Demographics of Lithuania

Demographic features of the population of Lithuania include population density, ethnicity, level of education, health, economic status, and religious affiliations.

Demographics of Lithuania
Population pyramid of Lithuania in 2022
Population2,830,546 (2022 est.)
Growth rate−1.04% (2022 est.)
Birth rate9.26 births/1,000 population
Death rate15.12 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy75.78 years
 • male70.42 years
 • female81.44 years
Fertility rate1.61 children
Infant mortality rate3.63 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate−4.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Age structure
0–14 years15.26%
65 and over20.45%
Sex ratio
Total0.86 male(s)/female
At birth1.06 male(s)/female
65 and over0.45 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityLithuanian
Major ethnicLithuanian (84.6%)
Language
OfficialLithuanian (85.3%)

History

Prehistory

The earliest evidence of inhabitants in present-day Lithuania dates back to 10,000 BC. Between 3000 and 2000 BC, the people of the Corded Ware culture spread over a vast region of eastern Europe, between the Baltic Sea and the Vistula River in the West and the Moscow–Kursk line in the East. Merging with the indigenous peoples, they gave rise to the Balts, a distinct Indo-European ethnic group whose descendants are the present-day Lithuanian and Latvian nations and the former Old Prussians.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania
See also: Grand Duchy of Lithuania § Demographics, Grand Duchy of Lithuania § Languages, and Demographic history of Poland § Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
Area of the Lithuanian language in the 16th century

The name of Lithuania – Lithuanians – was first mentioned in 1009. Among its etymologies there are a derivation from the word Lietava, for a small river, a possible derivation from a word leičiai, but most probable is the name for union of Lithuanian ethnic tribes ('susilieti, lietis' means to unite and the word 'lietuva' means something which has been united).

The primary Lithuanian state, the Duchy of Lithuania, emerged in the territory of Lietuva, the ethnic homeland of Lithuanians. At the birth of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), ethnic Lithuanians made up about 70% of the population.[1] With the acquisition of new Ruthenian territories, this proportion decreased to 50% and later to 30%. By the time of the largest expansion towards Kievan Rus' lands, at the end of the 13th and during the 14th century, the territory of the GDL was about 800,000 km2, of which 10% was ethnically Lithuanian.[2] The ethnic Lithuanian population is estimated to have been 420,000 out of 1.4 million in 1375 (the territory was about 700,000 km2), and 550,000 out of 3.8 million in 1490 (territory: 850,000 km2)[3] In addition to the Ruthenians and Lithuanians, other significant ethnic groups throughout GDL were Jews and Tatars. The combined population of Poland and GDL in 1493 is estimated as 7.5 million, of whom 3.25 million were Poles, 3.75 million Ruthenians and 0.5 million Lithuanians.[4]

Samogitia (marked in pink) and Lithuania proper (marked in green) in a map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1712

With the Union of Lublin Lithuanian Grand Duchy lost large part of lands to the Polish Crown (see demographics of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). An ethnic Lithuanian proportion being about 1/4 in GDL after the Union of Lublin was held until the partitions. There was much devastation and population loss throughout the GDL in the mid and late 17th century,[5] including the ethnic Lithuanian population in Vilnius voivodeship. Besides devastation, the Ruthenian population declined proportionally after the territorial losses to the Russian Empire. In 1770 there were about 4.84 million inhabitants in GDL, of which the largest ethnic group were Ruthenians, about 1.39 million – Lithuanians.[1] The voivodeships with a majority ethnic Lithuanian population were Vilnius, Trakai and Samogitian voivodeships, and these three voivodeships comprised the political center of the state. In the southern angle of Trakai voivodeship and south-eastern part of Vilnius voivodeship there were also many Belarusians; in some of the south-eastern areas they were the major linguistic group.

The Ruthenian population formed a majority in GDL from the time of the GDL's expansion in the mid 14th century; and the adjective "Lithuanian", besides denoting ethnic Lithuanians, from early times denoted any inhabitant of GDL, including Slavs and Jews.

