Population and their territorial distribution

According to the data of the 2021 Population and Housing Census of the Republic of Lithuania, on 1 January 2021, the resident population of Lithuania totalled 2,810,761.

Compared to the data of the first Population and Housing Census after the Restoration of Independence of Lithuania, which was conducted in 2001, the population of Lithuania decreased by one fifth (673.2 thousand) (Fig. 1). Over a decade after the last Census, the resident population decreased by 232.6 thousand (7.6 per cent). The decrease in population was conditioned by negative net international migration and negative natural population change. Over a decade, the number of residents who departed from the country exceeded the number of residents who arrived to the country by 118.9 thousand, the number of deaths exceeded that of births by 113.7 thousand.

Fig. 1. Resident population by sex
Thousand

Based on the data of the 2021 Population and Housing Census, population living in institutions amounted to 20,007 (0.7 per cent) (23,158 (0.8 per cent) in 2011; 23,067 (0.7 per cent) in 2001), the number of homeless people totalled 1,380 (857 in 2011; 1,250 in 2001).

More than a quarter of the Lithuanian population lived in Vilnius county, while the smallest number of residents was recorded for Tauragė county (3.3 per cent of the total population).

Distribution of population by municipality is also uneven. In Lithuania, there were 4 municipalities (of major cities: Šiauliai, Klaipėda, Kaunas and Vilnius) with population exceeding 100,000 – population therein accounted for 39.4 per cent of the total population. The smallest number of residents was recorded in Neringa (3.6 thousand), Birštonas (4.1 thousand), Rietavas (7.4 thousand) and Pagėgiai (7.4 thousand) municipalities.

Over a decade between the censuses, an increase in population was recorded in 6 municipalities only: in Neringa municipality – by 40.4, Klaipėda district municipality – 11, Kaunas district municipality – 7.4, Palanga town municipality – 6.4, Vilnius city municipality – 3.9, Vilnius district municipality – 1 per cent. In the rest 54 municipalities, the number of residents decreased: in Pagėgiai municipality – by 21.7, Skuodas district municipality – 21.1, Pakruojis district municipality – 20.7 per cent.

In 2021, there were 103 cities/towns in Lithuania with 1,916.8 thousand (68.2 per cent) residents living there (Table 1). Over a decade between the censuses, urban population decreased by 114.5 thousand.

Small towns comprised the largest share of the urban area of Lithuania. Towns with up to 2,000 population accounted for a third of all cities/towns, and population thereof totalled only 35.8 thousand (1.9 per cent of total urban population). As many as 15 towns had population of less than 1,000. As in 2011, Panemunė and Troškūnai remained the smallest towns in terms of population.

Table 1. The number of cities/towns by population

In each of the four cities – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai – the population exceeded 100 thousand (57.3 per cent of the total urban population). Among the largest cities, a decrease in population over a decade was not recorded only for Vilnius. The population of Vilnius city grew by 4.1 per cent and currently amounts to 546.2 thousand, which is a fifth of the country’s population. In the rest of the largest cities, the number of residents decreased. Compared to the 2011 Census data, the largest population drop was recorded in Panevėžys, Šiauliai and Klaipėda cities – 10.6, 7.9 and 6.4 per cent respectively. Population of Kaunas city decreased by 5.5 per cent and now is less than 300 thousand (298.8 thousand).

Based on the 2021 Census data, 894 thousand (31.8 per cent) residents lived in 16 thousand rural settlements. Over a decade between the censuses, the number of rural settlements decreased by 700, the population – by 118.2 thousand. Small villages predominate in Lithuania: villages with up to 9 residents accounted for 45.1 per cent (Table 2). Residents of such villages made up only 3.4 per cent of total rural population. Almost 2 thousand (12.2 per cent) rural settlements had over 100 residents each. In each of the three villages, the population exceeded 4,000: Skaidiškės village (Vilnius district municipality) – 4,051, Raudondvaris village (Kaunas district municipality) – 4,079, Domeikava village (Kaunas district municipality) – 5,215.

