Baltic Countries Overview

The term "Baltic" stems from the name of the Baltic Sea. Baltic sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. The member of Baltic countries are : Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These countries formally applied to join the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in August 1940. Then, they declared their independence in 1990s.

The Baltic people belong to two ethnic group. Latvian and Lithuanian were member of Indo-European ethnic groups (are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between lower Vistula and upper Dvina and Dneper). While, Estonian was member of Finno - Ugric ethnic groups (are descended from a group of Uralic people). The peoples of the Baltic countries are Lutheran and Catholic followers.

Estonia is located at Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland. Tallinn was the capital of Estonia. Most of Estonians were Lutheran followers. The largest church in Estonia is the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. The family is still the central focus of their culture. Most Estonians work in factories or on farms. Estonian industrial production focuses on shipbuilding, electric motors, furniture, clothing, textiles, paper, shoes, and apparel. This country is one of the highest per capita income levels in Central Europe.

Latvia is located at the eastern shore of Baltic sea, between Estonia and Lithuania. Riga was the capital of Latvia. An ethnic groups at Latvia were Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2%. Catholic denomination is dominant in Eastern Latvia, while another parts of Latvia have Lutheran cultural backgrounds. Like Estonian, in Latvians culture, the family is still the centre of the social structure. After their independence at 1990s, industry accounted for almost 43 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Since the year 2000 Latvia has had one of the highest (GDP) growth rates in Europe.

Lithuania is located at the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and Russia to the southwest. Vilnius was the capital of Lithuania. According to the 2001 cencus, Lithuanian people consist of : Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6%. 79% of Lithuanian people were Romans Catholic followers. In their culture, the obligation to family is a person's first priority. While, the Roman Catholic Church has great influence on daily life. Since their independence at 1990s, Lithuania has been attempting to radically transform the economy. Today, Agriculture accounted for 10 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product), industry for 32 percent, and services for 58 percent. The main industries in Lithuania were machine building and metalworking, textile and leather industries, and agro-processing.