Lithuania is a country in northern Europe. The largest of the three Baltic States situated along the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland and the Russian exclave of the Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest. Lithuania has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004. 83.6% of the Lithuanian population are ethnic Lithuanians who speak the Lithuanian language, which is the official language of the state.