Table 2. Number of rural settlements by population

Age and sex structure of the population

In 2021, Lithuania was inhabited by 1,305 thousand men and 1,505.8 thousand women (46.4 and 53.6 per cent of the total population respectively). Over a decade between the censuses, the number of men decreased by 7 per cent (97.6 thousand), that of women – by 8.2 per cent (135 thousand).

In 2021, there were 1,154 women per 1,000 men (in 2011 – 1,170; in 2001 – 1,139). The largest number of women per 1,000 men was recorded in Panevėžys city (1,247), Birštonas (1,235), Palanga town (1,234), Druskininkai (1,226), Kaunas city (1,220), the smallest – in Kaišiadorys (981), Panevėžys (1,053), Alytus (1,058) district municipalities.

Compared to the data of the previous censuses, the proportion of population aged 15–64 is increasing, that of children under 14 is decreasing. Based on the 2021 Census, the distribution of the population by the main age group was as follows: children under 14 made up 14.8, population aged 15–64 – 65.3, population aged 65 and older – 19.9 per cent of the total population (Table 2). Compared to the results of the 2011 Census, in 2021, the number of children under 14 decreased by 36.1 thousand or 8 per cent. In 2001, the number of children aged 0–14 exceeded that of persons aged 65 and older by 38.9 per cent; in 2011, it was by 17 per cent lower, and in 2021 – the number of children under 14 was by a quarter lower than that of persons aged 65 and older. Based on the 2021 Census data, one in four women and one in seven men was aged 65 and older, in 2011 – one in five women and one in eight men, in 2001 – one in six women and one in ten men.

Fig. 2. Population by main age groups
Per cent

Composition of population sex and age, its changes after 2011, is illustrated by the age and sex pyramid (Figures 3, 4, 5). The top of it shows different mortality rate for men and women: women aged 65 and over – almost twice as many as men – make up 65.2 per cent of the population aged 65 and older. Over a decade, since 2011, population aged 65 and older grew by 14 thousand: among women – 4.2 thousand, among men – 9.8 thousand. Women aged 65 and older outnumber men not only in total population but also among women themselves: the proportion of women aged 65 and older is much higher than that of men of the same age – 24.2 and 14.9 per cent respectively. A decade ago, among women, those aged 65 and older accounted for 22 per cent, while among men – 13.2 per cent.

The proportion of men in the total population remains slightly higher than that of women only among those under 15: in 2011 and 2021, they accounted for 51.3 per cent of population of the said age group.

Based on the 2021 Census data, men under 40 outnumber women, while among persons over 40, women outnumber men (Fig. 3). Over a decade, this age limit has shifted by exactly 10 years: in 2011, there were more men under 30 than women of the same age, and there were more women among the population over 30 years of age.

Fig. 3. Population by sex and age

Changes in the age and sex structure of the urban population are different from those observed for the total population (Fig. 4). Over a decade, the proportion of population aged 65 and older grew by 11.9 per cent (41.7 thousand), the proportion thereof in urban areas makes up more than a fifth – 20.5 per cent (in 2011, 17.3 per cent). Based on the 2021 Census data, women accounted for 65.9 per cent of urban population aged 65 and older. An increase in proportion of urban population aged 65 and older was observed among both women and men – it makes up 24.7 and 15.4 per cent respectively (in 2011, 20.8 and 12.9 per cent respectively).
In absolute terms, the number of children under 14 in urban areas did not increase (decreased by 7.3 thousand, or 2.5 per cent), their proportion in urban population slightly increased – in 2021, it made up 15 per cent, in 2011 – 14.5 per cent.

Fig. 4. Urban population by sex and age

Changes in the age and sex structure of the rural population over a decade are somewhat different from those of the urban population (Fig. 5). In absolute terms, population aged 65 and older decreased (27.6 thousand, or 14.1 per cent). Based on the 2021 Census data, such population accounted for 18.8 per cent of the total rural population, a decade ago – 19.3 per cent. The proportion of population of working-age (aged 15–64) increased in general and by sex. Based on the 2021 Census data, population aged 15–64 accounted for 66.8 per cent of the total rural population, a decade ago – 65.1 per cent.

Fig. 5. Rural population by sex and age

More information on the issue is available in the Database of Indicators.