The Ruthenian language, corresponding to today's Belarusian and Ukrainian, was then called Russian, and was used as one of the chancellery languages by Lithuanian monarchs. However, there are fewer extant documents written in this language than those written in Latin and German from the time of Vytautas. Later, Ruthenian became the main language of documentation and writing. In the years that followed, it was the main language of government until the introduction of Polish as the chancellery language of the Lithuanian–Polish Commonwealth in 1697; however there are also examples of documents written in Ruthenian from the second half of the 18th century.[6] The Lithuanian language was used orally in Vilnius, Trakai and Samogitian voivodeships, and by small numbers of people elsewhere. At the royal court in Vilnius of Sigismund II Augustus, the last Grand Duke of Lithuania prior to the Union of Lublin, both Polish and Lithuanian were spoken equally widely.[7]

Russian Empire
Distribution of Lithuanians: Samogitians (olive green) and Aukštaitians-Lithuanians (orange) in a 1863 ethnographic map of the governorates of the Russian Empire

After the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on October 24, 1795, between the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Habsburg monarchy, the Commonwealth ceased to exist and Lithuania became a part of the Russian empire. After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the use of the Polish language noticeably increased in eastern Lithuania and western Belarus.[2] Many Lithuanians, living further east, were unable to receive the Lithuanian printed books smuggled into Lithuania by knygnešiai during the time of the ban on printing books in the Latin alphabet, and they switched to Polish. Although this also used the Latin alphabet, it was much less affected by the ban, because Polish was still used by the politically important class of the nobility, and also used predominantly in the biggest towns of Lithuania, and supported by the church.

National Revival

The Lithuanian National Revival had begun to intensify by the end of the 19th century, and the number of Lithuanian speakers and people identifying themselves as ethnic Lithuanians started to increase; but at the same time many Polish speaking Lithuanians, especially former szlachta, cut themselves adrift from the Lithuanian nation. There were population losses due to several border changes, Soviet deportations, the Holocaust of the Lithuanian Jews, and German and Polish repatriations during and after World War II. After World War II, the ethnic Lithuanian population remained stable: 79.3% in 1959 to 83.5% in 2002. Lithuania's citizenship law and the Constitution meet international and OSCE standards, guaranteeing universal human and civil rights.

Population
Population pyramid of Lithuania over time

Life expectancy at birth
Historical life expectancy

total population: 74.9 years


male: 69.98 years
female: 80.1 years (2009 est.)

Period Life expectancy in
Years[8]
1950–1955 60.83
1955–1960 Increase 66.88
1960–1965 Increase 69.88
1965–1970 Increase 71.28
1970–1975 Decrease 71.19
1975–1980 Decrease 70.67
1980–1985 Decrease 70.53
1985–1990 Increase 71.57
1990–1995 Decrease 69.73
1995–2000 Increase 70.25
2000–2005 Increase 71.62
2005–2010 Increase 71.86
2010–2015 Increase 73.99

Fertility

1.48 children born/woman (2020)

Vital statistics
Source: Statistical yearbooks of Lithuania
Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000)
1915 2,137,000 38,722 43,596 −4,874 18.1 20.4 −2.3
1916 2,137,000 35,565 31,512 4,053 16.6 14.7 1.9
1917 2,134,000 32,266 43,047 −10,781 15.1 20.2 −5.1
1918 2,121,000 33,176 47,522 −14,346 15.6 22.4 −6.8
1919 2,108,000 41,095 51,930 −10,835 19.5 24.6 −5.1
1920 2,104,000 47,642 44,487 3,155 22.6 21.1 1.5
1921 2,116,000 51,864 31,915 19,949 24.5 15.1 9.4
1922 2,136,000 58,064 37,598 20,466 27.2 17.6 9.6
1923 2,161,000 60,869 32,432 28,437 28.2 15.0 13.2
1924 2,189,000 63,864 35,493 28,371 29.2 16.2 13.0
1925 2,217,000 63,743 37,179 26,564 28.8 16.8 12.0
1926 2,245,000 63,655 34,380 29,275 28.4 15.3 13.0
1927 2,273,000 66,114 38,897 27,217 29.1 17.1 12.0
1928 2,301,000 65,945 35,698 27,116 28.7 15.5 11.8
1929 2,328,000 63,083 39,669 23,414 27.1 17.0 10.1
1930 2,354,000 64,164 37,151 27,013 27.3 15.8 11.5
1931 2,380,000 63,419 37,478 25,941 26.6 15.7 10.9
1932 2,407,000 65,371 36,577 28,794 27.2 15.2 12.0
1933 2,436,000 62,145 32,749 29,396 25.5 13.4 12.1
1934 2,464,000 60,770 35,789 24,981 24.7 14.5 10.1
1935 2,488,000 57,970 34,595 23,375 23.3 13.9 9.4
1936 2,513,000 60,446 33,440 25,939 24.1 13.3 10.3
1937 2,538,000 56,393 33,260 22,433 22.2 13.1 8.8
1938 2,563,000 57,951 32,256 24,562 22.6 12.6 9.6
19391 2,432,000 54,184 32,983 21,201 22.3 13.6 8.7

1 the figures of 1939 exclude the Klaipėda Region

Source: Official Statistics Portal[9]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate
1945 2,520,000 60,392 35,201 25,191 24.0 14.0 10.0
1946 2,530,000 58,399 37,688 20,711 23.1 14.9 8.2
1947 2,540,000 59,680 39,716 19,964 23.5 15.6 7.9
1948 2,550,000 58,780 35,137 23,643 23.1 13.8 9.3
1949 2,560,000 63,034 32,049 30,985 24.6 12.5 12.1
1950 2,567,000 60,719 30,870 29,849 23.7 12.0 11.6
1951 2,569,000 58,504 29,693 28,811 22.8 11.6 11.2
1952 2,576,000 56,944 28,166 28,778 22.1 10.9 11.2
1953 2,590,000 52,610 27,118 25,492 20.3 10.5 9.8
1954 2,607,000 54,229 25,559 28,670 20.8 9.8 11.0
1955 2,629,000 55,525 24,138 31,387 21.1 9.2 11.9
1956 2,653,000 53,741 21,869 31,872 20.3 8.2 12.0
1957 2,681,000 56,223 23,361 32,862 21.0 8.7 12.3
1958 2,711,000 61,190 22,103 39,087 22.6 8.2 14.4 2.63
1959 2,744,000 62,241 24,688 37,553 22.7 9.0 13.7 2.63
1960 2,782,000 62,485 21,611 40,874 22.5 7.8 14.7 2.59
1961 2,828,000 62,775 23,365 39,410 22.2 8.3 13.9 2.57
1962 2,865,000 59,728 24,925 34,803 20.8 8.7 12.1 2.64
1963 2,893,000 57,024 23,112 33,912 19.7 8.0 11.7 2.45
1964 2,928,000 55,856 21,830 34,026 19.1 7.5 11.6 2.31
1965 2,967,000 53,818 23,467 30,351 18.1 7.9 10.2 2.21
1966 3,006,000 54,275 23,799 30,476 18.1 7.9 10.1 2.34
1967 3,045,000 53,806 24,571 29,235 17.7 8.1 9.6 2.27
1968 3,083,000 54,258 25,725 28,533 17.6 8.3 9.3 2.25
1969 3,115,000 54,263 27,156 27,107 17.4 8.7 8.7 2.29
1970 3,144,000 55,519 28,048 27,471 17.7 8.9 8.7 2.40
1971 3,179,000 56,044 26,972 29,072 17.6 8.5 9.1 2.41
1972 3,214,000 54,616 29,252 25,364 17.0 9.1 7.9 2.35
1973 3,244,000 51,944 29,160 22,784 16.0 9.0 7.0 2.22
1974 3,274,000 51,941 29,612 22,329 15.9 9.0 6.8 2.21
1975 3,302,000 51,766 31,265 20,501 15.7 9.5 6.2 2.18
1976 3,329,000 52,296 31,972 20,324 15.7 9.6 6.1 2.18
1977 3,355,000 52,166 32,932 19,234 15.5 9.8 5.7 2.14
1978 3,379,000 51,821 34,008 17,813 15.3 10.1 5.3 2.09
1979 3,398,000 51,937 34,897 17,040 15.3 10.3 5.0 2.05
1980 3,413,000 51,765 35,871 15,894 15.2 10.5 4.7 1.99
1981 3,433,000 52,249 35,579 16,670 15.2 10.4 4.9 1.98
1982 3,457,000 53,141 35,040 18,101 15.4 10.1 5.2 1.97
1983 3,485,000 57,589 36,451 21,138 16.5 10.5 6.1 2.10
1984 3,514,000 57,576 38,666 18,910 16.4 11.0 5.4 2.07
1985 3,545,000 58,454 39,169 19,285 16.5 11.0 5.4 2.09
1986 3,579,000 59,705 35,788 23,917 16.7 10.0 6.7 2.12
1987 3,616,000 59,360 36,917 22,443 16.4 10.2 6.2 2.11
1988 3,655,000 56,727 37,649 19,078 15.5 10.3 5.2 2.02
1989 3,684,000 55,782 38,150 17,632 15.1 10.3 4.8 1.98
1990 3,698,000 56,868 39,760 17,108 15.3 10.7 4.6 2.02
1991 3,704,000 56,219 41,013 15,206 15.2 11.1 4.1 2.00
1992 3,700,000 53,617 41,455 12,162 14.5 11.2 3.3 1.94
1993 3,683,000 47,464 46,107 1,357 12.9 12.5 0.4 1.74
1994 3,657,000 42,376 46,486 −4,110 11.6 12.7 −1.1 1.57
1995 3,629,000 41,195 45,306 −4,111 11.4 12.5 −1.1 1.55
1996 3,602,000 39,066 42,896 −3,830 10.8 11.9 −1.1 1.49
1997 3,575,000 37,812 41,143 −3,331 10.5 11.5 −0.9 1.47
1998 3,549,000 37,019 40,757 −3,738 10.4 11.4 −1.0 1.46
1999 3,524,000 36,415 40,003 −3,588 10.3 11.3 −1.0 1.46
2000 3,500,000 34,149 38,919 −4,770 9.7 11.1 −1.4 1.39
2001 3,471,000 31,185 40,399 −9,214 8.9 11.6 −2.6 1.29
2002 3,443,000 29,541 41,072 −11,531 8.6 11.9 −3.3 1.23
2003 3,415,000 29,977 40,990 −11,013 8.7 11.9 −3.2 1.26
2004 3,377,000 29,769 41,340 −11,571 8.8 12.2 −3.4 1.27
2005 3,323,000 29,510 43,799 −14,289 8.8 13.1 −4.3 1.29
2006 3,270,000 29,606 44,813 −15,207 9.0 13.6 −4.6 1.33
2007 3,231,000 30,020 45,624 −15,604 9.2 14.0 −4.8 1.36
2008 3,198,000 31,536 43,832 −12,296 9.8 13.6 −3.8 1.45
2009 3,163,000 32,165 42,032 −9,867 10.1 13.2 −3.1 1.50
2010 3,097,000 30,676 42,120 −11,444 9.8 13.4 −3.6 1.50
2011 3,028,000 30,268 41,037 −10,769 9.9 13.4 −3.5 1.55
2012 2,988,000 30,459 40,938 −10,479 10.1 13.6 −3.5 1.60
2013 2,944,000 29,885 41,511 −11,626 10.1 14.0 −3.9 1.59
2014 2,907,000 30,369 40,252 −9,883 10.3 13.7 −3.4 1.63
2015 2,878,000 31,475 41,776 −10,301 10.8 14.3 −3.5 1.70
2016 2,848,000 30,623 41,106 −10,483 10.6 14.2 −3.6 1.69
2017 2,809,000 28,696 40,142 −11,446 10.1 14.1 −4.0 1.63
2018 2,808,901 28,149 39,574 −11,425 10.0 14.1 −4.1 1.63
2019 2,794,184 27,393 38,281 −10,888 9.8 13.7 −3.9 1.61
2020 2,794,090 25,144 43,547 −18,403 9.0 15.6 −6.6 1.48
2021[10] 2,808,219 23,330 47,746 -24,416 8.3 17.0 -8.7 1.34
2022 2,834,340 22,068 42,884 -20,816 7.8 15.1 -7.3 1.27

Current vital statistics

By data of Statistics Lithuania[11]

Period Live births Deaths Natural increase
January - September 2022 17,102 31,989 -14,887
January - September 2023 15,225 26,493 -11,268
Difference Decrease -1,877 (-10.97%) Positive decrease -5,496 (−17.18%) Increase +3,619

Structure of the population
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 01.I.2021): [12]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 1 304 965 1 505 796 2 810 761 100
0–4 68 362 64 287 132 649 4.72
5–9 73 251 69 389 142 640 5.07
10–14 72 399 69 383 141 782 5.04
15–19 66 376 63 291 129 667 4.61
20–24 73 506 69 556 143 062 5.09
25–29 86 449 82 753 169 202 6.02
30–34 99 253 95 926 195 179 6.94
35–39 94 857 92 583 187 440 6.67
40–44 89 807 90 697 180 504 6.42
45–49 93 631 100 431 194 062 6.90
50–54 97 747 108 319 206 066 7.33
55–59 101 687 116 887 218 574 7.78
60–64 92 818 117 176 209 994 7.47
65-69 65 526 93 500 159 026 5.66
70-74 49 426 82 581 132 007 4.70
75-79 36 574 73 494 110 068 3.92
80-84 25 387 60 804 86 191 3.07
85-89 12 874 37 019 49 893 1.78
90-94 4 373 14 613 18 986 0.68
95-99 630 2 873 3 503 0.12
100+ 32 234 266 0.01
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 214 012 203 059 417 071 14.84
15–64 896 131 937 619 1 833 750 65.24
65+ 194 822 365 118 559 940 19.92

Ethnic composition
Further information: Ethnic minorities in Lithuania

Lithuanians are a Baltic ethnic group (i.e. Balts), closely related to neighbouring Latvians, who speak Lithuanian, a Baltic language of the Indo-European language family. The group is distinct from neighbouring Slavic and Germanic peoples, although the historical union with Poland in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well German and Russian colonization and settlement left cultural and religious influences.

