Demographers: Lithuania threatened by depopulation

24 октября 2022
Lithuanian demographers are sounding the alarm: the country has become a European leader in the decline in the birth rate. In 2021 alone, the number of newborns dropped by 28%. Ukraine is next in the ranking, but with its 24% it lags far behind Lithuania. In absolute terms, it looks like a real catastrophe: in 2016, 28 thousand children were born in the country, last year it was only 23 thousand, and this year it will be 20 thousand. Demographers speak about rapid depopulation: it is aggravated also by mass departure of population to Western Europe. This year alone, more than 20 thousand people have already left Lithuania.