Lithuania's population declines by 38,000 in 2017

  • 2018-01-11
  • LETA/TBT Staff

VILNIUS - Lithuania's resident population last year declined by 37,800 to 2.810 million, due mostly to emigration and to the number of deaths exceeding that of births, the country's statistics office said.

The resident population decreased by 40,700 to 2.848 million in 2016.

Some 29,600 babies were born and 39,500 people died in Lithuania last year.

Some 57,200 people emigrated from the country in 2017, up by 6,900, or 13.8 percent, from 2016.

Some 24,800 emigrants, or 43.3 percent, left for the United Kingdom, 6,400, or 11.1 percent, for Norway, 4,900, or 8.6 percent, for Germany, and 3,800, or 6.7 percent, for Ireland.

On the other hand, the number of new arrivals  in Lithuania rose to 29,300 last year, up by 9,200, or 45.5 percent, compared with 2016.

Most of them (18,800, or 64.2 percent) were emigrants who came back to Lithuania. The number of returning Lithuanian nationals increased by 4,600, or 32.6 percent, in 20117 from 2016.

The number of foreigners immigrating into Lithuania last year soared by 4,500, or 80 percent, to 10,500 people, including 4,400 Ukrainian nationals (42.2 percent), 2,800 Belarusian nationals (26.6 percent) and 673 (6.4 percent) Russian nationals.