By Urtė Šlevaitė & Vesta Silantjevienė, LRT TV, LRT.lt.
Lithuania is grappling with a worsening demographic crisis, with nearly 11,000 fewer babies born last year than a decade ago. The decline has alarmed policymakers, who are calling for urgent action to revive regions, adjust migration policies, improve access to assisted reproduction and expand family benefits.
In Rokiškis District, deaths outnumbered births five to one in the past month. Six couples married, but an equal number divorced – figures that residents say reflect broader social and economic pressures.
“Wages are low – that’s the first problem. Do you know how much it costs to raise a child?” one resident said. Another noted that “all the young people leave for the cities, and only grandparents stay here”.
The trend extends nationwide. Slightly more than 30,000 children were born in Lithuania a decade ago, but almost 11,000 fewer arrived last year.
Since the restoration of independence, the country’s population has shrunk by nearly one-fifth. More than half of Lithuanians view the demographic situation negatively, according to the initiative Auginu Lietuvą (I’m Raising Lithuania).
Read more: LRT.LT
