Growing threats of aggression have sparked fears of a New Cold War, seeing Russia potentially

鑑於俄國可能入侵立陶宛，這個侵略性動作引發了大家對於

invading Lithuania.

第二次冷戰的恐懼

Having one of the lowest GDPs in the European Union and struggling with mass emigration,

身為歐盟中GDP最低以及不斷承受大量人民外移的國家

what is life really like in Lithuania?

立陶宛的真實生活是什麼樣子呢？

Well, Lithuania is the largest and southernmost Baltic state, the others being Latvia and

立陶宛是波羅地海三國之中最大也最南端的國家，波羅地海三國的成員還有拉脫維亞和

Estonia.

愛沙尼亞

It gained independence in 1990 just a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union --the

立陶宛在1990年從蘇聯獨立— 這個時間恰好是蘇聯解體前一年

first Soviet state to do so-- and joined both NATO and the EU in 2004.

—它也是第一個從蘇聯眾國中獨立的國家，並在2004年加入北大西洋公約組織與歐盟

This, coupled with their WTO membership, has led to extreme growth by increasing trade

身為這些組織的成員國再加上WTO的會員國資格，使得立陶宛藉著日漸增加的貿易機會

and investment from foreign nations.

和外國的投資，經濟獲得了極快速的成長

Lithuania ranked as Europe’s top-performing economy in 2002 with the highest growth rate,

立陶宛在2002年以全歐洲最高的經濟成長率，被譽為全歐洲表現最好的經濟體

earning the title of ‘Baltic Tiger.’

也贏得了「波羅的之虎」的頭銜

In 2008, Lithuania fell victim to the global financial crisis, but rebounded to become

在2008年，立陶宛也成了金融風暴的受害者，但隨即再次成為歐盟中

one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union yet again.

經濟成長率最快速的國家之一

Despite this, it has, a GDP of just over 41 billion dollars, less than the GDP of the US state of Rhode Island.

儘管如此，它的GDP約只有410億美元，比美屬羅德島的GDP還少

Plagued by a rapidly aging population and mass emigration the country is losing highly

逐漸老化的人口和大量的移民，使得立陶宛困擾於優良技術人才

skilled and well-educated people to a brain drain.

與高等教育人才的外流

In the space of two decades, nearly 700,000 people out of a population of roughly 2.9

在二十年的時間內，立陶宛290萬人口中約有70萬人離開國家

million have left the country and yet unemployment levels remain relatively high at around 9%.

然而失業率仍維持在9%，相對來說算是很高的失業率

Two-thirds of the population work in the service sector, though the country’s largest industry

立陶宛有三分之二的人口在服務部門上班，不過立陶宛最大的產業

and export is refined oil.

和出口產品其實是精煉石油

Like other nearby countries, Lithuania is ethnically homogenous, with 84 percent of

就像周遭國家一樣，生活在立陶宛的人種同質性高，有84%的人口

the population being ethnic Lithuanian.

是立陶宛人

The official language is also Lithuanian, one of only two remaining Baltic languages,

而他們的官方語言是立陶宛語，是現存的兩種波羅的語族之一。另外

and the nation is more than 75% Roman Catholic.

超過75%的立陶宛人信奉羅馬天主教

This identity served to unite Lithuanians in a post-Soviet atheist world and continues

這些特色在後蘇聯的無神論世界下能夠好好的團結立陶宛人，讓他們能持續的

to shape daily life with an importance placed on religious festivals and observances.

用重要的宗教節慶和儀式來形塑每一天的生活

The country also emphasizes the sport of basketball, which has been called “the second religion of Lithuania”.

立陶宛也很注重籃球運動，籃球甚至也被譽為「立陶宛的第二信仰」

With three Olympic medals and three European Championship titles, the national importance

立陶宛的籃球隊曾獲得三次奧運獎牌及三次歐洲錦標賽冠軍，因此立陶宛在

of the sport is one of the reasons a disproportionate number of professional basketball players

國際籃球運動的重要性也是大量的職業籃球選手都來自立陶宛的

are from Lithuania.

其中一個原因

Though a relatively developed and modernized republic, Lithuania continues to suffer economically

即使作為一個相對較有發展及現代化的國家，立陶宛在經濟上仍持續承受著低薪與

with its low wages and low skilled workers.

低技術勞工的問題

Though economists expect GDP growth to rise in 2017, with so many people leaving the country

雖然經濟學家都期待立陶宛的GDP在2017能有所成長，但由於離開立陶宛到外頭

in search of better opportunities, Lithuania may have a difficult time ahead of it.

謀取更好工作機會的人很多，立陶宛要超越這個目標可得傷透腦筋了

With Russia’s territorial aggressions worrying many of their former Soviet neighbors, a number

俄國對他「前蘇聯鄰居」們的領土侵略使得這些國家很憂慮，有些外國勢力

of foreign powers have openly condemned Russia’s foreign policy.

已公開譴責俄國這樣的外交政策

The United States has been a particularly vocal opponent, leading some to fear a new

美國一直是俄國知名的敵人，使得俄國周邊國家都很害怕它們之間

Cold War between the two.

會發生第二次冷戰

To learn about what a second Cold War would entail, check out this video up top.

如果你想知道第二次冷戰會承擔什麼風險，看看上方的這部影片吧

Or to get an in depth look at life in another Baltic state, check out this video below about

或者你也可以看看下面的影片深入了解另一個波羅的海國家─

what life is really like in Estonia.

愛沙尼亞的真實生活

Thanks for watching Seeker Daily, don’t forget to like and subscribe for more videos

謝謝你觀賞今天的 Seeker Daily，別忘了按喜歡以及訂閱來每天接收

every day!

更多的影片喔！