Lithuania is a presidential democratic republic headed by the Seimas (Parliament), the Executive and the Court. Local government is executed through a system of territorial and administrative divisions. The country is divided into 44 districts which are further demarcated into 423 apylinkós (rural government units). There are 11 cities of national jurisdiction. The largest of these is the capital, Vilnius (pop. 0.6 million) which was first mentioned in historical sources in 1323. The second largest city according to population is Kaunas, and the third the port city of Klaipeda. The state language is Lithuanian.
"LITHUANIAN ROOTS", Edited by Rytis Ambrazevicius