor.
Thus, the Baltic countries under consideration were part of the Teutonic Order in the Middle Ages, then - in the composition of Sweden, Poland, Germany and the Russian Empire. During the Second World War, Latvia and Lithuania were occupied by Nazi Germany. Both countries actively supported the Nazis both in hostilities against the Bolsheviks and in anti-Jewish politics. After the end of World War II, both of these states were annexed to the USSR. Only with the collapse of the latter did they gain independence.
Area and Population
These are two interesting parameters by which it is useful to compare the Baltic countries under consideration.
In short, the area and population of Latvia is 64.6 thousand km 2 and 2 million people, respectively. Of the two million living in Latvia, only 62% of the population are indigenous Latvians. This percentage is even lower in Riga - the capital of this state. About 27% are Russians. There are also many Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians and Poles.
The area and population of Lithuania are expressed in figures of 65.3 thousand km 2 and 2.9 million inhabitants. More than 83% of the population of this state are Lithuanians; Poles and Russians approximately 6% each and 1% Belarusians and Ukrainians.
From the above data it is clear that Lithuania is formed by almost one nationality, while Latvia can be considered a binational state, since along with Latvians there is a large proportion of immigrants from Russia (about 1/3 of the country's population).
Political structure and presidents
There is practically no difference in the political structure of these states. Both of them are democratic independent republics and have a unicameral parliament and an elected president, who has broad executive powers (he is the commander in chief of the country's armed forces, appoints the prime minister, etc.). Both Latvia and Lithuania are part of the EU and the NATO bloc.
Since 2015, Presidential functions in Latvia have been performed by Raimonds Vejonis. In addition to political activities, he is a biologist and former leader of the Latvian political coalition "Greens and Peasants."
Since 2009, Dalia Grybauskaite has been the President in Lithuania. She is the first woman president of this country. It is curious to note that Dalia Grybauskaite graduated from Leningrad State University in 1983, and five years later defended her degree in economics in the USSR.
Administrative division
In this matter, the difference between Lithuania and Latvia is immediately visible. The fact is that Latvia is divided into more than 100 municipal regions, as for the neighboring state, it is divided into only 10 counties.
Thus, if you look at the administrative division of the territories of the countries in question, then Latvia will represent many small "honeycombs", and Lithuania - only a few larger "honeycombs".
Religious issue
It is interesting to draw a comparison of Lithuania and Latvia in the issue of widespread religions among their population, which correlates with the peculiarity of the national composition of these states, discussed above.
So, in Latvia, about 35% of Latvians profess Protestantism, about 25% of the population consider themselves Catholics, and 20% - Orthodox. About 15% of the inhabitants of this Baltic state do not profess any religion.
In Lithuania, the picture is completely different. So, 84% of the population are Christians, and 79% are Catholics (this fact is connected, for the most part, with the proximity of Catholic Poland, with which Lithuania in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries formed a union of the two states). The Orthodox are only about 4%, all other religious teachings are represented by minorities, each of which does not exceed 1%.
Thus, Lithuania, unlike Latvia, is a more homogeneous country not only from a national, but also from a religious point of view.
The capitals of Vilnius and Riga
The capitals of both states are the largest cities in their countries. So, the number of inhabitants in the capital of Latvia, Riga, is about 701 thousand people. In the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, it is equal to 526 thousand people. In addition, both capitals are ancient and beautiful cities that preserve a rich cultural heritage and in recent decades have attracted tourists from many countries.
However, Vilnius and Riga are fundamentally different from each other in terms of their location. So, the capital of Latvia is one of the largest port cities and is located on the shores of the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. Vilnius has no access to the sea and is located only 30 km from the border with Belarus, in the south-eastern part of the country.
Cities of States
The difference between Latvia and Lithuania can also be traced in the issue of the uniform distribution of the population of these countries over its territory.
In a rough approximation, Latvia can be called the country of "one city", since the number of inhabitants of Riga is about 35% of the population of the whole country. All other cities in their numbers do not exceed 100 thousand. So, the city Daugavpils following the capital in the considered indicator totals about 98 thousand inhabitants.
A completely different picture is again presented in Lithuania. The population of this country is more smoothly distributed over its territory. In addition to Vilnius, there are three more cities that, in terms of population, exceed the 100,000th barrier:
- Kaunas (about 307 thousand) - located in the central part of Lithuania.
- Klaipeda (about 160 thousand) - the main port city of the country, which is located on the shores of the Baltic Sea.
- Siauliai (about 106 thousand) - located near the border with Latvia, in the northern part of the state.
Economic development
All that has been said above about the difference between Latvia and Lithuania, involves a consideration of their geographical, political, administrative and other features, but the real difference is manifested in the economic development of these states.
Both in Latvia and Lithuania, the main income comes from agriculture, as well as the textile industry, timber trade and ferrous metallurgy. However, the level of development of Lithuania is much higher than that of its neighbor.
Thus, literacy in Lithuania is 99.6%, and this is the fifth indicator worldwide. Education in this country is at a high level, Lithuanian schoolchildren and students often win awards at the European Olympiads in mathematics and other sciences. The infrastructure in Lithuania is excellently developed; the quality of railways and roads is one of the highest in Europe.
Lithuania in terms of GDP per capita also refers to the level of developed countries. Currently, this state is developing rapidly both in the economic sphere and in the field of modern technologies (biotechnology, lasers, nuclear energy). According to general estimates, in the next 20 years, Lithuania should reach the level of the Scandinavian countries in many economic indicators, thereby outstripping such countries as Spain, Italy and Portugal.
As for Latvia, it has a very modest pace of development. Recently, much attention has been paid to the tourism sector.
Attitude to the Russian-speaking population
What is the attitude towards Russians in Latvia and Lithuania? This issue deserves attention, since the difference between these countries is also evident in this.
The official language in Lithuania is Lithuanian. The Russian-speaking population in this country is about 6%, however, there are schools where subjects are taught in Russian.
The official language of Latvia is Latvian. Despite the fact that 1/3 of the population of this state is Russian-speaking, teaching is carried out exclusively in Latvian in all schools of the country. Moreover, about 300 thousand people (15% of the population of Latvia) permanently residing in the territory of this Baltic state have special passports that say they are not Latvian citizens. Mostly these are Russian-speaking immigrants from the former USSR. In order to receive Latvian passports, they must pass a special exam for knowledge of the history of this country and its language.
In April 2014, the Latvian government rejected the proposal of the UN Human Rights Committee to review its language policy in order to improve the situation of the Russian-speaking population in their country.