This article is about the demographic features of the population of Lithuania, including population density, ethnicity, level of education, health, economic status, and religious affiliations.
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The earliest evidence of inhabitants in present-day Lithuania dates back to 10,000 BC. Between 3000–2000 BC, the cord-ware culture people 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.
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 derivation from a word leičiai.
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] 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 till 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 court of Zygmunt August, the last king of the Duchy, both Polish and Lithuanian were spoken.[7]
After partition of Lithuania in the late 18th century, it become a part of 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.
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, a massacre of the Lithuanian Jewish population, 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.
Lithuanians are neither Slavic nor Germanic, although the union with Poland, German and Russian colonization and settlement left cultural and religious influences.
Among the Baltic states, Lithuania has the most homogeneous population. According to the census conducted in 2001, 83.45% of the population identified themselves as Lithuanians, 6.74% as Poles, 6.31% as Russians, 1.23% as Belarusians, and 2.27% as members of other ethnic groups.
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 (61.3% of the population) and Šalčininkai district municipality (79.5%). Such concentrations would allow Election Action of Lithuania's Poles, an ethnic minority-based political party, to exert political influence, but the 5% rule prevents it from entering the parliament of Lithuania. The party is more 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 a strong political party. The most prominent community lives in Visaginas (52%). Most of them are scientists who moved with their families from the Russian SFSR to work at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Lithuania is noted for its success in limiting Russian immigration during the Soviet period (1945-1990), in comparison to Latvia and Estonia. 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.
Population by Religious Confession (2001 census):[8]
According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[9] 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".
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 [1].
Lithuanian citizens are allowed to travel throughout the European Union without a visa. As far as work is concerned, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Finland, and Greece place no restrictions on Lithuanians working in their respective countries. The other older member nations of the European Union still place restrictions on work, but these are merely transitional arrangements.
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 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 that are born abroad, but preventing Lithuanians from keeping their Lithuanian citizenship after obtaining citizenship of another country.
There are some special cases still permitting dual citizenship. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_nationality_law.
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
Population: 3,555,179 (2009 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 14.2% (male 258,423/female 245,115)
15–64 years: 69.6% (male 1,214,743/female 1,261,413)
65 years and over: 16.2% (male 198,714/female 376,771)
(2009 est.)
Population growth rate: −0.28% (2009 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female
total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate: Total: 6.47
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.73 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.9 years
male: 69.98 years
female: 80.1 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (2008) [2]
Suicide rate: 30.7 suicides per every 100,000 people [10].
Divorce rate: With 3.2 divorces per every 1000 people, Lithuania in 2004 had the highest divorce rate in Europe [3]. (3.1 in 2008)
Languages by mother tongue (census 2001):[11]:
The Lithuanian language, which uses a modified Latin alphabet, is the country's official language. It is the first language of 82% of population and is also spoken by 356,000 out of 577,000 non-Lithuanians.[12] The Soviet era had imposed the official use of Russian, so most adult Lithuanians speak Russian as a second language, while the original Polish population generally speaks Polish and Russians who immigrated after World War II speak Russian as their first language. The younger generation usually speaks English as their second language. According to census of 2001, 17% of population can speak English fluently (21% in urban areas, 9% in rural areas).[12]
