Officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika), is
a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states
and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania shares land
borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to
the south, and Russia to the southwest. It has a maritime border with
Sweden to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300
km2 (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.8 million. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak
Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages.