In Lithuania, there are 103 cities (miestai). The term city is defined by the Parliament of Lithuania as a compact urban area with more than 3,000 people, of whom at least two-thirds work in the industry or service sector. Settlements with a population of less than 3,000 but with historical city status are still considered to be cities. Smaller settlements are known as towns (miesteliai), and even smaller settlements are known as villages (kaimai). Often the official status of these smaller settlements are unclear, and people simply refer to both towns and villages as settlements (gyvenvietės).
The cities started to form between the 13th and 14th centuries together with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first to receive city rights was Klaipėda. According to medieval law, a city could have its own fairs, taverns, guilds, courts, etc. Some former cities lost their status and are now just towns or villages, for example Kernavė and Merkinė. Most of the cities in Lithuania were established before the 18th century. Their location is mostly determined by trade and transportation routes. Some of the newer cities grew because of railroad construction, for example Kaišiadorys, Vievis, Radviliškis, Ignalina and Mažeikiai. In the 20th century, new cities grew primarily to service state developed industrial complexes, for example Visaginas, Elektrėnai and Naujoji Akmenė.
Of over 100 cities, only 14 have populations of over 20,000. Five cities (Birštonas, Druskininkai, Neringa, Palanga and Anykščiai) have a special resort status. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. At the 2001 census, 66.7% of the population lived in cities. At the 2021 census the proportion had increased slightly to 68.2% of the population.
Cities with over 50,000 inhabitants
| # | CoA | City | Pronunciation | Population | Change | Granted city rights | County | Municipalities in urban area | Urban area population (2024) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2021 | 2001 | |||||||||
| 1 | Vilnius | Listen • Info | 602,430 | 546,155 | 554,281 | −1.47% | 1387 | Vilnius County | See Vilnius urban area | 708,627 | |
| 2 | Kaunas | Listen • Info | 304,210 | 298,753 | 378,943 | −21.16% | 1408 | Kaunas County | See Kaunas urban area | 410,475 | |
| 3 | Klaipėda | Listen • Info | 159,403 | 152,008 | 192,954 | −21.22% | 1257 | Klaipėda County | Klaipėda City Municipality, Klaipėda District Municipality | 226,676 | |
| 4 | Šiauliai | Listen • Info | 110,463 | 100,653 | 133,883 | −24.82% | 1589 | Šiauliai County | Šiauliai City Municipality, Šiauliai District Municipality | 151,026 | |
| 5 | Panevėžys | Listen • Info | 86,606 | 89,100 | 119,749 | −25.59% | 1837 | Panevėžys County | See Panevėžys urban area | 121,977 | |
| 6 | Alytus | Listen • Info | 51,353 | 52,727 | 71,491 | −26.25% | 1581 | Alytus County | Alytus City Municipality, Alytus District Municipality | 76,815 | |
Cities between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabitants
| # | CoA | City | Pronunciation | Population | Change | Granted city rights | County | Municipality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2021 | 2001 | ||||||||
| 1 | Marijampolė | Listen • Info | 36,704 | 36,727 | 48,675 | −24.55% | 1792 | Marijampolė County | Marijampolė Municipality | |
| 2 | Mažeikiai | Listen • Info | 33,377 | 33,101 | 42,675 | −22.43% | 1924 | Telšiai County | Mažeikiai District Municipality | |
| 3 | Utena | Listen • Info | 27,763 | 25,343 | 33,860 | −25.15% | 1599 | Utena County | Utena District Municipality | |
| 4 | Jonava | Listen • Info | 26,838 | 27,381 | 34,954 | −21.67% | 1864 | Kaunas County | Jonava District Municipality | |
| 5 | Kėdainiai | Listen • Info | 23,362 | 23,461 | 32,048 | −26.79% | 1590 | Kaunas County | Kėdainiai District Municipality | |
| 6 | Telšiai | Listen • Info | 22,024 | 22,642 | 31,460 | −28.03% | 1791 | Telšiai County | Telšiai District Municipality | |
| 7 | Tauragė | Listen • Info | 21,216 | 21,203 | 29,124 | −27.20% | 1924 | Tauragė County | Tauragė District Municipality | |
| 8 | Ukmergė | Listen • Info | 20,928 | 21,258 | 28,759 | −26.08% | 1486 | Vilnius County | Ukmergė District Municipality | |
Cities between 5,000 and 20,000 inhabitants
| # | CoA | City | Pronunciation (audio help) | Population | Granted city rights | County | Municipality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2021 | 2001 | |||||||
| 1 | Visaginas | Listen • Info | 19,330 | 19,446 | 29,554 | 1995 | Utena County | Visaginas Municipality | |
| 2 | Palanga | Listen • Info | 18,066 | 16,746 | 17,623 | 1791 | Klaipėda County | Palanga City Municipality | |
| 3 | Plungė | Listen • Info | 17,259 | 17,543 | 23,436 | 1792 | Telšiai County | Plungė District Municipality | |
| 4 | Kretinga | Listen • Info | 16,927 | 17,249 | 21,423 | 1609 | Klaipėda County | Kretinga District Municipality | |
| 5 | Šilutė | Listen • Info | 16,002 | 15,952 | 21,476 | 1941 | Klaipėda County | Šilutė District Municipality | |
| 6 | Radviliškis | Listen • Info | 15,518 | 15,103 | 20,339 | 1923 | Šiauliai County | Radviliškis District Municipality | |
| 7 | Gargždai | Listen • Info | 15,510 | 15,065 | 15,212 | 1792 | Klaipėda County | Klaipėda District Municipality | |
| 8 | Druskininkai | Listen • Info | 12,978 | 12,908 | 18,233 | 1893 | Alytus County | Druskininkai Municipality | |
| 9 | Elektrėnai | Listen • Info | 12,536 | 11,255 | 14,050 | 1962 | Vilnius County | Elektrėnai Municipality | |
| 10 | Jurbarkas | Listen • Info | 11,455 | 10,186 | 13,797 | 1611 | Tauragė County | Jurbarkas District Municipality | |
| 11 | Rokiškis | Listen • Info | 11,388 | 11,770 | 16,746 | 1920 | Panevėžys County | Rokiškis District Municipality | |
| 12 | Kuršėnai | Listen • Info | 10,570 | 10,916 | 14,197 | 1946 | Šiauliai County | Šiauliai District Municipality | |
| 13 | Biržai | Listen • Info | 10,238 | 10,734 | 15,262 | 1589 | Panevėžys County | Biržai District Municipality | |
| 14 | Vilkaviškis | Listen • Info | 10,182 | 10,286 | 13,283 | 1660 | Marijampolė County | Vilkaviškis District Municipality | |
| 15 | Garliava | Listen • Info | 10,035 | 10,366 | 13,322 | 1958 | Kaunas County | Kaunas District Municipality | |
| 16 | Grigiškės | Listen • Info | 9,829 | 9,950 | 11,448 | 1958 | Vilnius County | Vilnius City Municipality | |
| 17 | Lentvaris | Listen • Info | 9,589 | 9,713 | 11,773 | 1946 | Vilnius County | Trakai District Municipality | |
| 18 | Raseiniai | Listen • Info | 9,553 | 9,865 | 12,541 | 1492–1506 | Kaunas County | Raseiniai District Municipality | |
| 19 | Prienai | Listen • Info | 8,773 | 8,796 | 11,353 | 1609 | Kaunas County | Prienai District Municipality | |
| 20 | Anykščiai | Listen • Info | 8,534 | 8,697 | 11,958 | 1516 | Utena County | Anykščiai District Municipality | |
