1923 Lithuanian census

The Lithuanian census of 1923 was performed on September 17–23, several years after Lithuania re-established its independence in 1918. It was mandated by the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania in 1922.[1] The census counted the total population of 2,028,971.[2] It was the only census in interwar Lithuania. The next census was carried out in 1959 as part of the Soviet census.

Population pyramid of Lithuania according to the census results

The census results were organized into "enumeration territories" that followed county borders; of the 24 enumeration territories, four were cities that had been granted county rights (Kaunas, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, and Vilkmergė).[3] Populations in the Vilnius Region, which had been incorporated into the Second Polish Republic, and the Klaipėda Region, annexed by Lithuania in 1923, were not counted. The census cost 605,600 litas.[3] Its 3,100 investigators consisted of civil servants and students enrolled in higher education.[3] The data were transmitted to the Central Bureau of Statistics via telegraph and telephones.[3] Results were published in statistical bulletins during 1924 and 1925, followed by a more public presentation in the Lithuanian and French languages in 1926.[3]

The census found that 15.8% lived in towns with populations over 2,000[2] and about 75% of the population was employed in the agricultural sector.[4] There were 27 cities, 241 towns, and 16,388 villages.[5] 44.1% of the population was illiterate,[6] including 32.6% of those over 10 years of age.[7] A determination of ethnicity was made on the basis of language.[8] The census found the population was 83.9% Lithuanian, 7.6% Jewish, 3.2% Polish, 2.5% Russian, 1.4% German, 0.4% Latvian, 0.2% Belarusian, and 0.8% others.[8][9] The Polish Election Committee disputed the census' ethnic composition findings, stating that Poles comprised 10% of the population and Lithuanians 76.4%.[10] The higher results were based on votes cast for Polish political candidates in the 1923 Lithuanian elections, which would put the Polish population at about 202,000 or between 9.5–10% of the population, if one interprets the election results in a way that anyone who voted for a Polish candidate must necessarily be a Pole.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. "Country Profile of Lithuania - Main statistical agency". United Nations Statistics Division. Archived from the original on 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  2. Eidinats, Alfonsas; Vytautas Žalys; Edvardas Tuskenis (1999). Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918-1940. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 45. ISBN 9780312224585.
  3. "Population Censuses in Lithuania". Statistical Department - Republic of Lithuania. 2008-11-09. Archived from the original on 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  4. Lane, Thomas (2001). Lithuania: Stepping Westward. Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 9780415267311.
  5. Vaitiekūnas, Stasys (2006). Lietuvos gyventojai: Per du tūkstantmečius (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. p. 130. ISBN 978-5-420-01585-8.
  6. Vardys, Vytas Stanley; Judith B. Sedaitis (1997). Lithuania: The Rebel Nation. Westview Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0813318394.
  7. "Organisation of the education system in Lithuania" (PDF). Eurybase - The Information Database on Education Systems in Europe. European Commission Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). 2008–2009. p. 174. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  8. Eberhardt, Piotr; Jan Owsinski (2003). Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-Century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, and Analysis. M.E. Sharpe. p. 40. ISBN 9780765606655.
  9. Jeffries, Ian (1996). A Guide to the Economies in Transition. Routledge. p. 303. ISBN 9780415136846.
  10. Krivickas, Vladas (January 1975). "The Polish Minority in Lithuania, 1918-1926". Slavonic and East European Review. University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies. 130 (LIII): 78–91. JSTOR 4206984.
  11. Instytut Historii (Polska Akademia Nauk). Zakład Dziejów Europy XIX i XX Wieku (1 January 1998). Studia z dziejów Rosji i Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich. p. 23. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  12. Instytut Slawistyki (Polska Akademia Nauk); Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie (1997). Kresy--pojęcie i rzeczywistość: zbiór studiów. Slawistyczny Ośrodek Wydawniczy. p. 152. ISBN 9788386619023. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
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