# Lithuania and Russia compared

Lithuania and Russia side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 9 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/ltu-vs-rus
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Lithuania: 6 July 1253 — Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania
- Russia: 882 — Oleg takes Kiev and Kievan Rus' becomes a single state

## Economy

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $85 B | 2024 | $2.17 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $29,384 | 2024 | $14,889 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 2.8% | 2024 | 4.3% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 0.7% | 2024 | 8.4% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 143.0% | 2024 | 39.5% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2.9 m | 2024 | 144 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 77.2 yrs | 2024 | 73.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 68.8% | 2024 | 75.1% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.1 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 78.2 | 2024 | 32.0 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 81.9 | 2024 | 50.5 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 74.7 | 2024 | 45.1 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 75.2 | 2024 | 38.0 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 80.6 | 2024 | 37.1 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 68.0 | 2024 | 29.8 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 7.6% | 2024 | 7.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 4.47 | 2022 | 5.11 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 3.4 | 2024 | 5.2 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 86.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 96.7% | 2024 | 76.3% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 99.8% | 2011 | 99.9% | 2021 |
| Education spending | 4.3% | 2022 | 4.2% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 100.5% | 2024 | 97.7% | 2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 104.9% | 2024 | 92.5% | 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 75.6% | 2024 | 60.4% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 1.0% | 2023 | 0.9% | 2024 |
| Researchers (per million) | 3,704 | 2023 | 2,639 | 2024 |
| Internet users | 89.2% | 2024 | 94.4% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 139 | 2024 | 186 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 17.3% | 2024 | 9.7% | 2021 |

## Geography

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 62,600 km² | 2023 | 16,376,870 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 35.2% | 2023 | 49.8% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 45.9% | 2023 | 13.2% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 4.5 | 2024 | 14.0 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 33.2% | 2021 | 3.5% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 18.5% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 9.7% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 2.1% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | — | — | 1.3 Mt | 2025 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 86 Mt | 2025 |
| Gold (mined) | — | — | 310 t | 2025 |
| Cobalt (mined) | — | — | 7,700 t | 2025 |
| Nickel (mined) | — | — | 200 kt | 2025 |
| Rare earths | — | — | 2,600 t | 2025 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 5.7 Mt | 2025 |
| Zinc (mined) | — | — | 430 kt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 14 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Lithuania | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 3.1% | 2024 | 7.1% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $2.6 B | 2024 | $149 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 37,000 | 2020 | 1.5 m | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/LTU.md and https://terralore.co/country/RUS.md.

## Entangled histories (9 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1795: **Final partition and annexation by Russia** — In the third partition of the Commonwealth, Russia, Prussia and Austria completed its dismemberment; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was annexed almost wholly by the Russian Empire, ending Lithuanian statehood. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: Partitions of Poland; History of Lithuania)
- 23 Aug 1939: **Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact** — The German-Soviet non-aggression pact and its secret protocol divided eastern Europe into spheres of influence; an adjustment that autumn assigned Lithuania, with the other Baltic states, to the Soviet sphere. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: German-Soviet Pact; History of Lithuania)
- 1940: **Soviet occupation and annexation** — The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in June 1940 and annexed it in August as the Lithuanian SSR, an incorporation never recognised as lawful by the United States and most Western states. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: German-Soviet Pact; History of Lithuania)
- 1941–1952: **Mass deportations to Siberia** — The Soviet regime deported well over one hundred thousand Lithuanians to camps and forced settlements, with the largest operations in 1948 and 1949, to crush resistance and impose collectivisation. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania; History of Lithuania)
- 1944–c. 1953: **The Forest Brothers' partisan war** — Thousands of Lithuanians fought a guerrilla war against the returning Soviet forces; the partisan movement controlled much of the countryside before being crushed by the early 1950s. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania; History of Lithuania)
- 1988: **The rise of Sajudis** — The reform movement Sajudis emerged as Soviet controls loosened, mobilising mass support for Lithuanian sovereignty and winning a majority in the 1990 elections to the republic's parliament. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania; History of Lithuania)
- 11 Mar 1990: **Restoration of independence** — The Supreme Council adopted the Act on the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania, making Lithuania the first Soviet republic to declare the restoration of its independence. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania; History of Lithuania)
- 13 Jan 1991: **The January events in Vilnius** — Soviet forces stormed the Vilnius television tower and broadcasting centre, killing fourteen unarmed civilians; the defenders held parliament and the crackdown discredited Moscow. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: January 13, 1991: the night when Soviets stormed LRT; March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania)
- 29 Mar 2004: **Accession to NATO** — Lithuania formally joined NATO on 29 March 2004, anchoring its security in the Atlantic alliance a little over a decade after the withdrawal of Soviet forces. (from the Lithuania chronicle; sources: Chronology of Events: Lithuania and NATO)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/LTU/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/RUS/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Lithuania and Russia compared", terralore.co/compare/ltu-vs-rus, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.