List of cities in Lithuania
Vilnius is the largest city of Lithuania with urban population over 700,000 inhabitantsIn Lithuania , there are 103 cities (miestai 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 villages (kaimai 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, cities grew next to big industrial centers, for example Visaginas , Elektrėnai and Naujoji Akmenė . Five cities (Birštonas , Druskininkai , Neringa , Palanga and Anykščiai ) have a special resort status.
Of over 100 cities, only 14 have populations of over 20,000. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. At the 2001 census , 66.7% of the population lived in cities. During the 2021 census it increased to 68.2% of the population.
#
CoA
City
Pronunciation
Population
Change
Granted
County
Municipalities in urban area
Urban area
2024
2021
2001
1
Vilnius
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546,155
554,281
−1.47%
1387
Vilnius County Vilnius City Municipality Vilnius District Municipality 708,627
2
Kaunas
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298,753
378,943
−21.16%
1408
Kaunas County Kaunas City Municipality Kaunas District Municipality 410,475
3
Klaipėda
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152,008
192,954
−21.22%
1257
Klaipėda County Klaipėda City Municipality Klaipėda District Municipality 226,676
4
Šiauliai
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100,653
133,883
−24.82%
1589
Šiauliai County Šiauliai City Municipality Šiauliai District Municipality 151,026
5
Panevėžys
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89,100
119,749
−25.59%
1837
Panevėžys County Panevėžys City Municipality Panevėžys District Municipality 121,977
6
Alytus
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52,727
71,491
−26.25%
1581
Alytus County Alytus City Municipality Alytus District Municipality 76,815
#
CoA
City
Pronunciation
Population
Change)
Granted
County
Municipality
2024
2021
2001
1
Marijampolė
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36,727
48,675
−24.55%
1792
Marijampolė County Marijampolė Municipality
2
Mažeikiai
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33,101
42,675
−22.43%
1924
Telšiai County Mažeikiai District Municipality
3
Utena
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25,343
33,860
−25.15%
1599
Utena County Utena District Municipality
4
Jonava
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27,381
34,954
−21.67%
1864
Kaunas County Jonava District Municipality
5
Kėdainiai
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23,461
32,048
−26.79%
1590
Kaunas County Kėdainiai District Municipality
6
Telšiai
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22,642
31,460
−28.03%
1791
Telšiai County Telšiai District Municipality
7
Tauragė
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21,203
29,124
−27.20%
1924
Tauragė County Tauragė District Municipality
8
Ukmergė
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21,258
28,759
−26.08%
1486
Vilnius County Ukmergė District Municipality
#
CoA City
Pronunciation (audio help )
Population (2024)
Population (2021)
Population (2001)
Granted city rights
County
Municipality
1
Visaginas
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19,330
19,446
29,554
1995
Utena County Visaginas Municipality
2
Palanga
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18,066
16,746
17,623
1791
Klaipėda County Palanga City Municipality
3
Plungė
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17,259
17,543
23,436
1792
Telšiai County Plungė District Municipality
4
Kretinga
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16,927
17,249
21,423
1609
Klaipėda County Kretinga District Municipality
5
Šilutė
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16,002
15,952
21,476
1941
Klaipėda County Šilutė District Municipality
6
Radviliškis
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15,518
15,103
20,339
1923
Šiauliai County Radviliškis District Municipality
7
Gargždai
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15,510
15,065
15,212
1792
Klaipėda County Klaipėda District Municipality
8
Druskininkai
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12,978
12,908
18,233
1893
Alytus County Druskininkai Municipality
9
Elektrėnai
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12,536
11,255
14,050
1962
Vilnius County Elektrėnai Municipality
10
Jurbarkas
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11,455
10,186
13,797
1611
Tauragė County Jurbarkas District Municipality
11
Rokiškis
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11,388
11,770
16,746
1920
Panevėžys County Rokiškis District Municipality
12
Kuršėnai
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10,570
10,916
14,197
1946
Šiauliai County Šiauliai District Municipality
13
Biržai
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10,238
10,734
15,262
1589
Panevėžys County Biržai District Municipality
14
Vilkaviškis
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10,182
10,286
13,283
1660
Marijampolė County Vilkaviškis District Municipality
15
Garliava
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10,035
10,366
13,322
1958
Kaunas County Kaunas District Municipality
16
Grigiškės
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9,829
9,950
11,448
1958
Vilnius County Vilnius City Municipality
17
Lentvaris
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9,589
9,713
11,773
1946
Vilnius County Trakai District Municipality
18
Raseiniai
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9,553
9,865
12,541
1492–1506
Kaunas County Raseiniai District Municipality
19
Prienai
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8,773
8,796
11,353
1609
Kaunas County Prienai District Municipality
20
Anykščiai
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8,534
8,697
11,958
1516
Utena County Anykščiai District Municipality
21
Kaišiadorys
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8,480
8,380
10,002
1946
Kaunas County Kaišiadorys District Municipality
22
Joniškis
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8,437
8,612
11,329
1616
Šiauliai County Joniškis District Municipality
23
Naujoji Akmenė
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8,044
7,985
12,345
1792
Šiauliai County Akmenė District Municipality
24
Varėna
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7,866
8,202
10,845
1946
Alytus County Varėna District Municipality
25
Kelmė
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7,344
7,688
10,900
1947
Šiauliai County Kelmė District Municipality
26
Šalčininkai
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6,825
6,857
6,722
