Lithuania Population Distribution

Administratively, the state is divided into 29 districts (apskritis), which have an average extension of 2420 sq km, ranging from a maximum of 6018 (Šiauliai) to a minimum of 815 (Šilutė); there are also 6 cities with rights equal to those of the district. The population is on the whole distributed evenly; the lowest densities are noted in the lowlands (especially Lavena-Nevėžis) and around Kaunaṡ, the highest in the Memel Territory, in SW Lithuania. and generally in dry areas and along rivers. The state is also divided into 332 municipalities, with an average area of ​​161.7 sq km; there are also 24 cities with rights equal to those of municipalities.

Given the few modifications made by man, the settlement and the events connected to it (houses, roads, fields, etc.) do not already form a continuous cover as happens in countries where the natural aspect has been completely transformed, but a network that is more or less dense in relation to historical events. In all western Lithuania and especially in Samogitia and in the area along the Nemunas (except the southernmost stretch) scattered houses prevail; this type of settlement also prevails in the east (districts of Ukmergė, Utena, etc.), while in the center, especially to the east of Šiauliai, and in the SE. settlement in villages prevails in Kaunas. In western Lithuania the scattered houses are of recent origin, having been created between 1850 and 1880, when a more intense exploitation of the country began; mostly the distribution is regular, almost reticulated; all of them then keep the name of the village from which the settlers came. Even in the woods the houses are often isolated, in the middle of clearings obtained with deforestation. Where the village is widespread, this often takes on an elongated shape with the houses arranged on both sides of the road. Even this form of settlement does not depend on differences in soil or climate, or on ethnic influences, but is to be reconnected with the agrarian reform undertaken between 1548 and 1569 by Sigismondo Augusto. The massed village is also frequent (but it is to be reconnected with the agrarian reform undertaken between 1548 and 1569 by Sigismondo Augusto. The massed village is also frequent (kaimas), to be reconnected with the homes of nobles, built around 1400, which represented oases of free workers even before the abolition of servitude in 1861; this type is more frequent in N. and in the center of the town, less so in S. and on the sides. For Lithuania 2002, please check commit4fitness.com.

Lithuanian statistics distinguish 4 types of settlements: isolated dwellings (vienkiemis), villages (kaimas), towns (miestielis) and cities (miestas)). In the hamlets, improperly called villages, and in scattered houses, 76.8% of the population lives; in the towns (which it might be better to call villages) 8.3%; in centers with more than 2000 residents (in all 45) 15.8%. What the statistics call a village is a small agricultural group of 20-25 residents, made up of 4-5 houses, sometimes aligned along the road, sometimes grouped around a spring or a stream. However, any manifestation other than agriculture is missing and everything that may be needed for the needs of the house must be purchased in the town, name with which any place where there is a shop and a church is designated, where therefore there is a percentage, albeit small, of people who dedicate themselves to an activity other than working in the fields. These towns are usually 10 to 15 km away from each other. constituting small economic centers and market places, they maintain this distance even when the population is sparser, with the only difference that in this case the center becomes smaller. The cities (that is, the centers with more than 2000 residents) differ in turn for a greater density of houses and for the juxtaposition of wall with wall of some of them. Only 5 cities have a population exceeding 10 thousand residents, Kaunas, Memel (in Lithuanian Klaipėda), Šiauliai, Panevežys and Ukmergė. Panevežys, which counts 20,774 residents and is located between the two basins of Lavena and Nevėzis, it is located on an important east-west road that crosses at this point an obligatory threshold between Daugavpils and Šiauliai. Ukmergė (11,451 residents) Is also on a very busy road that comes from Augustovo and continues along the Latvian border and serves for exchanges between the Lavena basin and the Baltic Hill. Marijampolė (9488 residents In 1923 and 10.043 in 1932), in S. di Kaunas, which takes its name from the congregation of the Marian fathers founded there in 1750, on a secondary line that connects to Berlin-Kaunas, a notable center school that hosts 4 middle schools with 1570 pupils, that is 15% of the total number of residents. Other smaller towns are Kedainiai (7809 residents), Vilkaviškis (7634 residents) And Alytus (7439 residents). Along the sea they are also fairly popular with foreigners (1931: 14. 150 guests) the seaside resorts of Palanga (2187 residents) And Nida; Finally, the Birštonas health resort on Nemunas is worth mentioning.

Lithuania Population Distribution