Before World War II
Population of Lithuania according to ethnic group 1923/1925 1
Ethnic
group		 Census of
Lithuania in 1923		 Census of the
Klaipėda Region in 1925
Number  % Number  %
Lithuanians 1,701,863 83.9 37,626 26.6
Memels 34,337 24.2
Jews 153,743 7.6 578 0.4
Germans 29,231 1.4 59,337 41.9
Poles 65,599 3.2 29 0.0
Russians 50,460 2.5 267 0.2
Latvians 14,883 0.7 47 0.0
Belarusians 4,421 0.2 – –
Tatars 973 0.0
Romani 284 0.0
Karaites 141 0.0
Estonians 46 0.0
Ukrainians 43 0.0
Others 7,284 0.2 9,424 6.7
Total 2,028,971 141,645

1 Source: . The Klaipėda Region was annexed from Germany in 1923, but was not included in the 1923 census. A separate census in the Klaipėda region was held in 1925.

After World War II

Among the Baltic states, Lithuania has the most homogeneous population. According to the census conducted in 2021, 84.6% of the population identified themselves as Lithuanians, 6.5% as Poles, 5.0% as Russians, 1.0% as Belarusians, and 2.3% as members of other ethnic groups.

Population of Lithuania according to ethnic group 1959–2021
Ethnic
group		 census 19591 census 19702 census 19793 census 19894 census 20015 census 20116 census 20217[13]
Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  %
Lithuanians 2,150,767 79.3 2,506,751 80.1 2,712,233 80.0 2,924,251 79.6 2,907,293 83.4 2,561,314 84.2 2,378,118 84.61
Poles 230,107 8.5 240,203 7.7 247,022 7.3 257,994 7.0 234,989 6.7 200,317 6.6 183,421 6.53
Russians 231,014 8.5 267,989 8.6 303,493 8.9 344,455 9.4 219,789 6.3 176,913 5.8 141,122 5.02
Belarusians 30,256 1.1 45,412 1.5 57,584 1.7 63,169 1.7 42,866 1.2 36,227 1.2 28,183 1.0
Ukrainians 17,692 0.7 25,099 0.8 31,982 0.9 44,789 1.2 22,488 0.6 16,423 0.5 14,168 0.5
Jews 24,667 0.9 23,538 0.8 14,691 0.4 12,390 0.3 4,007 0.1 3,050 0.1 2,256 0.08
Romani 1,238 0.1 1,880 0.1 2,306 0.1 2,718 0.1 2,571 0.1 2,115 0.1 2,251 0.08
Tatars 3,020 0.1 3,454 0.1 3,984 0.1 5,135 0.1 3,235 0.1 2,793 0.1 2,142 0.08
Germans 11,166 0.4 1,904 0.1 2,616 0.1 2,058 0.1 3,243 0.1 2,418 0.1 1,977 0.07
Latvians 6,318 0.2 5,063 0.2 4,354 0.1 4,229 0.1 2,955 0.1 2,025 0.1 1,572 0.06
Armenians 1,125 0.04
Azerbaijanis 575 0.02
Moldovans 451 0.02
Georgians 333 0.01
Estonians 352 0.0 551 0.0 546 0.0 598 0.0 400 0.0 314 0.0 233 0.01
Kazakhs 214 0.01
Karaites 423 0.0 388 0.0 352 0.0 289 0.0 273 0.0 241 0.0 192 0.01
Chuvashs 177 0.01
Greeks 134 0.01
Lezgins 131 0.01
Uzbeks 126 0.01
Mordvins 121 0.01
Ossetians 118 0.01
Bulgarians 110 0.01
Chinese 97 0.01
Chechens 85 0.01
Bashkirs 81 0.01
Turks 78 0.01
Hungarians 76 0.01
Vietnamese 75 0.01
French 71 0.01
Romanians 68 0.01
Finns 68 0.01
Udmurts 67 0.01
Koreans 62 0.01
Maris 60 0.01
Komis 54 0.01
Italians 52 0.01
Britons 48 0.01
Arabs 48 0.01
Karelians 47 0.01
Danes 44 0.01
Tajiks 42 0.01
Czechs 27 0.01
Dutch 25 0.01
Turkmens 25 0.01
Spanish 24 0.01
Egyptians 23 0.01
Swedes 21 0.01
Serbs 19 0.01
Gagauzes 18 0.01
Afghans 16 0.01
Abazins 14 0.01
Mexicans 14 0.01
Norwegians 14 0.01
Punjabis 14 0.01
Albanians 13 0.01
Kyrgyz 13 0.01
Brazilians 13 0.01
Japanese 12 0.01
Abkhazians 11 0.01
Kalmuks 10 0.01
Other 330 0.01
Not indicated 49,633 1.77
Total 2,711,445 3,128,236 3,391,490 3,674,802 3,483,972 3,043,429 2,810,761
1 Source: . 2 Source: . 3 Source: . 4 Source: . 5 Source: . 6 Source: .