1956
Vilnius County Šalčininkai District Municipality
27
Pasvalys
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6,288
6,451
8,709
1946
Panevėžys County Pasvalys District Municipality
28
Kupiškis
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6,107
6,218
8,451
1791
Panevėžys County Kupiškis District Municipality
29
Zarasai
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5,851
6,077
8,365
1843
Utena County Zarasai District Municipality
30
Trakai
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5,720
5,426
5,725
1409
Vilnius County Trakai District Municipality
31
Širvintos
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5,650
5,827
7,273
1950
Vilnius County Širvintos District Municipality
32
Molėtai
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5,611
5,782
7,221
1956
Utena County Molėtai District Municipality
33
Kazlų Rūda
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5,457
5,590
7,401
1950
Marijampolė County Kazlų Rūda Municipality
34
Šakiai
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5,348
5,462
6,795
1776
Marijampolė County Šakiai District Municipality
35
Skuodas
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5,231
5,508
7,896
1572
Klaipėda County Skuodas District Municipality
#
CoA City
Pronunciation (audio help )
Population (2024)
Population (2021)
Population (2001)
Granted city rights
County
Municipality
1
Ignalina
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4,843
5,106
6,591
1950
Utena County Ignalina District Municipality
2
Pabradė
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4,636
4,918
6,525
1946
Vilnius County Švenčionys District Municipality
3
Šilalė
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4,605
4,729
6,281
1950
Tauragė County Šilalė District Municipality
4
Švenčionėliai
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4,536
4,748
6,923
1920
Vilnius County Švenčionys District Municipality
5
Nemenčinė
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4,495
4,831
5,892
1955
Vilnius County Vilnius District Municipality
6
Pakruojis
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4,487
4,594
6,057
1950
Šiauliai County Pakruojis District Municipality
7
Švenčionys
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4,292
4,448
5,684
1800
Vilnius County Švenčionys District Municipality
8
Neringa
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4,265
3,609
2,386
1961
Klaipėda County Neringa Municipality
9
Vievis
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4,135
4,311
5,303
1950
Vilnius County Elektrėnai Municipality
10
Kalvarija
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3,939
3,982
5,090
1791
Marijampolė County Kalvarija Municipality
11
Kybartai
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3,871
4,126
6,556
1947
Marijampolė County Vilkaviškis District Municipality
12
Lazdijai
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3,817
4,016
5,140
1957
Alytus County Lazdijai District Municipality
13
Rietavas
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3,144
3,234
3,979
1792
Telšiai County Rietavas Municipality
14
Birštonas
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3,011
3,072
3,225
1518?
Kaunas County Birštonas Municipality
15
Žiežmariai
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2,989
3,158
3,884
1792
Kaunas County Kaišiadorys District Municipality
16
Eišiškės
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2,734
2,908
3,765
1950
Vilnius County Šalčininkai District Municipality
17
Ariogala
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2,591
2,743
3,697
1792
Kaunas County Raseiniai District Municipality
18
Šeduva
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2,367
2,421
3,400
1654
Šiauliai County Radviliškis District Municipality
19
Akmenė
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2,294
2,355
3,140
1792
Šiauliai County Akmenė District Municipality
20
Venta
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2,150
2,250
3,412
1995
Šiauliai County Akmenė District Municipality
21
Viekšniai
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2,133
2,249
2,270
1791
Telšiai County Mažeikiai District Municipality
22
Rūdiškės
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1,889
1,985
2,559
1958
Vilnius County Trakai District Municipality
23
Tytuvėnai
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1,759
1,850
2,851
1956
Šiauliai County Kelmė District Municipality
24
Vilkija
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1,694
1,762
2,338
1792
Kaunas County Kaunas District Municipality
25
Ežerėlis
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1,580
1,640
2,051
1956
Kaunas County Kaunas District Municipality
26
Pagėgiai
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1,540
1,576
2,393
1923
Tauragė County Pagėgiai Municipality
27
Gelgaudiškis
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1,497
1,572
2,029
1958
Marijampolė County Šakiai District Municipality
28
Skaudvilė
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1,331
1,427
2,140
1950
Tauragė County Tauragė District Municipality
29
Kudirkos Naumiestis
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1,305
1,381
1,997
1643
Marijampolė County Šakiai District Municipality
30
Žagarė
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1,226
1,326
2,312
1924
Šiauliai County Joniškis District Municipality
31
Priekulė
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1,223
1,245
1,725
1948
Klaipėda County Klaipėda District Municipality
32=
Linkuva
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1,218
1,283
1,797
1950
Šiauliai County Pakruojis District Municipality
32=
Salantai
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1,218
1,272
1,942
1746
Klaipėda County Kretinga District Municipality
34
Ramygala
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1,183
1,241
1,733
1957
Panevėžys County Panevėžys District Municipality
35
Simnas
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1,176
1,247
1,980
1626
Alytus County Alytus District Municipality
36
Veisiejai
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1,022
1,141
1,762
1956
Alytus County Lazdijai District Municipality
37
Jieznas
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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.
Map
The largest cities in Lithuania
Gallery
Cities by compass direction reference
See also
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 made these changes: 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 ).
References
Sovereign states States with limited Dependencies and
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