Belarus vs. Lithuania
Geography
| Belarus | Lithuania | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia, west of Belarus |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 56 00 N, 24 00 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km land: 202,900 sq km water: 4,700 sq km | total: 65,300 sq km land: 62,680 sq km water: 2,620 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than West Virginia |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,599 km border countries (5): Latvia 161 km, Lithuania 640 km, Poland 375 km, Russia 1312 km, Ukraine 1111 km | total: 1,545 km border countries (4): Belarus 640 km, Latvia 544 km, Poland 100 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 261 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 90 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers |
| Terrain | generally flat with much marshland | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m mean elevation: 160 m | highest point: Aukstojas 294 m lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m mean elevation: 110 m |
| Natural resources | timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | peat, arable land, amber |
| Land use | agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 15.9% (2018 est.) forest: 42.7% (2018 est.) other: 13.6% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 44.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 34.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 9.4% (2018 est.) forest: 34.6% (2018 est.) other: 20.6% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 1,140 sq km (2012) | 44 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | large tracts of marshy land | occasional floods, droughts |
| Environment - current issues | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine | water pollution; air pollution; deforestation; threatened animal and plant species; chemicals and waste materials released into the environment contaminate soil and groundwater; soil degradation and erosion |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits |
| Total renewable water resources | 57.9 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 24.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations | fairly even population distribution throughout the country, but somewhat greater concentrations in the southern cities of Vilnius and Kaunas, and the western port of Klaipeda |
Source: CIA Factbook