Poles are concentrated in the Vilnius Region, the area controlled by Poland in the interwar period. There are especially large Polish communities in Vilnius district municipality (47% of the population) and Šalčininkai district municipality (76%). The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, an ethnic minority political party, has strong influence in these areas and has representation in the Seimas. The party is most active in local politics and controls several municipal councils.

Russians, even though they are almost as numerous as Poles, are much more evenly scattered and lack strong political cohesion. The most prominent community lives in Visaginas (47%). Most of them are engineers who moved with their families from the Russian SFSR to work at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. A number of ethnic Russians (mostly military) left Lithuania after the declaration of independence in 1990.

Another major change in the ethnic composition of Lithuania was the extermination of the Jewish population during the Holocaust. Before World War II about 7.5% of the population was Jewish; they were concentrated in cities and towns and had a significant influence on crafts and business. They were called Litvaks and had a strong culture. The population of Vilnius, sometimes nicknamed Northern Jerusalem, was about 30% Jewish. Almost all of these Jews were killed during the Nazi German occupation, or later emigrated to the United States and Israel. Now there are only about 4,000 Jews living in Lithuania.

Nationality and immigration

Lithuania's membership of the European Union has made Lithuanian citizenship all the more appealing. Lithuanian citizenship is theoretically easier (see court ruling notes below) to obtain than that of many other European countries—only one great-grandparent is necessary to become a Lithuanian citizen. Persons who held citizenship in the Republic of Lithuania prior to June 15, 1940, and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren (provided that these persons did not repatriate) are eligible for Lithuanian citizenship .

Lithuanian citizens are allowed to travel and work throughout the European Union without a visa or other restrictions.

The Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled in November 2006 that a number of provisions of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on citizenship are in conflict with the Lithuanian Constitution. In particular, the court ruled that a number of current provisions of the Citizenship Law implicitly or explicitly allowing dual citizenship are in conflict with the Constitution; such provisions amounted to the unconstitutional practice of making dual citizenship a common phenomenon rather than a rare exception. The provisions of the Citizenship Law announced to be unconstitutional are no longer valid and applicable to the extent stated by the Constitutional Court.

The Lithuanian Parliament amended the Citizenship Law substantially as a result of this court ruling, allowing dual citizenship for children of at least one Lithuanian parent who are born abroad, but preventing Lithuanians from retaining their Lithuanian citizenship after obtaining the citizenship of another country.

There are some special cases still permitting dual citizenship. See Lithuanian nationality law.

Largest groups of foreign residents
Rank Nationality Population (2019)[14]
1  Ukraine 16,927
2  Russia 12,529
3  Belarus 12,204
4 European Union Latvia 1,100
5 European Union Estonia 826
6 European Union Germany 768
7 European Union Poland 736
8  United States 507
9  Moldova 490
10  Syria 472
11  China 470
12 European Union Italy 445
13  Israel 445
14  Turkey 416
15  Kazakhstan 399
16  Azerbaijan 382
17  Georgia 369
18  United Kingdom 369
19  Armenia 346
20 European Union Romania 305

Languages
Native languages in Lithuania, 2011 census.[15]
Lithuanian
 
 84.9%
Russian
 
 7.2%
Polish
 
 5.3%
Belarusian
 
 0.2%
Ukrainian
 
 0.2%
Other
 
 0.2%
Two languages
 
 0.6%
Unspecified
 
 1.4%
Knowledge of foreign languages in Lithuania in 2012, according to the survey by European Commission.[16]
Russian
 
 80%
English
 
 38%
German
 
 14%

The Lithuanian language is the country's sole official language countrywide. It is the first language of almost 85% of population and is also spoken by 286,742 out of 443,514 non-Lithuanians.[17] The Soviet era had imposed the official use of Russian, so most adult Lithuanians are able to speak Russian as a second language, while the Polish population generally speaks Polish.[18] Russians who immigrated after World War II speak Russian as their first language. The younger generation usually speaks English as their second language, while a substantial portion of the total population (37%) speak at least two foreign languages. According to census of 2011, 30% of the population can speak English.[17]