| 21 | Kaišiadorys | Listen • Info | 8,480 | 8,380 | 10,002 | 1946 | Kaunas County | Kaišiadorys District Municipality | |
| 22 | Joniškis | Listen • Info | 8,437 | 8,612 | 11,329 | 1616 | Šiauliai County | Joniškis District Municipality | |
| 23 | Naujoji Akmenė | Listen • Info | 8,044 | 7,985 | 12,345 | 1792 | Šiauliai County | Akmenė District Municipality | |
| 24 | Varėna | Listen • Info | 7,866 | 8,202 | 10,845 | 1946 | Alytus County | Varėna District Municipality | |
| 25 | Kelmė | Listen • Info | 7,344 | 7,688 | 10,900 | 1947 | Šiauliai County | Kelmė District Municipality | |
| 26 | Šalčininkai | Listen • Info | 6,825 | 6,857 | 6,722 | 1956 | Vilnius County | Šalčininkai District Municipality | |
| 27 | Pasvalys | Listen • Info | 6,288 | 6,451 | 8,709 | 1946 | Panevėžys County | Pasvalys District Municipality | |
| 28 | Kupiškis | Listen • Info | 6,107 | 6,218 | 8,451 | 1791 | Panevėžys County | Kupiškis District Municipality | |
| 29 | Zarasai | Listen • Info | 5,851 | 6,077 | 8,365 | 1843 | Utena County | Zarasai District Municipality | |
| 30 | Trakai | Listen • Info | 5,720 | 5,426 | 5,725 | 1409 | Vilnius County | Trakai District Municipality | |
| 31 | Širvintos | Listen • Info | 5,650 | 5,827 | 7,273 | 1950 | Vilnius County | Širvintos District Municipality | |
| 32 | Molėtai | Listen • Info | 5,611 | 5,782 | 7,221 | 1956 | Utena County | Molėtai District Municipality | |
| 33 | Kazlų Rūda | Listen • Info | 5,457 | 5,590 | 7,401 | 1950 | Marijampolė County | Kazlų Rūda Municipality | |
| 34 | Šakiai | Listen • Info | 5,348 | 5,462 | 6,795 | 1776 | Marijampolė County | Šakiai District Municipality | |
| 35 | Skuodas | Listen • Info | 5,231 | 5,508 | 7,896 | 1572 | Klaipėda County | Skuodas District Municipality | |
Cities between 1,000 and 5,000 inhabitants
| # | CoA | City | Pronunciation (audio help) | Population | Granted city rights | County | Municipality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2021 | 2001 | |||||||
| 1 | Ignalina | Listen • Info | 4,843 | 5,106 | 6,591 | 1950 | Utena County | Ignalina District Municipality | |
| 2 | Pabradė | Listen • Info | 4,636 | 4,918 | 6,525 | 1946 | Vilnius County | Švenčionys District Municipality | |
| 3 | Šilalė | Listen • Info | 4,605 | 4,729 | 6,281 | 1950 | Tauragė County | Šilalė District Municipality | |
| 4 | Švenčionėliai | Listen • Info | 4,536 | 4,748 | 6,923 | 1920 | Vilnius County | Švenčionys District Municipality | |
| 5 | Nemenčinė | Listen • Info | 4,495 | 4,831 | 5,892 | 1955 | Vilnius County | Vilnius District Municipality | |
| 6 | Pakruojis | Listen • Info | 4,487 | 4,594 | 6,057 | 1950 | Šiauliai County | Pakruojis District Municipality | |
| 7 | Švenčionys | Listen • Info | 4,292 | 4,448 | 5,684 | 1800 | Vilnius County | Švenčionys District Municipality | |
| 8 | Neringa | Listen • Info | 4,265 | 3,609 | 2,386 | 1961 | Klaipėda County | Neringa Municipality | |
| 9 | Vievis | Listen • Info | 4,135 | 4,311 | 5,303 | 1950 | Vilnius County | Elektrėnai Municipality | |
| 10 | Kalvarija | Listen • Info | 3,939 | 3,982 | 5,090 | 1791 | Marijampolė County | Kalvarija Municipality | |
| 11 | Kybartai | Listen • Info | 3,871 | 4,126 | 6,556 | 1947 | Marijampolė County | Vilkaviškis District Municipality | |
| 12 | Lazdijai | Listen • Info | 3,817 | 4,016 | 5,140 | 1957 | Alytus County | Lazdijai District Municipality | |
