1. BALTICS: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania Zaneta SAVICKIENE September 25, 2008

3. LOCATION  North – east part of Europe  On eastern coast of the Baltic Sea  Borders with Russia, Belarus, Poland  EU since 2004  Local time – GMT+ 2 hours

4. Climatic Conditions  Transitional between maritime and continental  Average temperature in July + 17, in January - 5,  There is four clearly distinguished seasons

5. GENERAL FACTS and NUMBERS CountryEstoniaLatviaLithuania CapitalTallinnRigaVilnius Population, mln. 1,32,33,4 State language EstonianLatvianLithuanian Currency 1 Euro = 15,65 Kroon0,70 Lat3,45 Litas

6. RIGA

7. TALLINN

8. VILNIUS

9. Languages Estonian - Finno - Ugric family, related to Finnish Lithuanian and Latvian, belongs to the Baltic group of Indo-European languages. Oldest of IE is Lithuanian. Has retained ancient sound system.

10. Foreign languages Most common foreign language in Baltics is English, second in respect of popularity is Russian.

11. International students  Person with foreign secondary education diploma  who is applying for studies in Baltic countries  is considered to be an international applicant  Different conditions for EU and non- EU

12.  1st group. EU Apply on same conditions as citizens Residence permit  2nd group. non EU Early application Bigger fees Student visas + Residence permit International students

13. State Institutions Non-State institutions HE establishments

14. Academic calendar  Academic year is divided into two semesters  Autumn semester beginning in September  Spring semester beginning in February  Each semester covers 20 weeks of studies  + 3- 4 weeks for exams

15. Credit system o National credit system in all three countries o ECTS – introduced later o National credit – 1 study week (40 hours of student workload) o One National credit = 1,5 ECTS o Estonia will fully introduce ECTS since September 2009

16. INFORMATION  www.eesti.ee/eng/  www.latvia.lv www.latvia.lv  www.li.lv/li_eng.htm  www.lithuania.lt www.lithuania.lt  www.tourism.lt www.tourism.lt  www.travel.lt