Finncham interviewed H.E. Valdemaras Sarapinas, Ambassador of Republic of Lithuania
Economic outlook of Lithuania today – and what are the prospects for the country?
Lithuania, a country with less than three million people, has been successful in the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy since it renewed independence in 1991. Lithuania is closely integrated in the international community as it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the European Union in 2004 and the euro area in 2015. Lithuania now is a globally ranked player; it ranks 16th out of 190 countries on Ease of Doing Business (by World Bank), 41st out of 137 countries on Global Competitiveness Index (by World Economic Forum) and 19th out of 180 countries on Index of Economic Freedom (by Heritage Foundation). Here are some Lithuanian economy indicators, which are forecasted by the Lithuanian Bank: Lithuanian gross domestic product will grow by 3.2% in 2018 and 2.7% in 2019, inflation rate will count 2.7% in 2018 and 2.2% in 2019, unemployment rate will count 6.7% in 2018 and 6.6% in 2019. Lithuania now has western oriented and stable economy, which will continue to grow.