| 13 | Rietavas | Listen • Info | 3,144 | 3,234 | 3,979 | 1792 | Telšiai County | Rietavas Municipality | |
| 14 | Birštonas | Listen • Info | 3,011 | 3,072 | 3,225 | 1518? | Kaunas County | Birštonas Municipality | |
| 15 | Žiežmariai | Listen • Info | 2,989 | 3,158 | 3,884 | 1792 | Kaunas County | Kaišiadorys District Municipality | |
| 16 | Eišiškės | Listen • Info | 2,734 | 2,908 | 3,765 | 1950 | Vilnius County | Šalčininkai District Municipality | |
| 17 | Ariogala | Listen • Info | 2,591 | 2,743 | 3,697 | 1792 | Kaunas County | Raseiniai District Municipality | |
| 18 | Šeduva | Listen • Info | 2,367 | 2,421 | 3,400 | 1654 | Šiauliai County | Radviliškis District Municipality | |
| 19 | Akmenė | Listen • Info | 2,294 | 2,355 | 3,140 | 1792 | Šiauliai County | Akmenė District Municipality | |
| 20 | Venta | Listen • Info | 2,150 | 2,250 | 3,412 | 1995 | Šiauliai County | Akmenė District Municipality | |
| 21 | Viekšniai | Listen • Info | 2,133 | 2,249 | 2,270 | 1791 | Telšiai County | Mažeikiai District Municipality | |
| 22 | Rūdiškės | Listen • Info | 1,889 | 1,985 | 2,559 | 1958 | Vilnius County | Trakai District Municipality | |
| 23 | Tytuvėnai | Listen • Info | 1,759 | 1,850 | 2,851 | 1956 | Šiauliai County | Kelmė District Municipality | |
| 24 | Vilkija | Listen • Info | 1,694 | 1,762 | 2,338 | 1792 | Kaunas County | Kaunas District Municipality | |
| 25 | Ežerėlis | Listen • Info | 1,580 | 1,640 | 2,051 | 1956 | Kaunas County | Kaunas District Municipality | |
| 26 | Pagėgiai | Listen • Info | 1,540 | 1,576 | 2,393 | 1923 | Tauragė County | Pagėgiai Municipality | |
| 27 | Gelgaudiškis | Listen • Info | 1,497 | 1,572 | 2,029 | 1958 | Marijampolė County | Šakiai District Municipality | |
| 28 | Skaudvilė | Listen • Info | 1,331 | 1,427 | 2,140 | 1950 | Tauragė County | Tauragė District Municipality | |
| 29 | Kudirkos Naumiestis | Listen • Info | 1,305 | 1,381 | 1,997 | 1643 | Marijampolė County | Šakiai District Municipality | |
| 30 | Žagarė | Listen • Info | 1,226 | 1,326 | 2,312 | 1924 | Šiauliai County | Joniškis District Municipality | |
| 31 | Priekulė | Listen • Info | 1,223 | 1,245 | 1,725 | 1948 | Klaipėda County | Klaipėda District Municipality | |
| 32= | Linkuva | Listen • Info | 1,218 | 1,283 | 1,797 | 1950 | Šiauliai County | Pakruojis District Municipality | |
| 32= | Salantai | Listen • Info | 1,218 | 1,272 | 1,942 | 1746 | Klaipėda County | Kretinga District Municipality | |
| 34 | Ramygala | Listen • Info | 1,183 | 1,241 | 1,733 | 1957 | Panevėžys County | Panevėžys District Municipality | |
| 35 | Simnas | Listen • Info | 1,176 | 1,247 | 1,980 | 1626 | Alytus County | Alytus District Municipality | |
| 36 | Veisiejai | Listen • Info | 1,022 | 1,141 | 1,762 | 1956 | Alytus County | Lazdijai District Municipality | |
| 37 | Jieznas | Listen • Info | 1,004 | 1,047 | 1,476 | 1956 | Kaunas County | Prienai District Municipality | |
Remaining cities in Lithuania
The smallest cities in Lithuania that have below 1,000 inhabitants. The counties are ranked by number of cities and further ranked by the population of the largest one. Cities are ranked by the size of the population.
- Panevėžys County (5)
- Subačius, Obeliai, Vabalninkas, Pandėlys, Joniškėlis.
- Utena County (4)
- Dūkštas, Kavarskas, Dusetos, Troškūnai.
- Telšiai County (2)
- Varniai, Seda.
- Tauragė County (2)
- Smalininkai, Panemunė.
