Lithuania

A short period of independence between the two World Wars was followed by decades of USSR’s control over the country. In 1990 Lithuania was the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence; however, this was not recognized by Moscow administration until 18 months later. Ever since then, Lithuania geared its economic development towards integration with Western Europe. As a result, the country joined NATO and EU in 2004.

During the first years of independence, Lithuania struggled to become a free market. With Russia being its biggest trade partner at that time, the country was badly hit by the 1998 Russian financial crisis, which was followed by the government not fully realizing the critical situation.

Over the past couple of years Lithuania has achieved tremendous economic progress. Unemployment, inflation and debt has come under control while Lithuania has continued shifting its focus to the West. The country has the highest rating amongst the Baltic states in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s quality of life index.