About 30,600 pupils started their 2003 school year in schools where the entire curriculum is conducted in Russian (down from 76,000 in 1991), and about 20,500 enrolled in Polish schools (up from 11,400 in 1991). There are also schools in the Belarusian language (these enrolled about 160 students in 2003), as well as in German.
Lithuania is one of the most literate countries in the world. The proportion of people aged 15 and over who can read and write is 99.6% according to the 2001 census. The proportion is the same for males and females. Primary, secondary, and high school education is free to all residents. Ten years of schooling is required. Tertiary education is almost free. Depending on grades, a student might receive a stipend or make a payment of 520 litas per semester. There are also small social stipends available for students with economic difficulties. In 2003 43,900 students were admitted to the 21 universities in Lithuania (11,100 of them to master programs). About 70% of high school graduates continue to study in universities or professional schools.[13]
| Births | Deaths | Birth rate | Death rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | 62,807 | 35,691 | 27.3 | 15.5 |
| 1929 | 63,083 | 39,669 | 27.1 | 17.0 |
| 1930 | 64,164 | 37,151 | 27.3 | 15.8 |
| 1931 | 63,419 | 37,478 | 26.6 | 15.7 |
| 1932 | 65,371 | 36,577 | 27.2 | 15.2 |
| 1933 | 62,145 | 32,749 | 25.5 | 13.4 |
| 1934 | 60,770 | 35,789 | 24.7 | 14.5 |
| 1935 | 57,970 | 34,595 | 23.3 | 13.9 |
| 1936 | 57,259 | 31,320 | 22.8 | 12.5 |
| 1937 | 53,399 | 30,966 | 21.0 | 12.2 |
| 1938 | 54,694 | 30,132 | 22.0 | 12.1 |
| 1939 | 54,184 | 32,983 | 22.3 | 13.6 |
| 1945 | 60,392 | 35,201 | 24.0 | 14.0 |
| 1946 | 58,399 | 37,688 | 23.1 | 14.9 |
| 1947 | 59,680 | 39,716 | 23.5 | 15.6 |
| 1948 | 58,780 | 35,137 | 23.1 | 13.8 |
| 1949 | 63,034 | 32,049 | 24.6 | 12.5 |
| 1950 | 60,719 | 30,870 | 23.7 | 12.0 |
| 1951 | 58,504 | 29,693 | 22.8 | 11.6 |
| 1952 | 56,944 | 28,166 | 22.1 | 10.9 |
| 1953 | 52,610 | 27,118 | 20.3 | 10.5 |
| 1954 | 54,229 | 25,559 | 20.8 | 9.8 |
| 1955 | 55,525 | 24,138 | 21.1 | 9.2 |
| 1956 | 53,741 | 21,869 | 20.3 | 8.2 |
| 1957 | 56,223 | 23,361 | 21.0 | 8.7 |
| 1958 | 61,190 | 22,103 | 22.6 | 8.2 |
| 1959 | 62,241 | 24,688 | 22.7 | 9.0 |
| 1960 | 62,485 | 21,611 | 22.5 | 7.8 |
| 1961 | 62,775 | 23,365 | 22.2 | 8.3 |
| 1962 | 59,728 | 24,925 | 20.8 | 8.7 |
| 1963 | 57,024 | 23,112 | 19.7 | 8.0 |
| 1964 | 55,856 | 21,830 | 19.1 | 7.5 |
| 1965 | 53,818 | 23,467 | 18.1 | 7.9 |
| 1966 | 54,275 | 23,799 | 18.1 | 7.9 |
| 1967 | 53,806 | 24,571 | 17.7 | 8.1 |
| 1968 | 54,258 | 25,725 | 17.6 | 8.3 |
| 1969 | 54,263 | 27,156 | 17.4 | 8.7 |
| 1970 | 55,519 | 28,048 | 17.7 | 8.9 |
| 1971 | 56,044 | 26,972 | 17.6 | 8.5 |
| 1972 | 54,616 | 29,252 | 17.0 | 9.1 |
| 1973 | 51,944 | 29,160 | 16.0 | 9.0 |
| 1974 | 51,941 | 29,612 | 15.9 | 9.0 |
| 1975 | 51,766 | 31,265 | 15.7 | 9.5 |
| 1976 | 52,296 | 31,972 | 15.7 | 9.6 |
| 1977 | 52,166 | 32,932 | 15.5 | 9.8 |
| 1978 | 51,821 | 34,008 | 15.3 | 10.1 |
| 1979 | 51,937 | 34,897 | 15.3 | 10.3 |
| 1980 | 51,765 | 35,871 | 15.2 | 10.5 |
| 1981 | 52,249 | 35,579 | 15.2 | 10.4 |
| 1982 | 53,141 | 35,040 | 15.4 | 10.1 |
| 1983 | 57,589 | 36,451 | 16.5 | 10.5 |
| 1984 | 57,576 | 38,666 | 16.4 | 11.0 |
| 1985 | 58,454 | 39,169 | 16.5 | 11.0 |
| 1986 | 59,705 | 35,788 | 16.7 | 10.0 |
| 1987 | 59,360 | 36,917 | 16.4 | 10.2 |
| 1988 | 56,727 | 37,649 | 15.5 | 10.3 |
| 1989 | 55,782 | 38,150 | 15.1 | 10.3 |
| 1990 | 56,868 | 39,760 | 15.3 | 10.7 |
| 1991 | 56,219 | 41,013 | 15.2 | 11.1 |
| 1992 | 53,617 | 41,455 | 14.5 | 11.2 |
| 1993 | 47,464 | 46,107 | 12.9 | 12.5 |
| 1994 | 42,376 | 46,486 | 11.6 | 12.7 |
| 1995 | 41,195 | 45,306 | 11.4 | 12.5 |
| 1996 | 39,066 | 42,896 | 10.8 | 11.9 |
| 1997 | 37,812 | 41,143 | 10.6 | 11.5 |
| 1998 | 37,508 | 40,793 | 10.6 | 11.5 |
| 1999 | 36,415 | 40,003 | 10.3 | 11.4 |
| 2000 | 34,149 | 38,919 | 9.8 | 11.1 |
| 2001 | 31,546 | 40,399 | 9.1 | 11.6 |
| 2002 | 30,014 | 41,072 | 8.7 | 11.8 |
| 2003 | 30,598 | 40,990 | 8.9 | 11.9 |
| 2004 | 30,419 | 41,340 | 8.9 | 12.0 |
| 2005 | 30,541 | 43,799 | 8.9 | 12.8 |
| 2006 | 31,265 | 44,813 | 9.2 | 13.2 |
| 2007 | 32,154 | 45,589 | 9.5 | 13.5 |
| 2008 | 35,272 | 43,820 | 10.5 | 13.0 |
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