Approximately 14,800 pupils started their 2012 school year in schools where the curriculum is conducted in Russian (down from 76,000 in 1991), and about 12,300 enrolled in Polish schools (compared to 11,400 in 1991 and 21,700 in 2001). There are also schools in the Belarusian language, as well as in English, German, and French.[19][20]

There are perhaps 50 speakers of Karaim, a Turkic language spoken by Karaite Jews, in Lithuania.[21]

Lithuanian Sign Language and Russian Sign Language are used by the deaf community.

Baltic Romani is spoken by the Lithuanian Roma (Gypsy) minority.[22]

Religion
Main article: Religion in Lithuania
St. Anne's Church, Vilnius

As per the 2011 census, 77.2% of Lithuanians identified themselves as Roman Catholic.[23] The Church has been the majority denomination since the Christianisation of Lithuania at the end of the 14th century. Some priests actively led the resistance against the Communist regime (symbolised by the Hill of Crosses).

In the first half of the 20th century, the Lutheran Protestant church had around 200,000 members, 9% of the total population, mostly Protestant Lithuanians from the former Memel Territory and Germans, but it has declined since 1945. Small Protestant communities are dispersed throughout the northern and western parts of the country. Believers and clergy suffered greatly during the Soviet occupation, with many killed, tortured or deported to Siberia. Various Protestant churches have established missions in Lithuania since 1990.[24] 4.1% are Orthodox, 0.8% are Old Believers (both mainly among the Russian minority), 0.8% are Protestant and 6.1% have no religion.

Lithuania was historically home to a significant Jewish community and was an important center of Jewish scholarship and culture from the 18th century, until the community, numbering about 160,000 before World War II, was almost entirely annihilated during the Holocaust.[25][26] By 2011, around 3000 people in Lithuania identified themselves as Jews, while around 1200 identified with Judaic religious community.[27][28]

According to the 2005 Eurobarometer Poll,[29] 12% said that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force", 36% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 49% of Lithuanian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God".

Education
Main article: Education in Lithuania

According to the 2011 census, only around 0.2% of the Lithuanian population aged 10 and over were illiterate, the majority of them in rural areas. The proportion is similar for males and females.[30]

The general education system in Lithuania consists of primary, basic, secondary and tertiary education. Primary, basic and secondary (or high school) education is free of charge to all residents and is compulsory for pupils under 16 years of age.[31] Pre-primary education is also available free of charge to 5- and 6-year-old children but is not compulsory. Pre-primary schooling is attended by about 90% of pre-school age children in Lithuania.[32] Primary, basic and secondary education in Lithuania is available to some ethnic minorities in their native languages, including Polish, Russian and Belarusian.

Primary schooling (Lithuanian: pradinis ugdymas) is available to children who have reached age 7 (or younger, should the parents so desire) and lasts four years. Primary school students are not assessed through a grade system, instead using oral or written feedback. Students begin studying their first foreign language in their second year of primary school.[33] Data from the 2011 census showed that 99.1% of the population aged 20 and older have attained at least primary education, while around 27,000 pupils started the first grade in 2012.[34]

Basic education (Lithuanian: pagrindinis ugdymas) covers grades 5 to 10. It is provided by basic, secondary, youth, vocational schools and gymnasiums. After completing the 10th grade, the students must take the basic education achievement test in the Lithuanian language, mathematics, and an elective basic education achievement test in their mother tongue (Belarusian, Polish, Russian or German).[31] In 2011, 90.9% of the population of Lithuania aged 20 or older had attained the basic level of education.[34]

Secondary education (Lithuanian: vidurinis ugdymas) in Lithuania is optional and available to students who have attained basic education. It covers two years (11th–12th grades in secondary schools and 3rd–4th grades in gymnasiums). At this level, students have the opportunity to adapt their study plans (subjects and study level) to their individual preferences.[33] Secondary education is completed upon passing national matura examinations. These consist of as many as six separate examinations of which two (Lithuanian Language and Literature and one elective subject) are required to attain the diploma. As of 2011, 78.2% of the population of Lithuania aged 20 or older had attained the secondary level of education, including secondary education provided by vocational schools.[34]

More than 60% of the graduates from secondary school every year choose to continue education at colleges and universities of the Lithuanian higher education system. As of 2013, there were 23 universities (including academies and business schools recognized as such) and 24 colleges operating in Lithuania. Vilnius University, founded in 1579, is the oldest and largest university in Lithuania. More than 48,000 students enrolled in all higher education programmes in Lithuania in 2011, including level I (professional bachelor and bachelor), level II (masters) and level III (doctorate) studies.[35] Higher education in Lithuania is partly state-funded, with free-of-charge access to higher education constitutionally guaranteed to students deemed "good". There are also scholarships available to the best students.

