Lithuania's population registers dramatic decline over past decade

The population of Lithuania has shrunk by about 230,000 since 2011, as deaths outpace births and a huge number of residents emigrate for opportunities elsewhere.

According to preliminary results of the 2021 census, around 2.81 million people live in Lithuania, the Department of Statistics in Vilnius said on Tuesday.

The decline over the past two decades has been dramatic: In 2011, more than 3 million people lived in the largest of the three Baltic states; in 2001 there were 3.5 million people.

In 2021, women outnumbered men by 1.5 million to 1.3 million.