This is one in a series of profiles of the republics of the former Soviet Union that are intended to provide basic reference  material as a backdrop for assessing future developments in these new states. The profile provides a description of the geography, population, and economy of Lithuania and compares its level of development, growth, and social welfare with that in Finland and Sweden.

International comparisons, particularly for aggregate measures such as GNP, are difficult to make because of differences in definitions and methods used by various countries in compiling statistics. International currency exchange rates are deficient for this purpose because they do not reflect the relative purchasing power of different currencies over the whole range of  output of goods and services included in GNP.  Exchange rates may differ greatly from purchasing power parities. Because of the lack of these parities, alternative measures have been selected. These measures include data for which comparable international statistics were available.