See also

Notes
  1. Letukienė, Nijolė; Gineika, Petras (2003). "Istorija. Politologija: kurso santrauka istorijos egzaminui" (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Alma littera: 182. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Statistical numbers, probably accepted in historiography (the sources, their treatment, the procedure of counting is not discussed in this book) are given, according which in 1260 there were about 0.27 million Lithuanians of 0.4 million of a whole population; in percentage: 67,5%.
  2. Bjorn Wiemer, Dialect and language contacts on the territory of the Grand Duchy from the 15th century until 1939, Kurt Braunmüller, Gisella Ferraresi, Aspects of multilingualism in European language history, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2003, ISBN 90-272-1922-2, Google Print, p.109; 125
  3. Letukienė, N., Istorija. Politologija: kurso santrauka istorijos egzaminui, 2003, p. 182. There can be found also different numbers, for example: Kevin O'Connor, The history of the Baltic States, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, ISBN 0-313-32355-0, Google Print, p.17. Here author estimates that there were 9 million inhabitants in GDL, and 1 million of them were ethnic Lithuanians by 1387.
  4. Based on 1493 population map (p.92) from Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski, Poland a Historical Atlas, Hippocrene Books, 1987, ISBN 0-88029-394-2
  5. Jarmo Kotilaine, Russia's foreign trade and economic expansion in the seventeenth century: windows on the world, BRILL, 2005, ISBN 90-04-13896-X, Google Print, p.45
  6. (in Lithuanian) Lietuvos Didžiosios kunigaikštystės kanceliarinės slavų kalbos termino nusakymo problema Archived 2009-07-10 at the Wayback Machine Z. Zinkevičius
  7. Daniel. Z Stone, A History of East Central Europe, p. 4, 52.
  8. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  9. "Pradžia - Oficialiosios statistikos portalas". osp.stat.gov.lt.
  10. "Official Statistics Lithuania".
  11. "Rodiklių duomenų bazė - Oficialiosios statistikos portalas". osp.stat.gov.lt.
  12. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  13. "Gyventojų ir būstų surašymai – Oficialiosios statistikos portalas".
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-05-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. Statistics Lithuania census 2011: GYVENTOJAI PAGAL TAUTYBĘ, GIMTĄJĄ KALBĄ IR TIKYBĄ
  16. "Eurobarometer: Europeans and their languages, 2012, factsheet Lithuania" (PDF).
  17. "Census 2011: GYVENTOJAI PAGAL IŠSILAVINIMĄ IR KALBŲ MOKĖJIMĄ" (PDF).
  18. Vitold Jancis. "What is happening to the Russian language in Lithuania". dw.com. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
  19. General school pupils, Statistics Lithuania
  20. "Initiative "Schulen: Partner der Zukunft" – Hermann-Sudermann-Gymnasium Klaipėda".
  21. UNESCO, Audio-visual resources Archived 2011-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  22. "Roma and Romani in Lithuania in the 21st century" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  23. Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. "Ethnicity, mother tongue and religion". Archived from the original on 2014-10-08.. 2013-03-15.
  24. "United Methodists evangelize in Lithuania with ads, brochures". Umc.org. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  25. Arūnas Bubnys (2004). "Holocaust in Lithuania: An Outline of the Major Stages and Their Results". The Vanished World of Lithuanian Jews. Rodopi. pp. 218–219. ISBN 90-420-0850-4.
  26. "Lithuania". Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  27. "Census 2011. Population by ethnicity and municipality". Statistics Lithuania. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  28. "Census 2011. Population by religious community indicated, municipalities". Statistics Lithuania. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  29. "Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005" (PDF). p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
  30. Statistics Lithuania, 2011 Census, Population by educational attainment and command of languages Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  31. Ministry of Education and Science, Education, Lower secondary education Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
  32. Ministry of Education and Science, Education, Pre-school education
  33. Government of the Republic of Lithuania, The Official Gateway of Lithuania, Education System Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
  34. Statistics Lithuania, 2011 Census, Population by educational attainment, age group and municipality Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
  35. Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, Lietuvos švietimas skaičiais, 2012
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