Baltijos jūros pakrantės ilgis – 90,66 km. Lietuvos – Baltarusijos ir Lietuvos – Rusijos Federacijos siena yra ir Europos Sąjungos siena. Lietuvos ekonominė zona Baltijos jūroje (vakaruose) siekia Švedijos ekonominę zoną.

XIV a. Lietuva buvo didžiausia valstybė Europoje: į ją įėjo dabartinė Baltarusijos ir Ukrainos teritorija, dalis Lenkijos ir Rusijos. 1569 m. Liublino unija Lietuva susijungė su Lenkija ir suformavo naują valstybę – Abiejų Tautų Respubliką, kuri gyvavo daugiau kaip 200 metų, kol kaimyninės šalys 1795 m. galutinai pasidalijo jos teritoriją. Lietuva atkūrė nepriklausomybę 1918 m. vasario 16 d., tačiau 1940 m., Antrojo Pasaulinio karo pradžioje, buvo okupuota TSRS, o vėliau – hitlerinės Vokietijos. Vokietijai karą pralaimint, Lietuvą antrą kartą okupavo TSRS. 1990 m. kovo 11 d. Lietuva paskelbė atkurianti visišką valstybės suverenitetą.

Lietuva priklauso itin aukšto išsivystymo valstybių kategorijai

For centuries, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, the King of Lithuania, and the first unified Lithuanian state, the Kingdom of Lithuania, was created on 6 July 1253. During the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe; present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were the territories of the Grand Duchy. With the Lublin Union of 1569, Lithuania and Poland formed a voluntary two-state union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772–95, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.

As World War I neared its end, Lithuania's Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1918, declaring the founding of the modern Republic of Lithuania. In the midst of the Second World War, Lithuania was first occupied by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. As World War II neared its end and the Germans retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare itself independent, resulting in the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania.

Lithuania is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, a full member of the Eurozone, Schengen Agreement and NATO. It is also a member of the Nordic Investment Bank, and part of Nordic-Baltic cooperation of Northern European countries. The United Nations Human Development Index lists Lithuania as a "very high human development" country. Lithuania has been among the fastest growing economies in the European Union and is ranked 21st in the world in the Ease of Doing Business Index.