The dynamics of demographic decline and its consequences for Lithuania : viewpoints from a liberal perspective

Abstract

The demographic situation in Lithuania. Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic countries, having a population of 3.24 million on 1 st January 2011. 1 However, as in most of the Eastern European countries, its population is rapidly declining. This process has been accelerating since 1992 when the Lithuanian population reached its peak at 3.71 million inhabitants. 2 It has been estimated that during its first twenty years of independence – 1990 until 2010 – Lithuania has lost approximately 365,000 3 of its inhabitants. This amounts to almost 10 per cent of the population in 1990. In 2010, the Lithuanian population declined by a further 84,500, which is a decrease of 2.5 per cent. 4 Demographers are concerned that even these numbers may be an underestimation. Thus, in anticipation of the results of the 2011 population census, it is feared by many experts in the country that the total population may not even reach 3 million. [...]