- Marijampolė County (1)
- Virbalis.
- Šiauliai County (1)
- Užventis.
- Vilnius County (1)
- Baltoji Vokė.
- Alytus County (1)
- Daugai.
Map of Lithuanian cities by population
Vilnius
Kaunas
Klaipėda
Šiauliai
Panevėžys
Alytus
Marijampolė
Mažeikiai
Jonava
Utena
Kėdainiai
Telšiai
Tauragė
Ukmergė
Visaginas
Palanga
Plungė
Kretinga
Šilutė
Radviliškis
Gargždai
Druskininkai
Elektrėnai
Rokiškis
Jurbarkas
Kuršėnai
Biržai
Vilkaviškis
Garliava
Grigiškės
Raseiniai
Lent–
varis
varis
Prienai
Anykščiai
Joniškis
Kaišiadorys
Naujoji Akmenė
Varėna
Kelmė
Šalčininkai
Pasvalys
Kupiškis
Zarasai
Trakai
Molėtai
Širvintos
Kazlų
Rūda
Rūda
Šakiai
Skuodas
Ignalina
Šilalė
Pakruojis
Švenčionys
Lazdijai
Kalvarija
Neringa
Rietavas
Birštonas
Pagėgiai
Baltic Sea
Curonian Lagoon
Curonian Spit
Port of Klaipėda
Vilnius Airport
Kaunas Airport
Šiauliai Airport
Palanga Airport
Latvia
Belarus
Poland
Kaliningrad, Russia
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The largest cities in LithuaniaGallery
Cities by compass direction reference
[further explanation needed]
| CoA | City | Pronunciation (audio help) | Number by size [clarification needed] (2024) | County | Municipalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Šalčininkai | Listen • Info | 40 | Vilnius County | Šalčininkai District Municipality | |
| Vilnius | Listen • Info | 1 | Vilnius County | Vilnius City Municipality, Vilnius District Municipality | |
| Širvintos | Listen • Info | 45 | Vilnius County | Širvintos District Municipality | |
| Ukmergė | Listen • Info | 14 | Vilnius County | Ukmergė District Municipality | |
| Panevėžys | Listen • Info | 5 | Panevėžys County | Panevėžys City Municipality, Panevėžys District Municipality | |
| Pasvalys | Listen • Info | 41 | Panevėžys County | Pasvalys District Municipality |
See also
- List of towns in Lithuania
- List of Lithuanian cities in other languages
- Administrative divisions of Lithuania
- Counties of Lithuania
- Municipalities of Lithuania
- Elderships of Lithuania
- Seniūnaitija
- Lithuania portal
Notes and sources
- Population sizes are given according to Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania) data for the census of 2001.
- "City rights" means rights to self-government. For older cities this is usually the date when Magdeburg rights were granted. Most dates are obtained from Lithuanian Wikipedia which assembled the information from several different sources. One of the main sources was Population Statistics. This information cannot be completely trusted.
- Counties, municipalities and elderships are given according to Lithuanian Central Internet Gates data.
- Stasys Vaitiekūnas, Elena Valančienė, Lietuvos geografija (Geography of Lithuania), Alma littera, 2004, pages 160-162. ISBN 9955-08-534-7
- Lietuvos Respublikos teritorijos administracinių vienetų ir jų ribų įstatymas (Republic of Lithuania Law on Administrative Units and Their Borders), Seimas law database, June 19, 1994, law no. I-558.
- At the time of the 2001 census, there were 106 cities in Lithuania. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania has since made these changes:
- On December 16, 2002 Juodupė lost city status and became a town
- On February 25, 2003 Kulautuva lost city status and became a town
- On April 8, 2003 Tyruliai lost city status and became a town
- Cities with no image of a coat of arms shown do not have one confirmed by the President of Lithuania. Municipalities share coats of arms with their capitals, with the exception of cities which are capitals of more than one municipality (i.e. a city municipality and a district municipality), in which case the city municipality shares the coat of arms with the city, while the district municipality has its own distinct coat of arms. Another notable exception is Trakai town, which has different coat of arms from its municipality (Trakai District Municipality).
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